Necrophosis: Full Consciousness

The image is varying shades of dusty yellow and some dusty orange. The background shows different structures, mostly made up of limb bones. On the left is a creature with its hands almost together, touching fingertips. It too looks to be made up mostly of bone and carapace. It has no eyes or mouth, and looks like it's wearing a crown, except the crown is made up of bony hands. The text reads 'Necrophosis Full Consciousness', with a graphic of a skull stitched down the middle above it.

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The team that brought you The Shore is now releasing their newest title, Necrophosis, on the PS5. With this edition being called Necrophosis: Full Consciousness, and will be priced at £15.99 on the PlayStation Store. I did play the demo a little ways back and loved how it looked, and I’m now here to see the whole product.

I think I’m growing a “Consciousness”

A husk with its hands up, its face is contorted to look like it's whistling. Next to it on the left are some stairs with skulls and lit candle on the lower steps. — Oooooh, new releases!

Gameplay

We awake in a small crypt like room with no real clue why we are here. Most of Necrophosis’ story is given through dialogue from the entities you meet along your journey, with some extra added context coming via tablets or effigies. Beside the way they put things I think the story was rather easy to understand after you listen to the first couple of beings. For gameplay, the whole thing essentially has you walking around within sections doing some puzzles.

A robed figure with a scythe and lantern is stood next to a large red-faced door. The mouthpiece is the entryway for the player. — Find 3 souls to offer to Death, if you want entry.

These puzzles don’t require you to think too hard, but are mainly focused on the player locating an item, or being given one after some brief words from a character, then using that item in a key location until you have obtained all you need to get to the next chapter. For example, collecting three crowns to access a doorway. There are some coins you will find or earn that are used on statues that will provide even more context to the story, but that is all.

Graphics & Audio

Necrophosis is heavily inspired by the works of H.R Giger, much like the game Scorn. Audio wise, it definitely nails the unsettling vibes pretty well. While there isn’t much ambient music most of the time, it adds to that ‘alone in the universe’ and desolate feeling. There is no shortage of crunchy and squelchy sound effects in this bone-ridden, fleshy world either, making for a fantastically grotesque experience. What impressed me most was the use of colours; no area felt too bland, and certain creatures and areas are highlighted in such a way that no matter where I turned the camera, something always drew my eye and stood out.

A red realm area with a female entity floating just a little off the ground. On both her sides there are two creatures with pyramid helmets on, kneeling. Behind her is an eclipse with a red outline. — This is probably my second favourite area in the whole game.

Additionally, I’m impressed that despite many of the objects you carry in the game having their own animations. I didn’t experience any lagging or stuttering. I expected as such when holding said items and running, but despite the heavy focus on graphics it didn’t run poorly or frame drop at any point.

Longevity

Necrophosis isn’t that long of a game, as I finished the whole thing including the DLC chapter in under three hours. There are achievements to unlock but, due to the game not being out as of writing this review, I could not say how many. However, I don’t think the game would be too hard to 100%.

A large eyeball structure is surrounded by various other entities and statues some towering over and looking like skulls. Some of the lower creatures are wearing robes and are riding horse-like creatures. — One of the areas in the DLC chapter.

Final Thoughts

I would say a lot of praise would most likely go to the world and item design. But story wise Necrophosis was okay, nothing amazing, but nice to understand. Gameplay is simple and offers you a liner style with puzzles for you to do. These puzzles aren’t particularly hard. I was under the impression that there were two different endings. Throughout the game it mentions continuing or breaking the cycle. But after playing, I don’t see anywhere in Necrophosis where the player would make any actually choices.

The Subconsciousness level also does little to add anything to the overall story, although it was fun to play. If you are looking for something very eye-catching, then definitely pick up Necrophosis. Or maybe if you enjoy the Lovecraft Mythos. But if you are after more of a story heavy game this may not be for you. So I’m giving Necrophosis: Full Consciousness the Thumb Culture Silver Award.

Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.

About Author

Kyle McGrath

I’ve enjoyed video games for as long as I remember and I don’t think there isn’t a game I wouldn’t play. For reviews, I try my best to make them simple and easy to understand. With so many games released daily, I attempt to play them all.

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Necrophosis: Full Consciousness – PS5 Review