Sword Of The Necromancer - What We Know So Far

Sometimes games are capable of innovation because of how they re-contextualize ideas inspired by their influences, rather than how they utilize a single, groundbreaking idea. Hades, for example, ended up becoming a critical darling at least in part due to the way it uniquely combined elements of prior rogue-lites and dating sims.

Sword of the Necromancer, a forthcoming rogue-lite from Spain-based studio Grimorio of Games, proudly wears its influences on its sleeve. Some of these are outlined in a summary of the game included on the studio's official website. Victor Pedreño, one of its developers, has even discussed specifically how its plot contrasts with that of Shadow of the Colossus in a "Dev Diary" video.

Grimorio of Games funded the production of Sword of the Necromancer through a successful Kickstarter campaign. Updates to the Kickstarter page have outlined many key facets of the game's development. Now even further information has been made available about its gameplay and story.

The development of Sword of the Necromancer, at least insofar as it's been in the public eye, has been rapid relative to many other indie titles. Its Kickstarter campaign was first launched on April 8, 2020. Then, by May of last year, its funding goal had not only been met, but multiplied thirteenfold by the campaign's end date.

In total, Sword of the Necromancer's Kickstarter campaign included nine stretch goals. The last of these required its total funding to meet 120,000 euros. Not only did the campaign surpass that goal, but it amassed 201,526 euros overall, having initially asking for 15,000 euros.

As a result of its stretch goals, numerous additions on top of what Grimorio of Games originally intended could theoretically have led to delays. Plus, the ongoing pandemic has been demonstrated to have impacted its development in Dev Diary videos. Nevertheless, development seems to have remained on schedule, judging by its imminent release date.

Sword of the Necromancer is currently scheduled to come out on Jan. 28, 2021 for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

The launch of Sword of the Necromancer's Kickstarter campaign was accompanied by two preview videos. The first of these was story-focused, comprised entirely of an anime-style cutscene made up of still images. The second began with a new, shorter version of the same story cutscene, which was followed by a gameplay showcase.

Then in Oct. 2020, an announcement trailer for its PS4 release was shared by the PlayStation YouTube channel. This remains the most comprehensive trailer yet. It includes much of the same footage from these earlier preview videos, with some upgrades that seemingly came from its lengthy development time and its influx of funding. Most notably, dialogue in the same cutscene that opened its prior trailers is fully voice-acted.

Visually, Sword of the Necromancer is somewhere in between Moonlighter and Hyper Light Drifter (among the best games of 2016) in style. Its developers cite Enter the Gungeon (currently available for under $20 through the Switch store), Zelda: A Link to the Past, and Azure Dreams as gameplay influences. The latter inspired Sword of the Necromancer's flagship game mechanic, with which the player character can revive dead monsters to fight alongside them.

Sword of the Necromancer's story begins when Tama, the player character, attempts to revive the priestess Koko, with whom she was tasked with protecting on a pilgrimage. To do so, Tama enters a necromancer's crypt, which was spoken of in an ancient legend and contains a sword capable of bringing the dead back to life. Its core gameplay loop follow's Tama's quest to obtain that power for herself.

In the third and final Dev Diary video, shared on Jan. 14, members of the team behind the game further explained their thinking when crafting its story.

Tama's solitude was essentially a guiding principle. Dungeons in most similar games, designer Victor Pedreño explained, include helpful NPCs like shopkeepers. Sword of the Necromancer's game world includes no such characters, hence Tama's need to revive her enemies to fight alongside her in the absence of friendly faces.

When comparing its plot to Shadow of the Colossus', Pedreno pointed to the ambiguity of the relationship between its protagonist Wander and the girl he's attempting to revive, Mono. By contrast, Sword of the Necromancer makes its principle characters' relationship clear in cutscenes throughout its story.