I love rhythm games. I think my passion started on the DS -era game Elite Beat Agents, and like many other games in the genre, the objective was to touch the prompts on the touch screen to keep the game going. However, as much as I love rhythm games, just pressing the buttons to get a high score and keep the music and combo gets boring quick. When Crypt of The Necrodancer was announced, I thought that the game looked really cool, since it was a blend of dungeon crawler and rhythm but upon playing it was more than I expected.
For starters, COTN is a dungeon crawler/roguelite at heart, but that heart loves to dance. Obviously, dancing is an integral part of the game play. You start at the ground level and keep going down in each zone sub levels until you get to a boss and defeat it. However, your movement is guided by the rhythm of your heart (literally, there is a heart on the bottom of the screen that helps you keeping the tempo), so each movement is by the beat of the heart and the music.
And it couldn’t be a dungeon crawler without enemies to fight. The enemies follow the same rules of movement as you, but unlike games like Shiren the Wanderer, they are not waiting for you to make your move. They move at the beat of the music some of them move towards you, others move to and from different spaces, so there is a lot of variety and ways to beat them. When you defeat an enemy, they drop coins (which is needed to purchase items on the store located in each level). Besides the drops, the floor changes like a disco floor. This affects game play, since the more enemies you defeat, the better the drops and coins multiplier. However, you lose the multiplier bonus if you get hit by an enemy or if you hit a wall you can’t open with your shovel (it can be upgraded as well as the weapons), but as soon as you defeat another enemy, the multiplier begins anew. Throughout the dungeon, you can find treasure chests that contain random items like weapons, armor, accessories and items to regain health. At the beginning, the selection of aforementioned items is scarce, but another mechanic comes into play in COTN: Rescuing NPC.
Sometimes during your dungeon run, you might find NPC trapped in a cell. To release them, you need a golden key. The conditions to find one are randomized. Sometimes you need to dig to find the key. Other times, you need to defeat all enemies, and others you just need to pay a visit to the store and purchase it, so it is not the same and gives a sense of progress when you release one. It’s really important to release them, since they can help you on your journey. Some have facilities that can help you find better weapons on chests. Others can help you find accessories or powerful magic spells, so it’s good to be on the lookout for them. But unlike the shopkeeper you find in dungeons, they do not take coins (since you lose them all when you die), but they take the other type of currency you can find: Diamonds.
Looking for diamonds is another priority on the game, since you can use them to purchase permanent upgrades to help you on your quest. Some can be found in plain sight. Others you need to dig to find them, but nonetheless, they are here to make your quest a little easier.
Pro tip: If you want to cheat the game a little, I recommend going to the disco floor mode. It is like a training mode, but you can find diamonds easily, and if killed, you are sent back to the lobby with all diamonds received. It is a good way to take the main levels fully powered up.
Another thing that I really like about COTN is the amount of content that is on the game. It feels rewarding that even after many runs (most of them unsuccessful), the game continues to captivate me. It makes me come back for more because besides the four original areas, the game includes a daily challenge mode in which you can put your skills to the test. It also includes all previously released DLC making it a definitive edition as well as a 5th level that is unlocked from the very beginning with new enemies and challenges.
However, that is not all included, COTN even features new characters including Shiren from Shiren The Wanderer, and Monokuma from the Danganronpa series. I find it very cool to include new characters, especially characters that I’m familiar with. It breathes new life to the already robust game, and there is even The Reaper (Switch exclusive). This character is even more interesting because–although it plays like the normal characters–after killing an enemy, it becomes a soul that follows the reaper around and can be used to attack or as a shield. You can imagine that after playing for a while, you will have an army of souls.
Graphically, this game looks so good (I´m a sucker for pixel art; maybe I’m old, who knows). The pixel art is beautiful to look at, and the disco floor effect is so colorful as well as the different enemies and characters found.
The music (the most important thing here) is simply AMAZING. Each tune is so good that sometimes you just stand there doing nothing and wait until the song finishes (if it finishes and you had already beat the mini boss, a trap door appears and you are sent to the next level). The little things like the shopkeeper singing at the beat of the music hits the right notes to bring an amazing experience, and besides all explained above, there’s even a co-op mode with single joycon support,. Honestly, this is the big cherry on top of a well-done cake.
Bottom Line: Crypt of The Necrodancer is a fantastic game that combines rhythm with roguelite dungeon crawler goodness. With tons of replay value, an amazing soundtrack, and cool pixel art and cut-scenes, this is a game that cannot be excluded from your library. I give it a solid recommendation. Its pick and play nature is sure to keep you hooked for a long time.
A Review Code was provided for this review.