Rift of the NecroDancer Review (Switch & PC)

Let’s get it out of the way that Rift of the NecroDancer isn’t your typical rhythm game. But that’s to be expected, given it comes from Brace Yourself Games, the developers behind the predecessor Crypt of the NecroDancer. Crypto ingeniously combined rhythm, dungeon-crawling, and roguelike gameplay, much to the pleasure of The Legend of Zelda fans, the franchise that inspired it all. 

After a long wait, Rift of the NecroDancer is finally here. So, you can find out what Brace Yourself has been cooking all these years. Spoiler alert: it’s hardly what you might expect. Rather than stick to the dungeon-crawling and rhythm mix, the developer has decided to take the Guitar Hero road instead. Yup. We’re back to your usual rhythm setup of hitting notes to the beat of the music. But like we said, Rift is far from your typical rhythm game. 

Come along as we explore the best (and worst) parts of Rift, along with whether it might be the right game for you in our Rift of the NecroDancer review below.  

Hole in the Sky

When a rift tears through the Crypt of the NecroDancer’s world, it sends protagonist Cadence into a different world, one that resembles our own. Having arrived in a strange place, she begins to investigate a way home. But this leads to meeting familiar friends who’ve also fallen through the rifts. She meets new faces, too. Together, they try to find a way back home. 

But perhaps more worrying are the monsters who’ve also teleported from the Crypt into the Rift world. So, now, you have the additional mission to fight them all and send them back from whence they came. The only caveat is that you can only fight them with music. 

Listen, Rift of the NecroDancer’s story isn’t the most far-fetched. It’ll certainly not blow your mind away with unexpected twists and turns. But it’s serviceable enough to give purpose to the gameplay. After all, most rhythm games hardly manage to add a Story mode. 

Also, the characters are pretty charming. Cadence’s designs, alongside her friends, are detailed. The story unfolds via a visual novel, though. So, there is no compelling voice acting to speak of. Still, the events that follow do enough to keep you interested until the next Rhythm Rift battle, boss battle, or mini-game.

Beat of the Music

If you have the faintest knowledge of rhythm games, you should find your way around Rift of the NecroDancer easily, or at least the first Rhythm Rift battle in tutorial mode. Just like Guitar Hero, you have the neck of a guitar as your battleground. There are three lanes, though, as opposed to the fine in Guitar Hero. 

When the music starts, the notes will descend down the neck of the guitar. Your job is to hit the note by pressing the corresponding button on your keyboard or controller. With three lanes in Rift of the NecroDancer, you have three inputs. Feel free to remap these to your liking. 

Ideally, on the keyboard, the “A,” “Space bar,” and “L” keys, so you have a more natural hand spread. The controller is a little tricky, as the logical option seems to map the inputs on the directional keys and face buttons on either side of the controller. With four on each side, though, you might have an issue there. Or you can just ditch the controller for the Guitar Hero controller. But I digress.

As the notes descend down the guitar neck, you want to hit them to the bit of the music. Or at least that’s how most rhythm games are. For Rift of the NecroDancer, though, you might have to adapt to a new system altogether. 

NecroDancer is Back

Instead of music notes, Rift of the NecroDancer replaces them with the monsters terrorizing the Rift world. Moreover, the enemies vary from slimes to skeletons and bats. It gets more complex, however. Most enemies take one hit to beat. However, enemies are subdivided into different types with different movements and requirements to kill.

The slimes are divided into the green, blue, and yellow types, for instance. Green ones take one hit, blue two hits, and yellow three hits to beat. Skeletons, on the other hand, are yellow and black. Yellow ones run back to the top of the guitar once hit, thus requiring a second hit. Black ones run back twice, requiring a third final hit. Meanwhile, there are single and double-shielded skeletons, which will need multiple hits to beat.

These new behaviors unlock progressively the farther you get into Story mode. So, don’t worry about feeling overwhelmed. However, I will say that it’s certainly not a walk in the park to beat a level, especially with the fast-paced nature of the tracks. 

Up the Ante

But Rift of the NecroDancer doesn’t stop there. It introduces more unexpected enemy behaviors. Some enemies, like bats, change lanes as they come down the guitar’s neck. So, it’s more difficult to anticipate where they might land. Enemies like zombies hop from side to side, changing lanes to the beat of the music. Harpies, on the other hand, will dash forward two rows, making them faster, while skulls will explode into more skeletons. 

Needless to say, Rift of the NecroDancer will always keep you on your toes. Even when you might think you’re starting to get a grip on things, it introduces a new challenge. Like the traps that change the way enemies move. There can be rifts that teleport enemies or fire that set them on fire, so they dash forward rapidly. 

Each missed note will cost you one of your ten HP. Despite the tough Rhythm Rift battles in Rift of the NecroDancer, it does throw a lifeline every so often. You can hit fruits that give you a health boost, for instance. Or you can fill out a gauge that activates Vibe Power, which makes you invincible for a while. This can save your skin when you get overwhelmed. 

There are also four difficulty levels for gamers who want to challenge themselves. Mostly, you’ll probably stick to Easy or Medium. But hey, if you feel up to it, you can always try Hard and Impossible. It’ll be quite the challenge, as even the most hardcore gamers have struggled to beat the game past Medium level, especially on the latter levels. But by all means, go for it.

Big Bad

Another of the main gameplays in Rift of the NecroDancer is the boss battles. They are rhythm-based, too, more focused on quick-time events. Circular notes will appear around the boss, closing in on them. You’re going to have to hit them at the right time to either dodge or attack. While boss battles can be a little underwhelming compared to the Rhythm Rifts battles, they do offer a nice change of pace to the overall gameplay. 

And lastly, there are minigames akin to Rhythm Haven. You’ll do yoga, perform breathing exercises, help your friends out, and perform in a kid’s show, among other minigames. Their level of challenge is much simpler. This can be welcome for gamers who’d welcome a breather after the tenacious Rhythm Rifts. But they can also be a downer when you’ve been sucked into the high-speed momentum of the boss battles and rhythm game.

As for complaints, we’d frankly be nitpicking. Rift of the NecroDancer is largely a satisfying game. Even in its roughly five-hour playthrough, you’ll find yourself returning to beat your score. That, and lots of reasons to make you stay, like the level editor and custom song feature. In addition to over 30 electronica, metal, and rock songs headlined by Danny Baranowsky, you can create your own songs, too, for other gamers to download. And there’s a leaderboard to compete with one another. 

What’s not to love? Song variety? Check (while being absolutely headboppers). Varying levels of difficulty? Check. Replayability? Check. Save for the controller issue with mapping buttons, Rift of the NecroDancer has nailed damn near every aspect of rhythm-based games that matters.

Verdict

Rift of the NecroDancer delivers on expectations and then some. It steamrolls into the musical sub-genre with some of the hottest tracks you’ll enjoy diving into. They’re all original. So, be sure to take the time to find your favorite. Either way, though, you’ll find the tracks here constantly energetic and will probably be ringing in your head way after you’ve put the controller down. 

Still, Rift of the NecroDancer’s high difficulty might be discouraging for newcomers. Substituting musical notes for enemies who constantly change their movement and requirement to beat might deter some from playing the game. The different enemy types keep your spine tingling with tension that can, ultimately, be welcome or not. Meanwhile, the minigames and boss battles might be underwhelming. When compared to Rhythm Rifts, they can feel simpler and break the pace at times. 

So, having put all of the pros and cons of Rift of the NecroDancer in perspective, will you be grabbing a copy for yourself?