House of Necrosis

fun game :3

I'm only halfway through the game and I can easily tell this game is one of the most loyal to the genre roots as far as Fushigi no/Mystery Dungeon genre goes. Meaning, it is a lot more similar to Torneko than it is to anything like Shiren. It doesn't have Shiren's convoluted, overbloated systems. The mechanics and systems are at the perfect simple but useful and sensible level like Torneko or Pokemon Mystery Dungeon. And the horror theme is a big plus if you're into it. Access to stash after every boss fight makes this a little easier to play, to not die, to return to hub and just grind out to power creep levels. Meaning it's much more grindy than Torneko is, but also less reliant on moment to moment RNG because with enough farming you can have the items you want one way or another. This game is to Mystery Dungeon what Dredmor is to roguelikes. No needless gimmicks, no reinventing of any wheel that already works. Just a fresh look and a different theme.

Wow! What a game. This game is in my opinion the perfect modern representation of Shiren the Wanderer and mystery dungeon-likes. It's a great roguelike if you like these games. If you haven't played any of those and like roguelikes but have only played more modern examples, this game might be kind of rough and may have a steep learning curve for you. It's basically a 1:1 copy of Mystery Dungeon games with a few exceptions. It is a little bit easier in a few ways. I've played over 1000 hours for sure of those games, so this game came very naturally to me. There is a Starcraft-like level of strategy and thinking to playing these games, even if there's only one person to control, what you're controlling is the entire screen. You just do it in the guise of controlling one person. The vibes in this game are something else. I was a teen when Resident Evil first came out. This game really nails that nostalgia. When you see that door animation, you breathe a sigh of relief because you made it. It's very addictive. All the monsters are well-designed. I'm biased because I'm accustomed to approaching all new monsters I see with a lot of caution, because I don't know what they can do yet…

Don't be fooled, this game is way better than you might first assume. There's plenty to dig into and the post game dungeon can get pretty ruthless so there's lot's of fun to be had.

Take the classic turn based, dungeon crawling mechanics of games like Wizardry or Legend of Grimrock (complete with magic and random loot), then dress it up like the original Resident Evil for PS1. You play a member of a special forces unit trapped in a mansion overrun with zombies and other monsters, trying to reunite with her teammates and escape. Along the way, you'll find weapons, armor, and wacky items ranging from healing herbs to Blair Witch-style stick figures that hex creatures when thrown. Pile on roguelite elements and randomized maps and this one has some staying power.

I am still on the first set of floors, have not yet beat the first big guy. However, for gameplay, this is the good ♥♥♥♥ man. Loot and loot and more loot, able to be taken as slow or as fast as you want, going from borderline tactical to gunnin and stabbin action just by tapping or holding a key. This is what a semi-traditional Roguelike should be if you're going for a straight dungeon crawler. Does it fit the Berlin Interpretation? No, and that's fine. On an aesthetics note, I love the "Resident Evil 1 with some magic bits" vibe. It's fun, it's goofy, it's campy, it's peak. We love some RE horsehit goodness. As well, the 3d graphics add an edge, I think, to a semi-traditional RL like this, especially a mystery dungeon styled one. On the prior not of going hog by holding down keys, the 3d graphics add a real fluidity and mild spectacle layer that ascii or sprite stuff just wouldn't handle well. I will admit, despite being a traditional RL fan, I am very in the dark on mystery dungeon style games. If this is what it's like, gameplay wise. I think I just might like this.