Killed and dropped into the Necroshpere with no help only you can find your way back to your friends. The only things keeping you from them are balls of fire, deadly spikes, a maze-like world, green monsters, moving floors, portals that start the game over, and oh yeah… the fact that you can only use two buttons! Good luck. Metroidvania Necrosphere Deluxe is a fun game but does not feel like anything special. The games steady difficulty, amazing soundtrack, and solid game flow makes for a fun platformer. Sadly, the biggest thing holding this game back is the two-button control layout.
Necrosphere Deluxe feels very smooth to play. At first, having only two buttons to work with feels foreign but after a few minutes, I began to love its simplicity. The game also does not fill the screen with enemies from all directions. I did not feel overwhelmed by all the things coming at me but rather was focused on figuring out how to use my abilities to find ways around traps and developing my motor skills. You do not need breakneck reaction time to have fun with this game. If you want something more difficult the game has a bonus mode, Terry’s Dream, that will destroy you.
As you continue to play Necrosphere Deluxe you begin to acquire upgrades and abilities, and this is where I felt the games two button layout became a problem. The dash ability is clunky. Your fingers will hurt, and I found it difficult to time dashes with my non-dominate hand. After the dash is introduced it becomes vital to almost all other interactions in the game. I had a lot of fun playing a game with no jump button and enjoyed the challenge of being able to go only left and right and when the dash was introduced, I was immediately disappointed. Having a button like “X” connected with the dash would make the game feel a lot better. If I could have just hit “X” and the direction I wanted to dash, then the game would play smoother and I would be able to play longer.
The only other thing that disrupts play is the maze-like map design. You will often get lost but once you find your way the game moves at a reasonable pace. The checkpoints are well placed creating a challenge but not discouraging the player when they die. The music in this game is excellent. The lo-fi techno music syncs up to each level and feels at home in each part of the world. Even when I was dying relentlessly and was at my most frustrated the music kept my spirit and energy up.
Overall, Two-Button Metroidvania Necrosphere Deluxe is a good platformer. The game is simple and difficult, has good map design, and an amazing soundtrack. Controls can get difficult to use and it is easy to get lost in the game but overall a good play. This game is great for both intense and casual players. A good addition to my collection.
