Crypt of the NecroDancer is quietly genius.

It's exactly what you would imagine a game to be like if you were told it's a roguelike, but in real time, with the turns lasting as long as the beat of a soundtrack — because they are, in fact, set to a soundtrack. This kind of "X meets Y" high concept game (roguelike meets rhythm game, in this case) is easy to think up, but not as easy to turn into a good game, if the failed examples littering Steam are any indication. NecroDancer not only works, but works well — it's an astounding feat of game design, and it's likely you won't even notice that while you're playing because it just feels natural.

This is one of the few roguelikes that deserves the description "easy to pick up, hard to master", as most roguelikes are not even all that easy to pick up. NecroDancer has a tutorial that lasts all of 90 seconds, and contains everything you need to get started. Getting through the first set of levels will take a little more time, but can still be done in an hour or two. But make no mistake, the difficulty ramps up over a total of four zones (each with three levels and a boss level, for a total of 16 levels). And if you think that's the end of it, you're wrong — there's a separate story mode to play through all the zones in sequence rather than separately, and to unlock all the characters (each with their own gimmicks that change the way you play) you have to complete the game multiple times. This is a true roguelike in that the peak difficulty is insane and completing the game with every character is a challenge restricted to only a handful of demigods, but it's also a true roguelike in that it's fair and rewards strategic play and perseverance. And all that to a great beat!

I haven't even completed the third zone yet and I can already tell it will be many hours more before I chip my teeth on the really difficult parts, but I felt like I needed to get this review out before the current sale is over, even if my experience is incomplete. This game is almost certainly worth it at full price if you're into roguelikes, but at sale price it's a no-brainer. If it looks like anything you might like, buy it. Even if you can't make your way through it, you'll still get your money's worth for the time you're playing it.

[i]Crypt of the NecroDancer[/i] is quietly genius. It's exactly what you would imagine a game to be like if you were told it's a roguelike, but in real time, with the turns lasting as long as the beat of a soundtrack — because they are, in fact, set to a soundtrack. This kind of "X meets Y" high concept game (roguelike meets rhythm game, in this case) is easy to think up, but not as easy to turn into a good game, if the failed examples littering Steam are any indication. [i]NecroDancer[/i] not only works, but works [i]well[/i] — it's an astounding feat of game design, and it's likely you won't even notice that while you're playing because it just feels natural. This is one of the few roguelikes that deserves the description "easy to pick up, hard to master", as most roguelikes are not even all that easy to pick up. [i]NecroDancer[/i] has a tutorial that lasts all of 90 seconds, and contains everything you need to get started. Getting through the first set of levels will take a little more time, but can still be done in an hour or two. But make no mistake, the difficulty ramps up over a total of four zones (each with three levels and a boss level, for a total of 16 levels). And if you think that's the end of it, you're wrong — there's a separate story mode to play through all the zones in sequence rather than separately, and to unlock all the characters (each with their own gimmicks that change the way you play) you have to complete the game multiple times. This is a true roguelike in that the peak difficulty is insane and completing the game with every character is a challenge restricted to only a handful of demigods, but it's also a true roguelike in that it's fair and rewards strategic play and perseverance. And all that to a great beat! I haven't even completed the third zone yet and I can already tell it will be many hours more before I chip my teeth on the [i]really[/i] difficult parts, but I felt like I needed to get this review out before the current sale is over, even if my experience is incomplete. This game is almost certainly worth it at full price if you're into roguelikes, but at sale price it's a no-brainer. If it looks like anything you might like, buy it. Even if you can't make your way through it, you'll still get your money's worth for the time you're playing it.