The Necromancer’s Tale Review: A Great Story Held Back by Clunky Controls

My favorite entertainment genre is skeleton. Reviews be damned, I’ll watch pretty much anything if you put a sword-fighting skeleton scene in it. Given that The Necromancer’s Tale for Nintendo Switch 2 is absolutely packed with the undead, I expected to fall in love with it. Instead, I found a game with a fantastic narrative buried under a pile of clunky mechanics that make playing it a chore. It earns a 6/10, but only if you are willing to overlook some serious friction.

A Deep Story in a Rough Package

The Necromancer’s Tale is an isometric RPG that prioritizes story over combat. It kicks off with a lengthy, text-heavy prologue that serves as your character creation suite. You’ll make various personality and historical choices that directly impact nine character stats, such as acuity, impress, and strength. It is an engaging system, though it takes enough time that you’ll likely want to skip it on subsequent playthroughs.

The core premise is dark and engrossing: your father dabbled in evil magic to influence a war between Venice and Rulthsen. Now that he is dead, you return to settle his affairs. How you handle this—and how you view your late father—is entirely up to your choices in the intro. The writing is the game’s strongest asset, offering decision-making that carries real weight with the NPCs you encounter. You’ll need to manage these relationships carefully to solve puzzles and progress, as your reputation with specific characters can make or break your ability to complete tasks.

Why the Switch 2 Experience Falls Short

While the story shines, the execution on the Switch 2 is, frankly, a struggle. The game drops you into the world with almost no explanation for its mechanics. You’ll have to figure out how to navigate the manor and handle combat through trial and error, and the controls never quite click. Using the control sticks to move your character and the camera often leads to the screen sliding to unwanted points, and the isometric perspective makes it difficult to distinguish between floor levels or interaction points.

The combat system is equally disappointing. It is a hexagonal, grid-based affair that rarely offers items, rewards, or experience. The lack of progression makes the combat feel like an unnecessary hurdle, especially given the clunky control scheme. Even the village, while atmospheric and populated, is difficult to navigate due to the blurry, low-detail visuals that make it hard to spot narrow paths.

If you are desperate for a dark, choice-driven RPG, The Necromancer’s Tale has the narrative depth to satisfy you. However, the experience is significantly better suited for a computer. Unless you have no other way to play, I’d suggest skipping the Switch 2 version and picking it up on PC instead. If you just need a skeleton fix, maybe just watch The 7th Voyage of Sinbad again.