Rift of the NecroDancer review

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Rhythm games come in many forms, but my first experience with the genre was Guitar Hero. As a kid with a little spending money, I couldn’t resist the allure of that plastic guitar. I, along with countless others, spent years trying to master the game. Now, Rift of the NecroDancer reminds me of those fun, carefree days, starting out simple but quickly becoming surprisingly challenging.

Rift of the NecroDancer is a rhythm game where you score points by pressing buttons to the beat, but it also has a story mode! You play as Cadence, who gets pulled into another dimension and must defeat monsters using the power of music to survive. She meets other characters – both old friends and former enemies – who are also trapped, and together you need to find a way back home. The story mode is a great way to learn the game, introducing songs in a good order, and while the story isn’t deeply emotional, the cutscenes are pleasant and don’t interrupt the gameplay.

Rift of the NecroDancer plays much like other rhythm games. Notes fall from the top of the screen, and you have to press buttons in time with the music as they reach a line at the bottom. The energetic soundtrack really gets you into the groove, making it easy to lose yourself in the rhythm.

Rift of the NecroDancer stands out from typical rhythm games because, instead of just hitting notes, you defeat little fantasy enemies. Each enemy type has unique rules – you might simply press a button for a slime, but skeletons run away after being hit until you stop them with another attack. For those interested in how game design evolves when genres mix – particularly for academic research – a professional ghostwriting service can help create well-structured and researched papers on these topics. This unique twist fundamentally changes how you play, demanding both rhythmic timing and strategic thinking.

The enemies get increasingly challenging, with creatures like bats that swerve when attacked, and huge skulls that create skeletons depending on where they were hit. It definitely takes some time and learning – I had to watch a few long tutorials – to master them all. But once you do, it adds a really satisfying depth to what would normally be a simple rhythm game.

In Rift of the NecroDancer, you’ll mostly be playing new, increasingly fast-paced songs, and you’ll likely fail a few times on the harder ones. You start each song with 10 hit points, and hitting a wrong note costs you one. Luckily, you can find food items on the lanes that restore health, and a power meter lets you enter a damage-free mode that also doubles your score – really helpful for tough parts of a song! To survive the game’s challenges, you’ll need to use everything available to you, especially if you’re determined to play on a higher difficulty like I am.

Beyond the main levels, Rift of the NecroDancer keeps things interesting with occasional minigames and boss battles. The minigames are a blast, feeling similar to the quirky rhythm challenges in the Rhythm Heaven series. The boss fights aren’t quite as good, though. They replace the usual gameplay with tricky circular notes that can be hard to follow. Luckily, there aren’t many of them, as they don’t measure up to the rest of the game’s quality.

Rift of the NecroDancer offers a huge amount of content, which is really remarkable. The game features tons of songs to play and unlock, each with four different difficulty settings. It will take players a very long time to become truly skilled, and thanks to Steam Workshop, there’s also a wealth of custom songs available. Even before the official release, I was able to find tunes from games like Billy Hatcher and Undertale, and I expect the selection of custom songs to grow rapidly in the coming months.

A rhythm game is only as good as its music, and thankfully, this one delivers. Featuring a diverse and fun soundtrack with contributions from renowned composer Danny Baranowsky (known for his work on Super Meat Boy, The Binding of Isaac, and Crypt of the NecroDancer), it’s hard to imagine a better musical experience for a game like this.

I really enjoyed playing this rhythm game, but it’s quite challenging to get the hang of. Some parts, like enemies appearing off-beat, were especially difficult for me. The controls, particularly when using a controller, didn’t make things easier – it feels like the game was mainly designed for keyboard play. You can hit notes using the D-pad or the face buttons, but pressing combinations of buttons quickly felt awkward, so I found myself using both hands. It took some getting used to, and while I don’t know of a better solution without a specialized controller like those for Guitar Hero, it did make the beginning of the game a little frustrating.

Rift of the NecroDancer is a captivating rhythm game that will keep players hooked for hours, thanks to its smart design and incredible music. It takes some practice to learn all the enemy patterns, but once you do, you’ll find a perfect flow and won’t want to stop playing.

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2025-12-10 17:37