Rhythmic dungeon crawler Crypt of the Necrodancer [official site] was one of my games of the year back in 2015. It would probably have made the list for the shopkeeper’s song alone but the game itself is ace, beat-based combat. Anyhoodle, the base game now has DLC prequel, Amplified, available in early access as the devs fine tune the experience. Read the rest of this entry »
Crypt of the Necrodancer [official site] has been shuffling through Early Access for some time, even though it impressed Alec with its very first flick of the hips. Now the rhythm-based roguelike has a full launch date and it’s April 23rd, which is next week. There’s a new trailer below to prove it.
RPS Feature Dancing with death
Crypt of the Necrodancer blends roguelikes with rhythm action, neatly makes that wild concept work, and is out on Early Access today. I’ve been dipping my twitching toes in and out of it for the last couple of weeks.
I’ve long been aware of my own challenging relationship with rhythm – although I did take a certain pride in people moving away from my frenzied, unpredictable whirling in clubs – but struggling to cope with even Crypt of the Necrodancer’s sound latency calibration tool was a blow. I stared at the blinking icons and listened to the test tone I couldn’t seem to predict, gripped by professional terror. Somehow I’d decided it was a great idea to write about a game based on rhythm. Now, excuses rushes through my brain. “I damaged both my index fingers while making a sandwich.” “My middle ear blew because my baby screamed too loud.” “It turns out I’m allergic to the word ‘crypt.”
I’m exploring the disco dungeons of Crypt of the Necrodancer right now, though I’m saving words for a little closer to its Early Access release. I’ll say just this for now: you’re going to see photos of me using a dance mat, and for that you have my eternal pity. Dancemats (official Necrodancer variants of which are now for sale) are not the only way to play this rythym-action rogue like, but they are certainly the most tiring, sweat-inducing and inefficient. And therefore best. Gamepads and keyboards are an equally-supported system of duffing up skeletons and opening chests by moving your character’s feet to the beat though, fear not.
Here’s a new trailer that sells the tone and danceability of Brace Yourself Games’ dance dance dungeonering game rather well. Ooh, the things a well-timed screen-shake can do.
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RPS Feature Dungeon Dungeon Revolution
Er. We didn’t entirely plan that well, did we? The IGF Awards have been and gone, but our series of interviews with the finalists in the 2014 version of the world’s premier indie competition continue. Moonwalking excitedly up to the plinth this time is Brace Yourself’s appealingly mad roguelike/rhythm action mash-up, Crypt of the Necrodancer . Read on for how to play the bally thing, if people without rhythm can cope, lead dev Ryan Clark’s take on the bastardisation of the term ‘roguelike’ and the importance of Michael Jackson’s Thriller to the whole endeavour.
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You might think that Crypt Of The NecroDancer is being cute by combining a dance floor with a dungeon. That it’s one of those mash-ups that people seem to like nowadays. That they’re taking one thing and another thing and making a rhythm-action roguelike with it. You’re so wrong it hurts. Turning a dance floor into a dungeon, making the player move through the throng to the beat of the music as they fight for their life, pretty much describes 99% of clubs I’ve found myself in. All that’s different are the clothes and the fact that the weapons aren’t hidden. Why yes, I did grow up in Glasgow. Why do you ask?
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Back in my day, combining chocolate and peanut butter was the height of invention. Anything beyond that, incidentally, was viewed as witchcraft punishable to the fullest extent of the law – which at that point basically meant having your limbs tied to very determined geese as they yanked you in various directions until it hurt a little. Now, though, we live in a lawless “progressive” society where all sorts of mad alchemical science isn’t just allowed; it’s encouraged! Case in point: Crypt of the NecroDancer combines Dance Dance Revolution and roguelikes. Madness! Heresy! The end of civilization as we know it! Also, pretty cool looking.
