I really don’t know how to open this other than: more people need to be playing Necesse ASAP, it’s my new favourite survival game and it’s almost criminally underappreciated. Let me be as up-front and open as I can. I absolutely love survival games. I completely adore Terraria and Rimworld. Necesse manages to blend all of the best parts of these games together in (what already feels like) a complete package from a top-down perspective.
The world of Necesse is procedurally generated and infinite, which is what provides such a unique gameplay experience with each new playthrough. Every starting location has a unique biome and underground cave system for you to explore and fight your way through, either by yourself or with a group of your friends. At its’ current stage, there’s no plot or backstory, rather, your thrown into the game-world with only one task: survive. The typical tropes of the genre are present, as there’s a heavy emphasis on construction and exploration, spliced with monsters, dungeons, settlement-management and a healthy amount of cosmetics.
Similarly to games like Terraria or Valheim, progression in Necesse takes the form of defeating large bosses that you summon when you’re well-equipped enough to do so. I personally am yet to reach this point, because I keep getting distracted whenever an opportunity to recruit a new villager arises. The overall combat mechanics feel really fluid and satisfying. It’s exactly what I was hoping for, with plenty of flexibility in weapon types and armour choices to suit your preferred playstyles.
If you’ve had the chance to additionally play Rimworld, the other side of Necesse‘s gameplay will be incredibly appealing to you. Throughout the early stages of the game, you’re presented with the opportunity to recruit villagers who in turn will help you with tasks around your settlement. From hauling farming, fishing and hunting, once you’ve got enough willing villagers recruited, the ‘grind’ of collecting materials is stripped back (but if you live for that grind, this is completely optional).
The overall selling points for Necesse in my opinion is that the pure freedom you have in approaching any aspect of the game-world that is thrown at you. If you want to purely focus on combat and completionism, go right ahead. If the potential for an themed village/villagers tickles your fancy, look no further. At the time of writing, my first settlement has amassed 16 villagers who have been crammed into one large summer-camp styled lodge. Each of them help around the encampment as I set out on my own poorly planned adventures, and I like to think they’re thoroughly unimpressed with their ‘chosen champion’, every time I return home, just moments after leaving.
The most exciting and appealing part of Necesse is that it’s still in early-access, so you can continue to expect dozens of updates an additional content to be added (with the hopes of steam-workshop integration in the not-too-distant future). You can grab it now on Steam, or check it out via their official website.
