Sword of the Necromancer: Resurrection is a dungeon crawler action RPG by Grimoro of Games. A Project remade in 3D from its original release from the ground up the original Sword of the Necromancer came out back in January 2021. It was a 2D pixel art version which was well received, scoring mostly positive in the Steam store.

Was a 3D remake necessary, and does the overall scope of the game translate well with its added dimension? Or perhaps a better question to be asked would be, is this Indie title worth being pulled from the grave with necromancy? As with most things related to bringing things back to life, the answer comes as a mixed bag, much like Frankenstein’s monster.

Sword of the Necromancer: Resurrection
Developer: Grimorio of Games
Publisher:  Grimorio of Games
Platforms: Windows PC (reviewed), Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Release Date: January 23, 2025
Price: $24.99

Tama, a bandit turned bodyguard is tasked with bodyguarding the gorgeous young maiden Koko in a long arduous travel across the wilds. As you travel through the dungeon’s many rooms, glimpses of their exchanges on morals and at times comedic moments. Their growth towards each other eventually leads to something much more than unlikely acquaintances.

Inevitably, Koko faced her demise during her travels, besetting Tama with the great hardship of reviving her back to life. With her heart and mind set on bringing her cute maiden to the world of the living, power must be gathered into a magical weapon, the sword of necromancy.

It’s a lot like Shadow of the Colossus. The main hub is a shrine where the one in need of revival is resting on a slab in the same way. Their similarities pretty much begin and end there, as the gameplay is where the game takes a much different yet familiar turn to most indie dungeon-crawling games.

Though the core game is by no means a roguelike; it’s more roguelite than anything. There is an optional mode that allows you to engage in a roguelike environment, as well as a boss rush mode, and a co-op mode is also possible.

The gameplay is pure action RPG at its most basic but with some monster catching to spice things up. Donning the sword of necromancy up in the air will catch them into a monster of your own like a Pokemon, only there’s no need to weaken them.

The combat mechanics don’t necessarily feel janky, but battles spiral out of control if you aren’t careful. Melee weapons range between swords which are fantastic for stringing combos. Halberds and larger weapons are slower but pack a much larger punch for heavy blows.

One thing I find very frustrating at times is that all resources are tied to one gauge. Dodging, dashing, and summoning your monsters are shared underneath the same economy. It was a bit more of a nuisance especially when it’s time to dash and explore, which takes a rather large fraction of the gauge.

Luckily with the help of equipment effects, it is possible to speed up its automatic replenishment. Caught monsters and their uses can feel a bit like a mixed bag. This especially becomes apparent when catching and collecting them.

Only holding 20 max becomes a problem very fast when catching monsters constantly with only a single press of a button over their corpse. Leaving them is always an option however it is possible to tribute them into crafting materials.

In most cases, crafting materials for either enhancing or making new equipment requires a lot of these minerals, so it’s pretty crucial to be constantly catching monsters.

This would be perfectly okay however the tedium of tributing them is frequent and not streamlined at all. This requires opening the menu, and selecting them one at a time while also remembering to carefully not tribute ones you wish to keep.

In most cases, it felt better to just tribute everything. The further Tama travels into the dungeon, monsters seem to always be at higher levels anyway so it doesn’t really feel necessary to commit to any monster especially early on.

Though it’s certainly a hassle to micromanage monsters, their use in battle is quite satisfying, though it may take some time to understand when it’s best to summon them. Enemy monsters, especially bosses will absolutely destroy them if they aren’t properly using good AI commands in the menu.

Those familiar with Final Fantasy XII’s gambit system will feel right at home when programming the AI options for the monsters… It’s just a slog having to do it every time because the settings don’t stay if you plan to keep tributing them for materials.

Dungeon crawling is rewarding once able to grasp the strangely difficult but gratifying combat flow. Treasure chests all reward exploration with new gear, consumables, and other surprises. Chests never feel like a waste of time. In addition to that, every room comes with three possible challenges, but most of the time they boil down to tedious things like not getting hit or killing everyone with something specific.

Enemies fight aggressively and constantly attack with ranged attacks in most cases. Dodging and weaving into melee attacks manages to stay fun throughout the game. As an added option to attack aside from weapons, which two can be assigned or changed on the fly, a ranged attack can also be utilized. Bows that seem to be the best have unlimited ammo but have to cool down after a certain amount of shots.

Spells are useful too as they come with an innate element necessary to hit respective enemy weaknesses. The aiming of ranged attacks will put you into an over-the-shoulder perspective for more precise aiming. But during this, you move extra slowly, which can be a detriment to the situation as enemies aren’t going to slow down themselves.

A major concern some might find is the game’s choice of menu UI. The white borders and empty backgrounds don’t feel like the right pick for the game. The original had the same approach but it feels somewhat lacking in this iteration’s presentation. Tama and Koko’s art looks significantly more impressive than any portraits of captured monsters.

While Sword of the Necromancer: Resurrection seems like it faces a lot of issues, it manages to still play like a very fun dungeon crawler. Some of these hiccups might even grow on the player, like the very strangely paced combat and proper use of controlling the monsters. The UI is ugly and could use some finesse.

Sword of the Necromancer: Resurrection was reviewed on a PC using a code provided by Grimorio of Games. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here. Sword of the Necromancer: Resurrection is now available for PC (via Steam), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.