The team at Brace Yourself Games is responsible for two of my favorite indie rhythm games — Crypt of the NecroDancer and Cadence of Hyrule. In a previous post I mentioned my unhealthy obsession with Crypt of the NecroDancer, and how that game infiltrated my dreams countless times. That’s what happens when you play a game every night right before bedtime — the game bleeds into your dream world.

Brace Yourself Games is an award-winning independent game developer and publisher
based in Vancouver, Canada. We push ourselves to break conventional design both in
our games and in the workplace, blending unexpected genres and mechanics to
deliver gameplay experiences that are both fresh and unforgettable. From the
rhythmic roguelike hit, Crypt of the NecroDancer and our collaboration with
Nintendo on Cadence of Hyrule, to the time defying, cinematic mech-tactics
game, Phantom Brigade, we deliver games that challenge the boundaries of play.

-from Brace Yourself Games website

The sounds of Crypt of the NecroDancer are still embedded in my brain today. There have been plenty of times when I’ve heard them within other games, movies, shows, or music. I could be wrong, but at the very end of Lady Gaga’s song “Abracadabra” she does some opera singing which sounds very much like an impression of the shopkeeper in Crypt of the NecroDancer — if you hear it too please leave a comment.

I’ve played plenty of straightforward rhythm games (and rhythm minigames) that rely on the player pressing the correct button at the right time. What Crypt and Cadence brought to this genre was a unique fighting mechanic that relied heavily on the music. Each enemy creature had their own special move set that you learned by playing the game.

Danny Baranowsky is listed on the Brace Yourself Games website as a composer/designer for the studio. I’ve known his name (and music) from many indie games. Two other favorites of mine with music by Danny are Super Meat Boy and The Binding of Isaac. In these two games the soundtrack compliments the gameplay, but in Crypt and Cadence the music is an essential part to the game.

It also must have been extra special for Danny and the team to get to work in the world of The Legend of Zelda. This also meant working with one of the greatest music catalogs in video game history — the music of The Legend of Zelda.

The Rift

So, why am I talking about a game that came out over ten years ago (Crypt of the NecroDancer) and another that came out over five years ago (Cadence of Hyrule)? Earlier this year Brace Yourself Games released another game in the NecroDancer series, and I finally started playing this month — Rift of the NecroDancer.

The NecroDancer’s back in an all-new rhythm game! Dragged into a strange new world,
Cadence must engage in musical combat with monsters surging through the Rift!
Face pulse-pounding Rhythm Rifts where every beat is a battle, all set to an
original, electric soundtrack by Danny Baranowsky & friends.

-Game Description from Brace Yourself Games

In the past couple of weeks, I’ve become obsessed with Rift of the NecroDancer on the Nintendo Switch 2. I love that the team at Brace Yourself Games has kept the story of the NecroDancer going in a new kind of rhythm game.

Rift of the NecroDancer is closer to a classic rhythm game — something like Guitar Hero or Rock Band. The big difference is that each “note” is represented by a different creature with their own set of reactions. Some die in one hit, others take multiple shots. Some change lanes before or after they are hit, others may transform into some other creature.

I began my journey by completing the tutorials, then choosing random songs in Play mode. It wasn’t until I jumped into the Story Mode that I noticed how much of the previous games had been incorporated into Rift of the NecroDancer.

Cadence has been teleported into this new world through a rift, but so have some of her friends and evil creatures from Crypt of the NecroDancer, including the NecroDancer himself. She even has to work together with some of her previous foes to find a way out.

The Story mode is full of songs and story beats, and features a collection of minigames sprinkled throughout that change up gameplay. The combat in boss fights is unlike that of songs. Boss fights are more cinematic with little combat beats throughout to keep you on your toes.

In some ways, many of the songs are their own boss fights. I have rarely aced a song in one try. Each song is a learning experience, almost like learning a new song on an instrument section-by-section. You start to familiarize yourself with the creature movesets within the songs, then you find the repetition during different moments.

After I made it past the first boss fight I thought, “Ok, how will they change up the gameplay now?” The song tempo sped up and new enemies were introduced. I’ve been playing the Story Mode on medium difficulty, but I’m worried that at some point I may have to move down to easy if it gets too tough.

What’s Next for the NecroDancer?

It’s great to see the NecroDancer series transform from game-to-game. It’s interesting that Crypt of the NecroDancer started the series with a new type of rhythm game — a rhythm fighting roguelike. Next, they got to work with a big licensed game (Cadence of Hyrule) in the same style, but with some changes.

What’s unexpected is how the latest game, Rift of the NecroDancer, is almost like going backwards in some ways. They’ve taken it back to the original rhythm game. What makes it unique is how they have brought along many of the gameplay elements and stylings that make it a NecroDancer game, and not just another rhythm game.

Usually, we see new studios start off with the classic version of a game genre before branching out into creating their own take on it. Brace Yourself Games has kind of worked backwards, creating their own thing then bringing those elements into the classic world of rhythm games.

I hope Brace Yourself Games continues to make games within the world of the NecroDancer. They already have some memorable characters and the connection between Crypt and Rift allows them to take these characters pretty much anywhere. I’m also a fan of the silly play on a Necromancer to change one letter and make it a NecroDancer. This whole thing could have very well started in a meeting where someone just blurted out the word “NecroDancer.”

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*myVGBC.com was provided with a review code for Rift of the NecroDancer a couple of months ago.
Apologies to Brace Yourself Games for the long delay.