Rift of the NecroDancer

Rhythm games and accessibility don’t usually mix very well. This mainly comes down to the genre requiring a large amount of commitment and dexterity that just isn’t an enjoyable grind for the average player. This was my biggest fear going into Brace Yourself Games newest title, Rift of the NecroDancer. A couple of years back I had given the studio’s first game, Crypt of the NecroDancer, a solid effort, but I wasn’t able to reach the heart of the dungeon due to its difficulty. Even with this being the case, I came away quite positive, really loving the soundtrack and uniqueness of its systems. Thankfully, the newest game in the NecroDancer series polishes some of these harsh edges and manages to create something truly special worth celebrating.

Rift of the NecroDancer bucks dungeon crawling for a more traditional style akin to Guitar Hero. If you’re familiar at all with that series, you’ll recognise the multi-lane gameplay here, but instead of licensed music and boring coloured shapes coming towards you, you’re protecting this world from monsters that pour out of rifts in the sky. Each one of these invaders has a unique characteristic that adds spice to a song. A few examples of this are the shielded enemies that require two inputs in quick succession and the harpies that move two spaces at a time instead of one. The way these abilities interact with each other is well implemented, always synergising perfectly with the music you are hearing. Importantly, it is also just really fun to play, and there were many times I found myself smiling ear to ear while bopping my way through a song! These weren’t just honeymoon feelings either; even after playing close to 10 hours, I still feel excited every time I fire up one of the thirty-two Rhythm Rifts present in the launch build. What’s delightful is this number of tracks will only increase, as the game comes with a custom map creator that seems pretty intensive. I’m really hoping this game develops a passionate community similar to Geometry Dash so we’ll get to see its super strong foundation pushed to the limits.

Danny Baranowsky, the long-time composer for Brace Yourself Games, has had a significant impact on my music taste. The soundtracks of Crypt of the Necrodancer and Cadence of Hyrule were staples of my teenage years, with many memories of mowing lawns and grinding math homework tied up into those bumping beats. Rift of the Necrodancer does justice to this sonic legacy, containing some of the most fun and inventive video game music I’ve heard in a while. The soundtrack is split between six main artists and occasional guest features who all absolutely cook here. There isn’t a single track I don’t like, which is especially impressive considering the range of styles and moods presented. This is the backbone of the game, consistently strengthening every other element, including a new focus not present in the series before…

When you first boot up the game, you are presented with an option to jump right into the tracks individually or play through them in story mode chronologically. This means the story is practically optional content if you just want to play the songs without anything else bothering you. Though this option is nice, you surprisingly don’t want to miss the game’s narrative. Each of the five chapters you’ll be working your way through is separated into four parts: story, rhythm rifts, minigames, and boss battles. With dialogue never being a focus in this series before, I really enjoyed getting to see a bit more personality from the returning and new characters. The way these conversations are presented is in a visual novel style, with 2D characters on stationary backgrounds.

This is spruced up by some ambient sound design and chill music that creates a good atmosphere for the wonderfully goofy dialogue. Nothing here is trying to break your heart or shake your world; it’s all just good fun that never takes itself too seriously. Something that adds to this is the partial voice acting for each text bubble that helps the characters express themselves in colourful ways. It all has a bit of a Saturday morning cartoon feel that really resonated with me. The minigames also bring with them a lot of personality, being clearly inspired by the series Rhythm Heaven. They don’t overstay their welcome and provide a much-needed comedic breather that helps endear you to the characters. 

Finally, let’s talk about the boss battles. Unfortunately, I feel as though this is the most underbaked element of the game, with these clashes always feeling less intense than the regular rhythm gameplay. Each of these fights is presented similarly to Nintendo’s series Punch Out!!, with fights being dictated by how well you can dodge and counterattack. On paper, this sounds amazing, but sadly, these fights lack the depth and engagement of the series that inspired it. This mainly comes down to the opponent not scripting their attacks clearly, leading to the inputs feeling disconnected from the fight itself. You aren’t dodging punches or energy blasts; you just press the correct button when the visual indicator pops onto the screen. This is mostly just a nitpick, as these battles aren’t terrible by any means, but the potential for them to be amazing makes it hard not to be a little disappointed. 

A personal experience I’d like to briefly mention is how this game connected my siblings and me. Both my younger sister and brother don’t play rhythm games, with their gaming diet consisting mainly of Mario and Fortnite, respectively, but something about Rift of the NecroDancer grabbed their attention. My brother especially got hooked, playing one level over and over again until he achieved a full combo on it, even taking the liberty to play when I wasn’t home. This all speaks to the game being a good starting point for people new to the genre. Though the later levels get quite hard, there is an easy mode that exists as a good alternative for people still wanting to get the full experience without the difficulty. 

Verdict

5/5

Rift of the NecroDancer is fantastic, and I would recommend it to everyone who loves the medium. It has buckets of charm, crackin’ music, and gameplay that’ll satisfy both casual and genre veterans alike. I’m sure I’ll be playing much more of this in the weeks to come, and I look forward to the soundtrack hopefully being released on streaming services very soon!

Release Date
05th February 2025
Platforms
PC, Nintendo Switch
Developer
Brace Yourself Games, Tic Toc Games
Publisher
Klei Publishing
Accessibility
Colour blindness adjustments, background animation, static monsters, early/late hits, accuracy bar, remove guitar strings, static portraits, reduce rift VFX, reduce combo and score VFX, and remove chequerboard animation.

Many thanks to the publisher for the review copy.