Review: Crypt of the NecroDancer AMPLIFIED
Crypt of the NecroDancer: AMPLIFIED is a prequel add-on to the main Crypt of the Necrodancer game. Play as a new werewolf heroine Nocturne. Complete new levels, defeat new bosses, and explore new content!
Key features:
A new zone full of new vile enemies!
New main character – Nocturne!
New weapons, armor and more
Four new playable characters, plus four new modes!
Pet companions that help you in battle!
Cut-scenes of a new storyline and boss battles!
Over 40 new music tracks have been added, including vocals from Mega Ran as “Fortissimol”!
All-new soundtrack remix by OverClocked ReMix
Additional DLC remixes from FamilyJules, A_Rival, Girlfriend Records and Virt!
Necrodancer is a 2D top-down rpg that can be played using the keyboard and controller. The most interesting aspect of the gameplay is that your current set of movements and combat skills is rigidly tied to the tempo of the playing music (soundtrack). The further you go and the more progress you make, the faster the pace becomes.
The enemies themselves also take into account the music and act in accordance with it. Let’s say bluish absorber bubbles jump over the cells and freeze between separate blows. And green bubbles – run from side to side! Other enemies include iconic cave dwellers such as cave bats, stone golems, and snakes.
The strategy of combat requires the gamer to have sensitive hearing and the ability to feel the rhythm. Otherwise, the passage will seem archaic and ridiculous. In addition to hits, you can use a set of three spells: healing, which restores 1 HP heart; freezing, which causes all opponents to freeze on the screen; fiery, flying horizontally and cleaning a certain area from evil spirits!
At first glance, everything in the dungeons is as usual: chests, treasures, monsters with merchants. Of the parameters – a few hearts of health and a wallet, no role-playing tricks. The combat system is also elementary: just four keys are enough to play, which are responsible for moving. In a way, the rules are a continuous triumph of minimalism.
Perfectly debugged mechanics attracts to the catacombs again and again, and after another ridiculous death (“Well, I knew that the dragon descends just like that!”), the overworked finger itself presses on “restart”. Enemies, artifacts, altars, secrets and other joys of the “adventurer” are in bulk, and each element is thought out to the smallest detail, unlike the others, and complements the balance without breaking it. What can not be said about the alternate characters, reminiscent of specialized lifeboats from Dungeon of the Endless – their effects and limitations (throw bombs, avoid piles of gold or not fight at all) are unique and allow you to look at the familiar process in a new way, but still overcome the challenges for some tombs are much easier. However, even a typical lightweight roguelike, into which the rhythm-ignoring bard turns the game, is head and shoulders above his brothers in the genre.
Conclusion: Crypt of the NecroDancer is an exciting and complex game that’s guaranteed to provide you with hours of immersive gameplay.
