Gaming News I played the next game from the makers of Palworld. He is very inspired but also very innovative!
Pocketpair is in the spotlight for its overwhelming success with Palworld and has more than one game up its sleeve. The publisher returns in early March with Never Grave. A title that is also very visually inspired, but wants to stand out from its role models through an original proposal. With the demo made available during Steam Neo Fest, we were able to quickly understand the details.
A new mix of genres for Pocketpair
Last I heard, Palworld had a total of 19 million players. A gigantic figure for a game that came almost out of nowhere and was known before its release as “Pokemon survival game with weapons
Never Grave: The Witch and the Curse is a two-dimensional game that mixes many genres. The action and platforming dimensions are presented in the form of Metroidvania, to which is added that of Roguelite. There is a slight urban development aspect (city founding), with resource management. Yes, it is clear that Never Grave is reminiscent of the somewhat bizarre heir that would have emerged from a connection between Rogue Legacy, Dead Cells and Hollow Knight. But that’s enough to make you follow it with interest, despite the few flaws it presents.
Die ? It doesn’t matter, you have to explore it!
You can separate your body from your hat for exploration.
In Never Grave the player plays a hat. The latter has the ability to control anyone he is attached to… Provided he is dead. In the first moments of the game we quickly come across the body of a witch with whom we can fight with the sword and cast spells. This will be our ship for the duration of the demo, although the trailers released by Pocketpair promise other possible puppets such as a humanoid boxing bull.
The artistic direction when exploring underground spaces is reminiscent of that of Hollow Knight: a dark atmosphere illuminated by very bright colors. A similarity that can also be found in the design of certain monsters. We then regret that the game does not show the same nervousness and sensations as the model from which it is inspired.
Our heroine then decides to restore a village destroyed by the edge chaos. Thanks to the resources accumulated during our travels, we can discover new buildings to build. The latter allow us to improve our hero: it is possible to create (a vegetable garden, unique talent trees through specialization). Enough to quickly change the situation and, above all, make you want to dive underground.
Better armed, we explore the tunnels over a greater length. We come across spellbooks or statuettes that allow you to restore a passive effect (the ability to avoid death once, add bleeding to your spells, etc.). These occasional improvements have made us curious and justified our greed: we want to go further and further to see more valuable rewards!
Far from revolutionizing the references from which it is inspired, “Night Grave” has the merit of innovating by merging two genres that are close but rarely completely linked. A gameplay loop that is quickly achieved but offers many possibilities, both in terms of exploration, combat and city management.
