Currently Online 
| #36 | Cadence of Hyrule |
|---|---|
| guessed by | The_Liquid_Laser |
| platform | Switch |
| release year | 2019 |
| developer/publisher | Brace Yourself Games |
| genre | rhythm roguelike |
| links | Wikipedia |
I like roguelike games. The turn-based combat and exploration, the challenge through permadeath and randomly generated dungeons, this all makes a good experience. I also like rhythm games (if they have good music, which they should have). The feel to be on rhythm is great. But I suck at it, I suck at rhythm games. Anyways, although I am bad at it because of lack of rhythm, it still feels great to play them. Crypt of the Necrodancer was a fusion of these two concepts, and it was good at that. I am extremely bad at it, because - you know - lack of rhythm, but it was fun to experience this combined game concepts. Now Brace Yourself Games fused these two concepts with another one: the story-telling and world-building of The Legend Of Zelda series. What could go wrong?
Well, in theory a lot actually could've gone wrong. But Cadence of Hyrule masters these challenges in a great way. The randomly built dungeons are used for bits of the overworld, but some places - like Kakariko village - have fixed layout, while not a fixed position on the overworld map. The rhythm based combat is built in perfectly into the usual monsters of Hyrule. Brace Yourself Games also managed to put in Zelda-like puzzles into the gameplay. It all works. And it keeps this great feature, that if you're close to a shop you hear the shopkeeper sing to the current theme. This helps you find the shops.
Also this is a big upgrade over Crypt of the Necrodancer. As I said above, this already was a good game, but Cadence of Hyrule actually has a lot of improvements to offer. For people like me who are bad at rhythm, this game offers a mode that plays more like traditional roguelikes: everything moves when I move. But I can switch each time. So I can try my hand at rhythm based gaming whenever I feel like it, and once it gets to frustrating I can progress the story in classical mode. The spritework and animations are a major improvement over Crypt of Necrodancer and sport a style akin to older 2D-Zelda games. And if you cleared a screen of all enemies, you can move freely, you aren't bound to rhythm anymore. The from the layout fixed places help with a better story, more in place for a Zelda game.
This game was a big surprise at that one Indie-direct and it delivered on fun experience and a great addition to the Switch library. if you are not sure if the game is for you, there is a free demo on the eshop.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpdTcbbLgnY
