Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer (for Nintendo Switch) Review

Brace Yourself Games' Crypt of the NecroDancer was a surprise indie hit in 2015, catching gamers' eyes and ears with its combination of roguelike randomized dungeon exploration with rhythm game beat-keeping. It hit the Nintendo Switch last year, and now it's back in a new and much more Nintendo-specific form. Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer is a pseudo-sequel spin-off of the original game, injecting its rhythm game mechanics into The Legend of Zelda. Cadence isn't a formal part of the Zelda series, but it's still a full-fledged Link adventure, made with Nintendo's blessing. This $24.99 Switch game combines Zelda and Crypt of the NecroDancer seamlessly, creating a surprisingly accessible and thoroughly enjoyable experience played to the beat of Zelda's memorable music.

Welcome Back to Hyrule

Cadence of Hyrule appropriately starts by introducing Cadence, the protagonist of Crypt of the NecroDancer, to the land of Hyrule. She's transported to The Legend of Zelda's world via a portal and encounters a mysterious musician named Octavo, who has cursed the land. Cadence must unite with Link and Zelda to find Octavo's four magical instruments and save Hyrule.

Visually, Cadence of Hyrule looks like a an overhead, 2D Zelda game in the vein of Link to the Past or The Minish Cap. Sprites are bright, colorful, and crisp, and filled with personality. Everything looks a bit more bouncy and cartoony than most Zelda games, but elements like Moblins, bombs, and smashable pots are all easily recognizable, and the bandana-wearing Cadence fits in perfectly with Link and Zelda thanks to the look.

Move to the Beat

To understand how Cadence of Hyrule works, you need to understand its parent game, Crypt of the NecroDancer. It's a roguelike adventure game where you move around a randomly generated dungeon, attempting to delve deeper, collect treasure, and beat more enemies each time. It's also a rhythm game, making you move on every beat of the song playing for each floor. Enemies also move on every beat, and recognizing their patterns while keeping time with the music is vital.

Exploring Hyrule uses the same gimmick, with Cadence, Link, or Zelda taking a step or using an item to the rhythm of various remixes of Koji Kondo's classic series scores. The remixes are fantastic, refreshing the memorable songs from The Legend of Zelda, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, and other Zelda games with energetic backbeats that keep the action brisk.

On each note, your character can move one tile or use an item. The hero's attacks are paired with directions, so if an enemy is in the next tile, your character automatically take a swing and push the enemy back. Different weapons let you attack in different patterns around you, with spears and longer swords reaching two or three tiles and flails attacking in an L-shape. Every enemy has set behaviors and attacks in specific ways, producing almost chess-like strategy as you try to avoid damage while striking at monsters.

Tools and Equipment

Weapons are separate from items, which in Zelda style you can assign to individual buttons. Classics like the boomerang, hookshot, and bombs are here, along with other familiar tools from various Zelda games.

A Crypt of the NecroDancer equipment system is present in addition to these tools, adding several slots for items that behave differently from your Zelda-style equipment. The shovel lets you dig through soft walls, the torch lets you see in dungeons, and boots and armor offer protection. These items all have varying levels of durability that deplete as you explore, eventually breaking and forcing you to find new ones.

Different items in these slots have different behaviors; a special shovel might automatically clear out all the dirt around you, a special torch might show you what items are in nearby treasure chests, and special boots might let you hover for a beat and cross over gaps. Juggling these bonuses is every bit as important in Cadence of Hyrule as using your tools and weapons properly.

Roguelite

While Crypt of the NecroDancer played like a straight roguelike, with death stripping you of everything you found except for a type of currency you could use between runs to get various bonuses, Cadence of Hyrule is much more forgiving. The Zelda-style items you find, along with heart containers, are yours to keep when you die, just like in a Zelda game. You lose most special equipment like boots and shovels when you die, but you can collect diamonds to grab some additional equipment in between lives to give yourself an edge, as well. If that isn't enough, the overworld is scattered with Sheikah Stones you can activate by bumping into them. They serve as checkpoints, letting you skip directly to that location when you start a new life.

Death isn't the only roguelike aspect that Cadence of Hyrule tweaks from Crypt of the NecroDancer. Randomization is also blunted. The Hyrule overworld map is roughly randomized when you start a new campaign, shuffling different zones around. After this, the overworld map and the majority of the game's main dungeons are set, and don't change after you die. The exception is certain combat-oriented floors that do randomize on every life, like in Crypt of the NecroDancer. It adds a layer of semi-consistency that makes Cadence of Hyrule a bit more forgiving than its predecessor.

The easier aspects of Cadence of Hyrule don't take away from the game at all, except perhaps in length. Instead of a more classic roguelike, Cadence of Hyrule strives to be a Zelda game, and it succeeds at that. Dying and starting at checkpoints, building up a collection of useful tools to solve puzzles, and making your way through an overworld filled with dungeons are all fundamental parts of the Zelda experience that aren't present in Crypt of the NecroDancer. It's lighthearted and accessible, focusing more on a larger campaign than individual "runs." The run-and-restart system of most roguelikes can make some games last longer thanks to the compelling nature of the cycle to fans of the genre, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're getting any more content. It's a matter of taste, and just how roguelike you want your game to be.

Dancing your way through multiple dungeons, finding Octavo's four instruments, and beating the villain will take around six hours. And, thanks to the roguelike elements in the game, you can start a new campaign and have a completely remixed experience whenever you'd like. You can also play with different modes, like enabling true roguelike permadeath, doubling the speed of the beat, or taking away the beat entirely and simply moving at your own pace, with enemies moving when you move. If you really like a certain layout or want to experiment with the randomization of the game, you can even enter different seeds to determine how the map forms. You can also play with a friend on the same Switch for local co-op. It's a satisfying experience with a good amount of variety to invite you to come back to the game after you beat it. It isn't quite as replayable as a "true" roguelike, though; the process of starting from the beginning every time you die and beating your head against the wall to get a little further on each new attempt can really stretch out how much time you can spend with this type of game.

Soul Music

Cadence of Hyrule takes the unique concept of Crypt of the NecroDancer and injects enough Zelda aesthetics and mechanics to feel like much more than a reskinned port of the game. It's an engaging and accessible pseudo-sequel that mashes two great games together without missing a beat. Cadance might be relatively short, but it's also very polished, fun, and addictive, and is easily worth its $25 price tag if you're looking for a cute musical adventure.

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