Developer: Brace Yourself Games
Publisher: Brace Yourself Games, Klei Entertainment
Rrp: £10.99 (Steam), £10.99 (Gog.com), £10.99 (Humblebundle)
Released: 23rd April 2015
Available on Steam, Gog.com and Humblebundle
Played using: Keyboard only
In the depths of this dungeon the beat rules everything, you cannot help but move to its rhythm. You have to be careful not to become tied to this place just like all the monsters that dwell here. But if you succeed perhaps you can find some answers, or at very least some nice treasure.
Crypt of the Necrodancer is a roguelite dungeon crawling rhythm game. You play as Cadence (at least in the beginning) who came to this crypt in search for her father, who had gone missing several years previous. As you play through and complete certain objectives more character to play as will become unlocked and as you would expect from a roguelite each level is procedurally generated.
The main conceit of this game is that you and all the monsters who dwell within the crypt can only move and attack in time to the beat of the music. Each monster has their own unique quirk which will let you know if it’s going to attack or move, allowing you to find the perfect time to strike.
Combat is a simple affair just move next to the creature you wish to attack and press the appropriate move button. While this system is very simple it can be quite hard to master, especially when multiple enemies appear that all have differing abilities and quirks.
Speaking of enemies there’s a decent amount of variety for them, more than enough to keep you coming occupied and thinking for a while. As I mentioned before the trick is working out when to strike and timing it just right.
At the end of each level there’s a mini-boss, as can be expected, these mini-bosses are essentially souped up versions of normal enemies. At the end of each zone there is a boss (with a name, intro screen, music, and even special powers on occasion), these zones are comprised of three levels and the boss fight. Once you’ve completed a zone you can return when ever you wish.
As you kill monsters and keep to the beat the amount of coins you earn multiplies. You can lose this multiplayer by taking damage, trying to dig through a wall you can’t, standing still or getting the timing of the song wrong.
There are a great many weapons to choose from from that will make dispatching the denizens of the crypt easier. From close quarter weapons like daggers, rapiers and whips to long range such as pistols and bows. Each weapon works differently forcing the player to adopt a different play style. For example a rapier hits anything within two spaces in front of you, whereas the broadsword hits everything that’s directly in front of you and the two squares adjacent. Throw in that some weapons have special effects and you get quite a large Arsenal to choose from.
Now where might you acquire such items (among other’s), you may ask. Well you could open treasure chests that you find and hope you get something good but there is a more sure fire way of finding what you want. Within each level there’s a shopkeeper, this is where you’ll spend the coin you’ve been earning when you defeat a monster. The shopkeeper can be a absolute godsend at times although sometimes his wares aren’t good enough or are too expensive.
Did I mention that you can dig through most of the dirt walls in a level? Well, you can. Some walls that have stones in or are made of bricks can’t be dug through, not with the base equipment at least. This neat little trick means you can forge your own path through the dungeon to some degree, but it also means you can find some hidden secrets. But be wary, some of the monsters can dig through the walls too.
Death isn’t the end, every time you die (or complete a zone) you’re brought to a ‘lobby’ where you can take part in daily challenges, buy new equipment to appear in chests within the levels, upgrade your characters health and train to defeat the bosses using diamonds that you’ve found. So essentially stack the deck to be more favourable to you.
The entire game can be played on the keyboard, more specifically on just the arrow keys. Making use of an item requires the simultaneous pressing of two arrow buttons. Apparently you can also use a control pad but I wasn’t able to get mine to work with the game. You can also play with a USB dance mat then you can play with that too (and I’m really tempted to get one).
Local co-op is available and can be really confusing, especially when you’re both using the keyboard, as they use [W][A][S][D] while you’re using the arrow keys.
If you find you’re getting bored of the music that comes with the game (created by Danny Baranowsky) you can always import your own MP3’s. Personally though I found anything other than the default music hard to play with.
And so it comes to my final thoughts… I like this game, pretty sure thats was obvious from this review. I think it’s a lot of fun and has a decent amount of challenge to it. Is it worth £10.99? Yes, definitely. You get so much bang for your buck out of it, it would be hard to argue otherwise.
If this appeals to you perhaps try;
Bit.Trip Runner
140
The Binding of Isaac
