Crypt of the Necrodancer is a cross of both rhythm game and turned based RPG in where you have to move along to the beat of the song and keep a steady rhythm to get a higher combo count. Every note counts as a turn and missing a note resets your combo as well as costs you a turn. This is a game in where you must have must both quick reflexes and foresight since you don’t have much time to think. Your enemies also move along to the beat of the song so you can estimate how long it will take them to reach you and plan accordingly. Movement is grid based so you move square by square and the only buttons you will need during the game are the arrow keys. You attack by moving next to an enemy and hitting the arrow direction they are in and stranger still is that you use your bombs by holding the down and left arrow. There are also spells and other items that are activated by holding the up and right keys. As you can no doubt tell this is a rather strange control scheme and it does take some time to get used to. It is a strange gameplay concept to explain properly and there is nothing else like it on the market so I would suggest looking up some gameplay videos to see if this is your cup of tea.
The levels are split up into 4 zones accessible via the hub-world where you can also purchase new items and weaponry that randomly spawns in the level once purchased. To purchase these items you will need diamonds which are semi rare collectibles scattered around the levels. Once you either die or pass that zone you will be tossed to the hub-world and will be able to spend your diamonds. Be wary though as entering any level will reset your diamonds back to zero so always make sure to spend them before heading back into the action. Another important collectible found in levels is gold which can be used to purchase unlocked weapons and items from shops. If you don’t have any gold when you find a shop you can also blow up the golden walls of the shop to collect the debris and buy your items that way, the shopkeeper won’t mind his walls being blown up funnily enough. One of the really neat things about this game is that the levels are destructible and you start off with a shovel that allows you to create your own paths through them and search for hidden goodies. There is a time limit for each level however, so if the song finishes you are immediately dropped down to the next level via a trapdoor. Each zone has three levels that lead to a boss fight and you will want to be well equipped when you face one of them.
Bosses are randomly generated so you will not face the same boss each attempt but all of them will take quite a bit of skill to defeat. One of the easier ways to handle bosses is to pick up a spear if you are lucky enough to find one as it can attack from two blocks away meaning you can attack it from a safe place. That is easier said than done however since missing a beat will cost you a turn which can have dire consequences. You need to have a good rhythm at all times and that is very hard to do when you have to press two keys at the same time to use an item or spell. Keeping an unbroken rhythm also makes any gold you collect be worth much more, so the better you are at doing that the higher your chances of survival. If you find a key and save someone from a cage you will unlock a new character which play differently from our original heroine. One of them fights by only using bombs, another character can’t attack but all exits are unlocked and one of the characters even gets rid of the rhythm part of the game entirely, allowing you to move whenever you want and take your time. There are quite major changes to the gameplay from character to character which makes this game’s replayablity really high.
Crypt of the Necrodancer is brutal and you will be dying a lot until you unlock some better gear with diamonds. It has randomly generated levels so learned the pattern of them is not an option and it is more than happy to toss out a bunch of enemies. Learning how to fight each enemy is integral to be able to hold your own as some will roll toward you on sight leaving you with little time to move but hitting it on time will send it spiraling back to whence it came. Weapons also have their own quirks to them such as crossbows having to be reloaded but give you great range and rapiers will cause your character to rush in to attack an enemy two blocks away. Finding armor will lower the amount of damage you take and a torch will increase your view distance. This game is much more complex than it may appear and knowledge will be your greatest strength in these funky crypts. On the hubworld, the Beastmaster’s area allows you to pick any enemy you like and practice against them to your hearts content. It is not unlocked from the beginning as he is locked in a cage and must be freed in order to show up in the hubworld. There is a story but it is very forgettable and unimportant.
As is expected of a rhythm game the music is very catchy and fit the tongue in cheek feel of the game very well. Each stage has its own unique song and if you ever get tired of them there are a few other remixed soundtracks you can choose from, such as a Metal version. You can even use your own music but the notes don’t match up at all to the songs making it very hard to keep a steady rhythm. It is an extra option so I can’t really knock it but I can’t imagine too many people wanting to use it. Crypt of the Necrodancer supports Steam Workshop and there are quite a bit of mods to keep you entertained such as one that changes your character into Hatsune Miku and even one that overhauls the whole game to have a Mario Bros aesthetic. There is plenty of content in the base game and the levels being randomly generated insures that you will have a different experience each playthrough. What it ultimately comes down to is if you like the strange gameplay on offer here and would like to once again suggest looking up a gameplay video. I’d imagine it would be much more fun to use a dancepad and a large TV to play this but using the keyboard works well enough too. Crypt of the Necrodancer is a unique experience you can’t get anywhere else and tons of fun to boot.