While clearing another musical dungeon, Cadence, the main character of the NecroDancer series, is sucked into a suddenly opened rift – it leads to an unusually strange world, which we would call the present. Now the heroine has to figure out how to return home, and at the same time find out who is behind the emergence of mysterious rifts (do not look at the name of the game if you want to avoid spoilers). Fortunately, not alone – in addition to Cadence, her friends, acquaintances and even a couple of villains, including Necrodancer himself, were torn from their native reality. However, he does not like the new world either, because in order to survive here, the lord of rhythm has to fry burgers in a diner.
The catchy opening theme immediately sets the tone for the adventure to come.
⇡#Beat the Melody
Rift of the NecroDancer, although connected to Crypt of the NecroDancer in characters and plot, offers a completely different gaming experience, referring to the legendary Guitar Hero series. Instead of clearing dungeons, we have to close rifts, and the Necrodancer’s crypts have been replaced by a guitar fretboard, along which various monsters rush towards us. They rush, of course, to the beat of the music, and in order to succeed in closing the rift, we need to hold the defense for the duration of one composition, hitting the unfriendly notes exclusively in time (usually on a strong beat).
There are three vertical lines to defend, for which we have four basic buttons at our disposal. “Left”, “up” and “right” are responsible for defending the corresponding columns, “down” presses all three at once. The commands for the “arrows” are duplicated on ABXY (or on the cross, circle, square and triangle, if you play on a PS gamepad), so that you can redistribute the score to both hands. To fully visualize this process, pay attention to the video below this paragraph.
All the music was written specifically for the game, and it rocks!
You can make a mistake by missing an enemy or pressing a command too early only ten times – that’s how many “hearts” are given for one track. However, life energy can be replenished with food that comes up during the compositions, but for this you also need to hit the music correctly. At first it may seem that ten health points, especially taking into account the possibility of replenishment, are too many and will be more than enough for one level, but Rift of the NecroDancer has prepared enough obstacles and nuances to make the passage of each melody tense and dynamic.
While the first two or three tracks are unlikely to challenge rhythm game fans, even experienced players will face much more serious and tricky tests. The tracks become faster and more intense, and the crowds of enemies on the “fretboard” are getting denser. And the diversity of their types and features introduces a ton of additional variables that are not enough to just know, you also need to quickly react to their appearance in a dense stream of aggressively tuned notes.
Once you’ve collected enough energy, you can go into “Break Away” – your score multiplier is doubled, and any monsters you miss won’t deal any damage. And yes, it’s the equivalent of Star Power from Guitar Hero
The standard skeleton flies off the bar immediately after one hit, and its version with a shield will require two quick hits per beat (on the strong and weak beats); the bat, having received damage, will not die, but will change the column to try to break through again; zombies go diagonally and in a crowd with other monsters can easily confuse, and, for example, harpies move immediately through one cell and can quickly rush past the rhythmic defense. Moreover, each type of opponent is represented by several color variations, each with its own properties. A blue bat needs two hits, yellow and gold – already three. Green harpies pause in the beat before a dash, and the red ones rush forward without brakes. And, say, the yellow version of the skeleton, literally losing its head from a hit on itself, will go in the opposite direction until the flow turns the “crazy one” back to us.
In addition to these difficulties, special zones sometimes appear on the fretboard, introducing additional chaos into the score. Fire cells give monsters a crazy acceleration, dots with arrows change the direction of the enemies’ movement, mini-rifts transfer enemies to different parts of the fretboard, and cells with a question mark hide the enemy’s face, forcing you to act almost at random. To keep all this in your head without losing the rhythm, you need a fair amount of concentration – sometimes it’s worth making a single mistake, as the entire defense falls apart with a bang. Sometimes it may even seem that Rift of the NecroDancer is absolutely impassable at some points, but there is one trick that will greatly simplify the game – you need to listen to the music.
The plot is delivered through charming interludes that reveal the characters and story.
⇡#Sounds of Arcade Joy
The music is not only good in itself, but also perfectly woven into the emotional structure of the game in the story mode, reflecting the characteristics and essence of the characters, the mood and development of the scenes. However, much more important is how well each track is woven into the gameplay itself – the music tightly envelops you in a feeling of flow, and now your fingers themselves knock out unimaginable combinations appearing on the fretboard.
