Jason Savio

Thank God for unlimited lives because in Necrosphere you’re going to die, like, a lot. But can it be considered death if you’re already dead?

That’s the ironic thing about Necrosphere, a retro arcade callback that is way more than it seems. You play as Terry Cooper, a special agent of sorts who was shot, killed and finds himself in a “place you go when you die…and do nothing all day, forever.” According to Marcus, one of Terry’s agent partners, this place is called Necrosphere. Think of it as a kind of limbo, neither heaven nor hell. Marcus and Tara, another of Terry’s partners who survived the shootout, drop him clues and the tools he needs to get back to the land of the living, or “Normalsphere.”

The combination of the otherworldly, sci-fi storyline and the 8-bit art presentation topped with a trippy synth score—makes for a cool, old-school gaming experience.

But don’t be fooled by its apparent simplicity: it’s hard. Damn hard. It’s a there’s-only-two-controls kind of hard.

That’s right, in Necrosphere the only control you have to start with is running to your left and right – that’s it. Need to jump? You’ll have to use one of the gravity bubbles that Marcus and Tara have planted for you to gain the height needed to advance over whatever obstacle is in your way – and there will be plenty of them. It’s one of the most stripped down and challenging games you’ll ever play. Luckily, there is no life-counter, so you can fall to your demise over and over and over again as many times as you need. Or, as Tara puts it in one of her notes, “You can’t really die in the Necrosphere so you have an eternity to look for an exit.” Thanks, Tara. Just what we wanted to hear.

Eventually, you’ll be given somewhat of a break, such as when you find a “spandex ballet suit” that gives you the ability to dash over areas you would not have been able to before, but it’s still extremely tough.

Even if you don’t make it far in the game or enjoy the gameplay very much, there is much to appreciate about its daring approach. It will likely leave many gamers annoyed and giving up, while others may find the game’s difficulty to be the most appealing thing about it.

If you want to give Necrosphere a run for its money and escape it, you’ll need lots of time and even more patience.

Good luck.

For more check out Necrosphere on Twitter: @NecrosphereGame