Crypt of the Necrodancer Featuring the Legend of Zelda is a strange mix
As you would possibly guess from its call, Cadence of Hyrule – Crypt of the Necrodancer Featuring the Legend of Zelda is a unusual mix. It takes factors from the Zelda series (most appreciably its respected suite of music) and combines them with the dungeon-crawling roguelike motion of Crypt of the Necrodancer. The two collection don’t always mesh harmoniously, but as a whole, they get alongside well enough to make for a gratifying musical journey.
Cadence of Hyrule is ostensibly a Zelda game, but the twists from Necrodancer placed it squarely in derivative territory. The maximum drastic alternate is the need to transport alongside a grid to the rhythm of remixes from the Zelda collection; failing to accomplish that prevents you from moving for a beat, leaving you susceptible. It also has extra fight encounters than your average Zelda sport, leaning into Necrodancer’s dungeon-crawling ethos.
Combat is reasonably simple. It takes time to internalize the sort of enemy patterns and how specific weapon kinds work high-quality towards armored or ranged opponents, but as soon as you’ve got the hang of it, listening to your assaults line up with the beat of the track as you mow down enemies is a amusing little thrill. You also can play as Link, Zelda, and Cadence (the heroine of Crypt of the Necrodancer), and every of those characters have distinct skills that provide fight a bit extra nuance.
The rhythm-primarily based gameplay puts a heavy emphasis at the song itself, and the brand new renditions of Zelda songs are a spotlight. Each region capabilities remixes – one for combat encounters, and one for whilst all the enemies are long gone (plus a brief eight-bit loop when you pause). Most of those songs are notable on their personal, but the manner the tune swaps among tracks (particularly in dungeons and boss fights) makes exploring and taking up dungeons the excellent manner to experience the song.
Still, the Zelda-fueled side of progression, like locating coronary heart portions, new gear to play around with (just like the Deku Leaf and Power Glove), and getting permanent weapon improvements is engaging. I scoured the map for every collectible, even once I became breezing thru the encounters. The randomized nature of each run means a few items aren’t placed to great use while others (like the hover boots) trivialize sure puzzles, but I like how maximum of the most important rewards require a few vital questioning to nab.
The mashup of rhythm and journey works in Cadence of Hyrule, even supposing no longer all the elements from Zelda and Necrodancer intermingle nicely. The spirit of the Zelda series, inclusive of its exceptional feel of exploration, iconic song, and fun combat are alive and nicely here, greater through a killer set of songs that each rejoice and increase one in all gaming’s maximum enduring soundtracks.
