Necesse is a top-down sandbox action-adventure game set in a procedurally generated world, which means the game builds the land for you instead of using a fixed map. You can play solo or co-op with friends, and bosses scale to match the number of players. The core loop begins on the surface and in its caves, where you explore, mine ore and gather loot. You use those materials to craft better weapons, armor, tools, food and potions, because your gear needs to keep up with the next boss you want to face.
Between trips, you can start a settlement and recruit settlers to handle chores like chopping wood, farming and cooking while you're out exploring. You don't need a settlement to finish the game, but it speeds things up, since your settlers gather materials and food so you don't have to do every task yourself. You also need to keep your settlers happy and help fight off threats that try to invade your settlement.
Your progress comes from beating bosses one after another, and each step prepares you with gear and materials for the next. Along the way you push into deeper caves and dungeons. The game keeps going after the main boss progression ends, with Incursions: repeatable challenges in temporary areas, each with its own objective and a tier that sets how tough it is.
- Developer
- Fair Games ApS
- Publisher
- Fair Games ApS
- Release
- Early Access (Steam): 2019-12-12 · Full release (Steam): 2025-10-16
- Platforms
- PC, Mac, Linux
Game data
Weapons
Necesse weapons fall into melee, ranged, magic, summoning, throwing, and explosive styles, and since the game has no classes, the weapon you carry shapes how you fight. Each style uses its own supply, from arrows and bullets to mana and summon slots. Early weapons come mostly from the starting inventory and Iron Anvil crafting, while many of the strongest come from bosses or late Fallen Anvil recipes.
Armor
Armor pieces are the wearable gear in Necesse that reduce the damage you take, and many also add boosts such as faster movement, extra damage, or more summon room. They come in Cave Tier, Deep Cave Tier, and Incursion Tier, and they're crafted at anvils or earned from enemies and bosses. Wearing every piece of a set unlocks its set bonus, and some sets change that bonus depending on the head piece you choose.
Enemies and Bosses
Necesse's enemies and bosses are spread across the surface, the caves and deep caves, the Temple, the Dungeon, Pirate Villages and Incursions, and each area has its own mix of creatures. Bosses are tougher, named fights that you summon with special items or find in the world, and several of them open new areas, such as the Pirate Captain, which unlocks the Deep Caves, and the Fallen Wizard, which opens Incursions.
Necesse Controls
| Action | Desktop |
|---|---|
| Move | W A S D |
| Attack, place or use an item | Left mouse button |
| Interact | Right mouse button |
| Open inventory | E |
| Use a health potion | Q |
| Use a mana potion | Z |
| Open the settlement menu | C |
| Use trinket ability | Space |
| Open the world map | M or N |
Necesse gameplay tips
Place your Settlement Flag early. It's in the storage box inside the Elder's house. Open the box, set the flag down anywhere on the surface and name your settlement. Placing it unlocks settlement automation, which lets your settlers handle simple jobs like chopping wood, farming and cooking.
Recruit a Hunter as your first settler. The Hunter is the one you're most likely to meet first, and can hunt and collect meat for cooking. Add a workstation to your settlement and allow the Roasted Duck Breast and Roasted Rabbit Leg recipes, so your settlement can turn the Hunter's catch into cooked food on its own.
Give every settler except the Elder a bed and food. Craft a bed from 10 logs of one type and 10 wool at a Carpenter's Bench, and keep cooked food in a settlement storage they can reach. Without both, your settlers will protest and then leave.
Follow the Elder's quests when you're unsure where to go. They point toward the intended boss progression, so they give you a clear next step. Treat them as guidance, since the route isn't the only way to progress.
Swap your build to suit the fight. Your character is never locked to one build, so you can mix weapons and gear to find the setup that fits the challenge in front of you.
Read the objective and tier on a Gateway Tablet before you use it. Hunts need 100 enemy kills, Extractions need you to mine 100 ore blocks, and Trials send you straight to a boss. Higher tiers bring stronger enemy modifiers and better rewards, so the tier tells you how hard the trip will be and what it might pay out.