2015’s stellar Crypt of the NecroDancer takes the roguelike genre and adds a rhythm-based twist. Mostly this game plays as you might expect a roguelike to: you wander around dungeons full of enemies to fight and treasure to uncover while trying not to die, and you start your loop from the beginning each time. Here, however, your movement is done to the beat of the soundtrack. Through moving to the beat, you build up a scoring multiplier.
To make matters more interesting, enemies also move to the beat. They do this in predetermined patterns so watching and learning how every enemy moves becomes a key part of Crypt of the NecroDancer. Navigating the dungeons while fighting enemies who are moving erratically all around you and trying to keep your inputs in time with the beat becomes a fast-paced thrill ride. If you like roguelikes, you’ll be happy to know this is a very well-done take on the genre thanks to its strategic sonic twist.
