The Necromancer’s Tale: Gothic RPG Demo Now Available to Play

The Necromancer’s Tale is an interestingly themed RPG that focuses on, stunningly, the art of necromancy. Playing as an 18th-century noble, users will be exploring necromancy as a way to exact knowledge, power, and revenge. H.P. Lovecraft is a major inspiration for the plotline, which sees you master the art on your way towards commanding a powerful undead army. Of course, the more you play with dark arts, the more your character descends further into insanity.

None of this is to say the game is not entirely unique. As Bloody Disgusting describes, “Unlike conventional RPGs, necromancy is not just a skill—it’s an immersive journey into secrecy, manipulation, and moral decay. Inspired by titles like Disco Elysium and Pillars of Eternity, this dark origin story is touted as the first of its kind to explore what it truly means to become a necromancer, unravelling mysteries of death and power in a richly layered narrative spanning over 400,000 words and 180+ NPCs. The game’s branching dialogue and faction-based trust system mean that every choice matters.”

The game’s Steam Page really paints a picture of what players should expect in The Necromancer’s Tale.

The Necromancer’s Tale is a story-rich game, with 400,000 words of narrative and lore, in which you converse with 180+ NPC characters, each with their own portrait art. You will investigate, negotiate, coerce and flatter in order to progress your aims. The game’s Trust system means that your choices – even in conversation – really matter. If the townsfolk’s trust drops too low, you will find your choices are affected – if it drops further still, you will surely be tried in court and hanged, or lynched by a frenzied mob.

Your character is created in an interactive and fully voiced backstory, defining your gender, early life, skills and career (military, diplomatic, or academic). Narrative options during the main game are affected by these choices.

The game involves tactical turn-based combats between you, your allies and your undead minions – versus a range of enemies, natural and supernatural. Harness a range of weapons, rituals, and battle spells to defeat your foes.

The Necromancer’s Tale is set in an alternative-history Kingdom near Venice and the Adriatic Sea, in 1733. This is a time at the cusp of rational thought and superstition; science and magic. The world is dark and dangerous; courtly intrigue collides with black magic even as chemistry emerges from alchemy.

A play-through will take between 25 and 50 hours, depending on how much side content and world exploration you engage with, and depending on whether you play the battles or use automatic combat resolution.

A full trailer of The Necromancer’s Tale is also available ahead of its July release, and now there is a playable demo available for download on Steam as well. Watch the trailer here.

Final Thoughts

A Necromancer’s Tale appears to be shaping up as a very strong RPG title. Two of the genres that appear to be having a great deal of success and bounce back in 2025 have been horror and RPG, and this game hits on both. A narrative-driven story should be great for fans who want to feel immersed in the game they are playing, and the tactical combat and dark setting should only further engage the fans. Players can try a demo of the game now, and the full version will be available for purchase in July on Steam, although the exact launch date is not yet known.