Crypt of the NecroDancer

I'll just go out and say that CotN is WELL worth your money. Not only is the gameplay easy to learn, and tons of fun once you get the hang of it, but the soundtrack is amazing — because it's YOUR music! In all seriousness though, the provided soundtrack that comes with the game does sound wonderful, and each song can be switched out with files from your computer. Doing this can result in some really crazy beats — sometimes surprisingly slow, sometimes hilariously, overwhelmingly fast! The maps appear to be randomly generated each time so when you inevitably die a bunch on the first level, you won't get bored seeing the same map (and as mentioned before, you can switch out music should it get old or repetitive). Loot is also random, although there are NPCs that you can (literally) unlock who will sell you loot that you can then find in the crypt. I only have two problems I have found with the game so far. One is that it was considerably cumbersome and confusing to figure out how to select files for the music. But some stumbling around and memorizing of my directories solved that relatively fast. Second, I have not been able to figure out how to use the "Manual Beats" option for custom music. It's name makes me think that there is a way to....well manually set the beats of the songs I've loaded, but I cannot understand how. All in all, Crypt of the NecroDancer is a beautiful, enjoyable, and often surprising game that anyone who liked titles like Audiosurf, and anyone who likes highly pixilated roguelikes will instantly fall in love with.

1. Linux version available elsewhere. (Fix in progress y/n?) 2. Soundtracks, digital art, making-of sold as DLC. (Fine, I wouldn't waste money on them myself either, and I think it's dumb. I'd downvote the DLCs themselves if anything, though) 3. Game is reported to have issues running without Galaxy at the moment. (Judas is aware of this. Fix probably in progress, but I'm not 100% sure) The game itself has been on Steam for a long time, and it easily speaks for itself. It's a unique, challenging, well-done game with even more challenging alternate characters (including a "turn based" character for those who need time to think or want an easier mode). If you aren't concerned about points 1-3 above, then I personally don't know of any other reason to shy away from this title.

This game has a lot of locked content and no way to unlock it all in one go from the options menu. Everything has to be unlocked by playing the game, extra character, spells, equipment, training stages, levels, everything. There is also no manual to explain all the abilities of the rather large item variety the game offers. But at least the game offers short tips every time you stand next to an item so you know what it does. (Most of the time anyway, there is still a bit of trial and error with some items.) Sadly game modes are linked to unlockable characters, so there is no way to play as your favorite character without being forced to play a certain way; like having to play as a pacifist, or ignoring the beat mechanic. Despite these annoyances the gameplay itself is absolutely fantastic and I can recommend it to anyone who would like to try something new. Especially the bosses are a lot of fun. I have zero love for rhythm games but the idea to combine it with a dungeon crawling rogue-like turned out amazing.

Crypt of the Necrodancer is a rythm-based roguelite, that is to say, each bar of the music is a turn in the game. You *can* miss a beat, but that means you skip a turn (ennemies won't !) and reset your gold multiplier - which is fairly quick to max out again. And...that's it, it is the core of what makes this game fun. Ennemies are crafted around it: some will move every beat, others every second beat, some will move two tiles at a time, etc. they are *very* varied and well thought. The game can be overwhelming at first but it quickly becomes manageable once you understand how each kind of ennemy works. Rythm gameplay aside, the game shows an extreme attention to detail. Difficulty curve is fair, nothing is too balance-breaking (at least from a non-expert player POV), randomization is very efficient. There are multiple characters, many many different items, so that distinct playstyles are possible. Last but not least, the aesthetics side shows a lot of care too, with nicely-crafted pixel art and animations - even ennemies beat the rythm. Though it is *purely* an action game and not food for thought, the game also likes to play with veiled references (King Conga, pun intended) or metaphors (the heart beat, the illuminated dance floor, the chess board boss...). What more is there to say, except that this game is packed with original and refreshing ideas.