Whether it be hubris or the simple limitation of ones talent, there is a strange habit of many developers to have ideas for games that while in theory sound wonderful, yet are inevitably released as shoddy half-hearted efforts where a kinder soul might attribute such failure to lack of time, or money. More often than not it's the case with genuinely new and unique ideas, but where the fact of it not having been tried before is something the poor developer had neglected to fully consider.
Necropolis on the other hand, suffers in a similar vein to the Koran, in that it exists as flawed plagiarism of other people's work. But whereas it takes from the Judaeo-Christian library of sinister bullshit, the ideas Necropolis steals are actually proven, and quite the cat's meow these days. Dark Souls combat, rogue-like elements, procedural generation, loot, secrets; they all work perfectly in of themselves or within the right context. However for all the admittedly lovely art design and atmosphere, Harebrained Schemes have perhaps not quite considered all the consequences of their attempted hybrid.
On the surface everything appears fine. Necropolis drops your plucky adventurer into a multi-levelled dungeon of monsters, traps and sweet sweet loot with the sole task of descending its many floors to freedom. The necropolis itself looks fantastic; a murky yet vast structure full of quite varied and interesting geography. Winter wastelands, murky swamps, and your good old fashioned stone dungeon all make an appearance and the atmosphere evoked is immersive and provokes an effective sense of foreboding. The music likewise is rich and complementary to the visuals, and the simple act of being there is perhaps the most compelling aspect of the game as a whole. Taking the atmosphere of something like Dark Souls is one thing, but Necropolis goes further and succeeds in creating an appealing and distinctive art style all its own. Splice in a touch of gallows humour and it's hard not to be initially pulled in by the game's unique fabric.
Where the stitching starts to come loose however is with the combat. The default controls are a near like for like lift from Dark Souls and it plays out in pretty much the same fashion, or at least that must have been the idea. Necropolis alas doesn't have the same depth or cathartic joy as its inspiration. Enemies in Necropolis do certainly possess the same level of sadistic threat, but their methods are somewhat less sophisticated. You don't get ambushed or tricked unless spawning out of thin air counts, the most it has to offer is ranged baddies peppering you whilst Smashy McSmashface tries to make you into a pretty bone necklace. The simple variety of enemy tactics is lacking, where cheap high damage attacks and sheer force of numbers is often used to inadequately compensate. Hitting enemies also feels weightless and floaty while the jerky animations do little to convince that there isn't a patch incoming to hopefully address some of this. It's unrealistic to expect every game to match Bayonetta's catsuit tight combat, but when you're going to be difficult, there isn't any excuse for something this clunky.
On top of this there are numerous technical issues that can plague the experience. Frame rate drops are common and bring with them unresponsive inputs, even basic collision detection is wonky at times where it will take a number of seconds for events to register. Similarly the environment is riddled with oddities, like how one platform you cannot walk up onto can sometimes be lower than one you can. These issues are not ubiquitous and certainly don't ruin things, but they are a frustration, and a frustration that sits on top of the fundamental problem at the heart of the game's design.
Both its procedural generation and rogue-like nature undermines enjoyment in Necropolis. Whereas in Dark Souls you were given all the necessary tools to get past each area, Necropolis puts your fate, especially early on, in the unfeeling hands of fate. Your access to effective weaponry and armour is tied to chance, and when you open the first door to find enemies that can one hit kill you, enthusiasm can drain quickly. Indeed, as your only real persistent gains are through special tokens that act as currency for boosts, gold chests, and armour colours, it's a bit galling to have 2 hours and 10 minutes of a run rewarded with a paltry 3, barely enough for even the cheapest of the many codex that grant special abilities. There is simply too little gain for far too much pain. The persistent unlocks are just not enticing enough to offset the frustration of dying, especially when considering how gruelling and time consuming a run can be.
Crafting as ever makes its contractual appearance, and to be fair it doesn't hurt the experience. Rather, it's a neutral facet where potions, bombs and other items can be made from the detritus of your slain foes. In fact, the loot generally is agreeably varied. Whilst there are no raw stats to compare or get giddy about beyond a basic tier system, the lack of inventory management does at least have its upside with the benefit to pacing, however your primary research method as to the effectiveness of the different swords, axes, and shields is in the using, so be sure to remember where you left that hammer should your new magic sword have all the edge and lethality of a satin covered pillow.
It's all quite aggravating as I often found myself having fun in amongst all the irritations. Having learnt what does what progress starts coming faster and with less resistance. That feeling of experience and wisdom in turn translates into better runs and after having had such trouble in my first few hours, such development feels genuinely gratifying. However whereas Spelunky has its time attack and score hooks and where Dark Souls has completely new areas and items to reward you with, Necropolis just doesn't have anything as compelling to keep you playing beyond the simple act of finishing it. The atmosphere is great, the loot is pretty nice, but it's hard to shake the thought that it would be better off as your standard linear adventure where its strengths would be better utilised and its weaknesses mostly removed.
As it is, Necropolis is a mess of different ideas and mechanics where even if they were to all work properly, would not save it from its flaws. The lack of an effective and persistent hook makes the experience too much of a chore, where each run feels anti-climactic in the absence of a adequate reward for all your time and effort. There certainly isn't any story to get invested in and there isn't enough variety in the moment to moment gameplay to escape the tedium of repetition, so when the carrot being dangled is shrivelled and mouldy, you can't be surprised if few are willing to risk the stick to get it.