Rhythmic mini-games invite us to participate in activities with other characters: collecting burgers, holding photo sessions and mastering breathing techniques
This unity of gameplay and sound components works so well that you want to become better in every aspect of the game. For example, to knock out the coveted S+ rating or make a continuous combo in your favorite compositions, you have to memorize the scores, experiment with the most convenient and effective grips of the gamepad for a specific track and practice non-stop. And what joy rolls over you when a previously invincible composition is finally conquered under the pressure of perfect performance!
And when all the tracks are beaten on standard (medium) difficulty, you can go further and master difficult or impossible versions of your favorite tunes (faster speed, more monsters) or check out the remix mode, where familiar tracks will have a completely different flow of villainous notes with more tricky and complex combinations than in the standard version. You can also pay attention to the test mode, which promises a tough challenge: for example, you need to hit the beat perfectly with no room for error or fight waves of question marks.
Boss fights may seem like a tough challenge at first, but once you get into the rhythm, the bad guys will be in trouble!
But Rift of the NecroDancer doesn’t stop there! For example, just a week after the release, three excellent fast-paced tracks were added, created in collaboration with Super Meat Boy. But the main source of additional melodies to test your sense of rhythm, of course, will be the community. After all, Rift of the NecroDancer comes with a convenient and clear level editor, in which any melody can be turned into a rift for the game. And enthusiasts have not been sitting idle – now you can find music for every taste: introductory themes to favorite animated series like “Arkane” or Neon Genesis Evangelion, soundtracks to cult games like Portal, Hades or Crypt of the NecroDancer, and you can also find electronic classics like Invaders Must Die by Prodigy; or the main “banger” of last summer – RATATATA by BABYMETAL and Electric Callboy, the perfect performance of which will easily tie your fingers in a knot. In a word, Rift of the NecroDancer creates all the conditions for immersion for dozens of wonderful hours.
***
Rift of the NecroDancer can be safely called one of the best existing rhythm arcades. This is the quintessence of gaming pleasure, which does not let you get bored for a second, tirelessly offering bright and cheerful entertainment. It is interesting to go through a difficult track for the first time on maximum difficulty or return to your favorite composition for the twentieth time and improve your record, it is interesting to find pearls of the community’s creativity, it is interesting to try to translate your favorite melodies to the rails of Rift of the NecroDancer. If you love rhythm arcades, miss the Guitar Hero series or just appreciate bright gaming emotions from fast and fun gameplay mechanics, then this dopamine rift is definitely for you.
Advantages:
- Immensely fun rhythm gameplay, complemented by funny mini-games and tense boss fights;
- Excellent soundtrack;
- A sea of additional tests;
- Detailed settings for difficulty and accessibility for players of all skill levels and capabilities;
- The game comes with convenient and clear tools for creating your own levels to your favorite tunes.
Disadvantages:
- If you don’t like rhythm arcades in principle, then Rift of the NecroDancer is unlikely to captivate you.
Graphic arts
Wonderfully stylized graphics, colorful effects, cutely drawn characters – all this completely immerses you in a bright arcade journey through musical rifts.
Sound
Excellent sound design and catchy compositions intertwine into an absolute audio extravaganza during each level. In fact, many of the tracks are so good that they live outside the context of the game – for example, Visualize Yourself, Matriarch and Spookhouse Pop flew into my playlist.
Single player game
A stunningly addictive rhythm arcade game with an energetic and soulful soundtrack.
Estimated time of completion
The Rift of the NecroDancer story mode won’t take you more than five or six hours. But to perfect your technique and get S+ on your favorite (or all) tracks, you’ll need several dozen hours. And twice as much to master the “impossible” difficulty, overcome all the challenges, and check out the remix mode. And if you decide to check out the community levels (or even create your own), you risk getting lost in this rift forever…
Collective game
Unfortunately, you can’t play your favorite songs four-handed. But you can compete with friends and players from all over the world for a place on the leaderboard.
General impression
Colourful, spectacular, cute, incredibly addictive and enveloping with the shimmer of a luxurious soundtrack – Rift of the NecroDancer gives the purest gaming joy that you want to share with everyone.
Rating: 10/10
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