Grisly murders surrounding an old mansion in the woods! A Special Task Force gone missing after being sent to investigate! A relief team thrown into disarray leaving a sole survivor!

Sound familiar? Don’t judge a game by its cover! A love letter to PS1 games and graphics, House of Necrosis doesn’t need nostalgia to prop itself up! 

Fresh Meat!

It’s one thing to make a survival horror game clearly inspired by Resident Evil. It’s another thing entirely to make a survival horror ROGUELIKE with graphics and models straight out of 1996! Pieced together in a secret lab by developer Warkus, House of Necrosis blends old-school aesthetics with crisp roguelike gameplay… and boy does it WORK!

The premise is simple: separated from your squad, you must plumb the depths of a maze-like mansion for a way out… and blow apart any undead creeps that get in your way! Armed with a knife–and a handgun if you get lucky–you’ll have to slash, shoot, and scamper your way through enraged animals, irate undead, and much more! Being a roguelike, House of Necrosis puts a welcome, if not tense spin on this survival horror classic.

The more monsters you mow down, the more XP you earn! It’s not just you that levels up, though committing to a certain weapon causes it to level up, increasing its power and effectiveness! Sure, you might find a better addition to your arsenal lying around, but it’s a welcome alternative to wasting the sparse ammo you’re given. Worried about losing that +2 Shotgun? Simply drop it off at the storage box in the shop and you can pick it up later! Unless, of course, you have enough cash to spring for something better…

Learn How To Spell!

Even more wild is the spell system–yes, you heard right! Like Martin Tornqvist’s Lovecraftian roguelike Infra Arcana, your player can track down spell books and grimoires to give you an edge in combat! With casting animations straight out of Final Fantasy 7 Summons and Limit Breaks, your survivor isn’t limited to firearms, quite the opposite! Healing and fireballs are by no means new to roguelikes, of course, but they add a welcome layer of depth that makes House of Necrosis stand apart from similar games. That said, these books can be tricky to track down in the mansion, so you’ll definitely want to keep a weapon handy before committing to witchcraft.

What Lies Beneath?

In conclusion, House of Necrosis is a hard game to put down–an enviable quality of a new roguelike! The graphics look fantastic, the game runs smoother than butter, and the gameplay keeps you coming back for more! The store page keeps it humble as to what the completed game might look like, but if Warkus can keep the game fresh and engaging as this demo is, I think it’ll be…

To DIE FOR!

*THUNDER CRACK! WOLF HOWL! WINDOW SHUTTERS SLAMMING!*

The House of Necrosis demo is playable on Steam Next Fest: June 2025! Don’t be scared… this is a game you WON’T want to run from!