Nekro puts you in touch with your inner necromancer

Army of darkness

Being the good guy all the time gets old. Sometimes, you just want to play as a practitioner of the dark arts, raising an army of undead minions and nuking innocent townsfolk with black magic. That's the main hook of Nekro, a Kickstarter standout from 2012 that's set for release later this year. If you've ever wanted to sic a possessed pumpkin on a bumbling farmer, this is your game.

Gamers who favored playing as the Necromancer or Witch Doctor in the Diablo series will feel right at home in Nekro. But instead of an isometric view to all the bloody carnage, Nekro uses a WASD movement scheme with a fully rotatable camera. Once you've made your selection from the multiple necromancer types (melee, midrange, or healer), you'll also get to pick and choose which darkly comical demons you want to summon. Perhaps you want bats that heal you while they peck people's eyes out? Or maybe a tubby ghoul that vomits all over your prey? It's your call which fiends you want at your command, as long as you've got some corpses nearby and blood to spare for summoning.

Nekro's art style is fantastic: cartoony and extremely gory, with heavily exaggerated body proportions and vibrant coloring. The monster designs all look inventive, and the various types of townsfolk you'll slay are just as stylized. Nekro developer darkForge cites old-school PC games like Myth and Dungeon Keeper as inspirations, and the influence is clear: Nekro's got methodical pacing like the former, and a twisted sense of dark humor like the latter. If you love having an army of gruesome minions at your command, Nekro should be right up your devilish alley.

Check out the following screenshots for additional info!

"I live...again!" Necromancers come in three types: Alchemist (the healer), Grimm Reaper (a grenadier), or Outcast (a melee brawler).

A simple tech tree shows which demons you can summon and how you'll upgrade them, but you'll have to choose carefully which ones you'll take into a level.

Yep, the graphics look cartoony--but that doesn't mean people can't explode into a rain of bloody gibs and slimy guts.

I'm not sure what exactly is going on here, but I like it.

Two of the human gunmen posing for a close-up, mere moments before they were ripped to shreds by imps.

Two of the hilariously unique villagers you'll be killing. Just look at those adorable, stubby little legs!

Your ferocious pets will act on their own, but you can direct their attacks at any time if need be.