Rift of the NecroDancer

Rift of the NecroDancer is a seriously clever rhythm game with a sublime soundtrack, which will keep you busy for many musical months.

Rift of the NecroDancer is a rhythm game that just refuses to play by the genre's rules. It constantly keeps you on your toes while giving you just enough room to revel in the thrill of every successful combo. Before you know it, you'll find yourself hitting replay before the song even ends—because of both its infectious soundtrack and the sheer challenge it presents.

Rift of the NecroDancer stands out as an excellent addition to the series, offering an addictive gameplay and memorable soundtrack. Supporting community track creation, there's great potential for longevity and new experiences in the future.

There isn’t a whole lot more to Rift of the NecroDancer, but that isn’t a problem at all. It’s a clever core concept that doesn’t wear out its welcome with additional complications or gimmicks, opting instead to deliver the best experience possible based on that core. It’s a ton of fun to play for long or short sessions, and holds the door wide open for the community to take over for further shenanigans. As a follow-up to Crypt of the NecroDancer, it’s a very different kind of experience, but one that’s delivered with the same kind of creative energy that made the first game such a hoot.

Rift of the NecroDancer packs a steep learning curve, but those that come to know their way around slimes and skeletons are in for a real treat. Those that take the time to learn the inner workings of Rift of the NecroDancer's Action Row will be blessed with good tunes, a high skill ceiling, and plenty of replayability.

Rift of the Necrodancer continues finding ways to integrate amazing music into fun gameplay that creates a lovely blend of art and artist interaction that is just a joy to experience. It can be difficult to find a perfect spot of tempo matching hand dexterity for some, but each song ages beautifully as practice matches zip by, with incremental mastering. There’s challenge every step of the way as mini-games and boss battles throw in some curveballs along with the rifts. As a result getting lost in a soundtrack has never felt more fun, challenging, and rewarding then it does here with these well composed tunes leading the way.

Rift is another great entry in the NecroDancer series. It may be a more 'traditional' lane-scrolling rhythm title, but how the game incorporates Crypt's elements to create its own spin on the formula is noteworthy.

Rift of the Necrodancer captures the true essence of music by creatively visualizing rhythm.

I could wear out my keyboard slapping arrow keys to the beat and jamming in my seat to Rift of the NecroDancer’s excellent soundtrack, fervently chasing down a perfect run of a song for hours. Whether I was fighting stuffy puppet masters, rhythmically ridding the world of monsters, or just waddling around in a silly mole costume, it provides many excellent flavors of arcade-style rhythm action. Even though this “Greatest Hits” anthology isn’t as focused or Earth-shattering as Brace Yourself Games’ genre-bending debut album, it still continually surprised and delighted me by providing clever twists on time-tested mechanics.

Negative emotions may not be so easily dispelled for us as they are with Cadence’s magical guitar, but music can help us to motivate ourselves, making this a feel-good game in more ways than one.

Rift of the Necrodancer dares to go where many other successful videogame series would never dare to set foot. Its fresh take on the Guitar Hero-like rhythm games makes it a valid option in an industry that lacks these kinds of games, lately. It's a shame, though, that visually and narratively speaking it could have pushed more, because the premises were all there.

Rift of the Necrodancer is a solid rhythm game with some fresh and exciting takes on the classic Guitar Hero formula. The different enemy types and health system make this stand out from the crowd, but at higher difficulties, these fade into the background as you memorise your way through the tracks. Still, with killer design, delightful minigames and some absolutely banging tracks, this game delivers foot-tapping goodness that might just have you hooked.

At least no one can accuse Brace Yourself of staying in its lane, even if you sometimes wish its monsters would. [Issue#408, p.121]