Like Fallacy of Dawn but even more successfully, Necrotic Drift is oozing to the brim with atmosphere. Well-written dialogues and descriptions let you know Jarret, his friends, and his world inside out like few other text adventures could. Since the author is a big fan of RPGs and gaming in general, playing Necrotic Drift is like seeing a geek's dream come true (and hey, I don't mean that in a condescending way – this site wouldn't have come into being if I weren't myself a geek ;)). And so, almost by default, I'd wager that most visitors will have a blast playing this game just to spot the numerous references to tabletop RPGs, computer games, and comics. What makes the game even more fun (to us geeks in particular) is the fact that the zombies, liches, and other undead types in this game actually CAN be defeated by the means described in TSR's D&D rules! While the clues are sufficient, die-hard pen & paper RPG fans will know almost instinctively what they need to defeat the monsters.

Puzzles are the weakspot of Necrotic Drift, most of them basic and simple: you just need to whack the monsters with the right weapon in the first few stages of the game to kill them. These puzzles are made even simpler by the game's extreme linearity: most times you have only one objective to focus on (usually of the "defeat this wandering ghouzer" nature) and few areas to explore. On the other hand, easy puzzles means you will not get stuck so often, which means the plot will unfold much faster – making the game an even better approximation of survival horror movies in which events unfold in the space of a few seconds. The last few puzzles in the game are more intricate and complex, but text adventure experts will have no problem overall.

Necrotic Drift makes much better use of graphics and sounds than Fallacy of Dawn, and that is saying a lot since I really like the multimedia elements in that game. Every location, monster, and NPC is depicted in photorealistic pictures, and some sounds really made me jump out of my seat (it's almost as scary as The Lurking Horror). While the plot is linear, I really like the many nice touches and sub-plots that unfold along with the main storyline. For instance, while you (Jarret) are trying to defeat the undead, you must also deal with the rocky relationship you are having with Audrey, your girlfriend who wants to move to another town. The ending is very memorable and appropriate – just play it to find out ;) All in all, if you prefer text adventures that focus more on the story than puzzles, or if you are a die-hard fan of pen & paper RPGs, or just a geek in general, you will simply have a blast playing Necrotic Drift. Two thumbs up, way up!