Crypt of the NecroDancer has always stood out when it comes to rhythm games. With its unique blend of dungeon crawling, rhythm-based movement, and roguelike mechanics, it, and its Zelda crossover Cadence of Hyrule, have always interested me in concept and challenged me in practice. Rift of the NecroDancer does away with the Crypt and instead takes notes from games like Guitar Hero to bring players a more classic-yet-fresh rhythm game experience, all while still battling the monsters fans know and love. Just as Cadence and her friends have changed and adapted to the new world in Rift of the NecroDancer, the fun and daring action players expect from the series has remained and even evolved.
The biggest thing that sets Rift apart and has made it a spin-off in the grand scheme of things is the lane-based rhythmic gameplay. Many of the monsters fans know from Crypt populate the lanes, representing specific beats and notes. Matching what Crypt of the NecroDancer had when it first launched, Rift features 32 songs, organized neatly in a dedicated Story Mode that fans can play through on any difficulty they desire. In fact, despite it not being openly encouraged to be played first, Rift of the NecroDancer‘s Story Mode highlights its best and most intuitive feature – a careful and fun beat map design that teaches and grows with the player as they go.
As seen in Rift of the NecroDancer‘s very colorful opening animation, Cadence is one day transformed in the Crypt before she’s thrown through a titular rift into a new world. Just as she gets used to the fact that her shovel has been replaced with an electric guitar, a strange figure opens up another portal and lets in the monsters from the Crypt, and that leads Cadence on a new adventure to figure out just what’s going on. The story of Rift of the NecroDancer is simple and formulaic, but it puts many fan-favorite characters (along with some new ones) in situations that are very enjoyable to watch and worth earning after playing the songs before them.
Rift of the NecroDancer’s Rhythm Rifts Know How to Keep the Beat Flowing
Rift of the NecroDancer‘s Rhythm Rifts are the main attraction of the game as one might expect, and rightfully so as they offer the same amount of thrill and challenge as Crypt of the NecroDancer‘s dungeon crawling does. Sadly the difficulty curve of the original still remains, but it’s far less demanding and overwhelming this go around. Tutorials explain all the monsters, what they do, and their behaviors on the beat maps, but I found the monsters a bit tricky to master in practice outside of them. Even if memorizing the moves of bats, zombies, harpies, and armadillos can feel like too much at the start of its runtime, Rift of the NecroDancer may very well be one of the more welcoming rhythm games I’ve ever experienced.
The beat maps of Rift of the NecroDancer are very clearly crafted with care, made to use the repetitive nature of many of the songs to players’ advantage and keep the focus on the melody rather than pushing buttons. Returning motifs typically use the same monster formations in a way that can easily make a panic-filled starting section an exciting-to-earn finale to a track’s end. It goes hand-in-hand with the muscle memory that many rhythm games use to their advantage, combining monster behaviors with the melody in ways that heighten the experience. With the food fans find in the Crypt returning as health items in Rhythm Rifts, careful understanding of the monsters, the song, and just sticking with the run will lead to some satisfying clears. Players may not get a good ranking, but Rift of the NecroDancer is perfectly fine with the lowest rank as long as players make it through, which only helps to encourage players to keep trying for that coveted S+ and Full Combo sticker of Cadence at the end eventually.
Players struggling against the patterns of specific monsters can either use the game’s Practice Mode to rehearse specific sections, or take on their behaviors one monster at a time in the Bestiary section found in the Extras.
Repeated attempts at songs will feel almost inevitable thanks to Rift of the NecroDancer‘s catchy and inspired soundtrack. The familiar faces of Danny Baranowsky and Jules Conroy return for die-hard fans, but newcomers such as Josie Brechner (Freshly Frosted,) Sam Webster, and Nick Nausbaum (both known for games like Faraway Fairway) bring a fresh sound to the NecroDancer series that leave the game with a wide variety of genres and tempos that will leave many with a favorite track. Alex Moukala is another welcome addition to the OST, whose use of drums and unique melodies is insanely fun to physically play with Rift of the Necrodancer‘s monsters.
The Limitless Content of Rift of the NecroDancer
Rift of the NecroDancer evolves its level design on every difficulty, which introduces players to almost all the monsters at their own pace. Later songs on easy are more or less songs on medium, but if things get too intense, players can go down a notch at a lower difficulty and still progress.
Story Mode wraps almost everything players can experience in Rift of the NecroDancer in a nice little package, complete with character moments and a few plot twists hardcore fans of the original game will appreciate. It’s also peppered with minigames that take inspiration from Rhythm Heaven. Boss battles mark the end of the Story Mode chapters, which take a different yet still musical approach to their gameplay. Both the mini-games and the bosses can only be played on medium and hard, but are not designed to be overwhelming while remaining challenging on their own. One boss may even be harder than the final boss before it, and the only downside to Story Mode is it ends suddenly.
Players aren’t done after they’ve played all the tracks and beaten Story Mode, though, as multiple challenge modes will keep players enjoying the music and gameplay for quite a long time. Remix Mode is an incredible highlight, using each track’s musically-inclined level design to create procedurally generated beat maps that test a fan’s understanding of their favorite songs in the game. This feature is also used to create the Daily Challenges, a mode that gives every player a generated beat map every 24 hours that they can only play once for their shot at the leaderboards. The remixed maps feel like a blessing and a curse at times, though, with some seeds bordering on overwhelming and questionable.
The extra Challenges and the feature to make custom music levels in Rift of the NecroDancer will keep fans’ plates full for the very next while for certain. Players who fall in love with the game’s music or gameplay will no doubt have something to push them to the next level always waiting around the corner, and even then, Brace Yourself Games has already stated more songs are coming after launch. Rift of the NecroDancer is in a great position to shake things up, surprise, and excite.
While Rift of the NecroDancer misses a few beats, such as hiding some features behind menus, it still innovates and impresses in many ways. On its own, it’s an enjoyable experience with a gameplay loop that’s addicting even when it frustrates. Rift of the NecroDancer still knows how to stand out as a rhythm game for all the right reasons and is an easy recommendation for anyone wanting to take on its challenges.
9/10
Rift of the NecroDancer
Reviewed on PC
- Released
-
February 5, 2025
- Developer(s)
-
Brace Yourself Games, Tic Toc Games
- Well-crafted level design that teaches players
- Tons of modes
- Story that features beloved characters from Crypt
- Difficulty curve can overwhelm
- Tips are buried in menus
- Anticlimactic ending
Rift of the NecroDancer launches February 5 for PC with a Nintendo Switch release to come later. Game Rant was provided a PC code for this review.