(Technically, you can turn off the rhythm-based movement entirely, but it’s not meant to be turned on and off at will - and using it at any time lumps you in a different, no-rhythm leaderboard).Speaking of which, Cadence of Hyrule is a relatively short game - I completed my first run in just over eight hours - but that map randomization means it is clearly designed to be repeated. In these areas, you can be completely safe with no enemies in sight, but still be constrained to moving in combat mode because there may be a few monsters on the other side of a lake a few screens over. For example, there are a few areas in the world - namely the areas around a dungeon, which don’t appear to change from game-to-game - which are larger than a single screen. Which brings me to Cadence’ one relatively big annoyance: the distinction between combat mode and exploration mode is a hard binary – you’re either in combat because there are enemies present in the “room” you’re in or not – but there were times when I wished it had been more fluid. Fighting to the beat is fun, but slows the pace a bit too much when enemies aren’t your primary concern. When you’ve defeated all the enemies in an area you are no longer beholden to the music, and being able to move at will makes poking at puzzles and backtracking through the world much easier. The best players will be able to optimize their dancing style for efficiency and speed, but novices should not have a problem scraping their way through a fight even if they miss a few steps. While I died my fair share of times during my playthrough, I rarely found a situation that required too much finesse to overcome. Having access to all that gear, to all those options, makes combat feel much more forgiving in Cadence of Hyrule than Necordancer or even some of the older Zeldas. Though the temporary items are meant to be disposable – they also break over time, so losing that gear never feels like a huge loss – it’s enough to create that delicious roguelike-style tension that builds when you’re on the brink of death and hoping to stumble onto a miraculous string of healing hearts. These consequences add stakes to death in Cadence of Hyrule. When you die, you lose all your rupees and a number of temporary items including boots, rings, shovels, and torches. “Though you keep these items permanently once you find them, some of Necrodancer’s run-like qualities return. That said, there is also a visual representation of that beat at the bottom of the screen, which remains very helpful for beginners and even Necrodancer veterans. In addition to sounding good, the soundtrack also really emphasizes the mechanically relevant beat. The music, which is made up of keyboard and drum-heavy rock remixes of Zelda’s most iconic songs, is really fun to listen to, especially as a fan: I never knew the Link to the Past overworld music would benefit from a synthy keyboards up front, but it does. Like in Necrodancer, when in combat you must press buttons to move and act in time with the beat of the song playing. As a result, these crypts mostly lack the clever level design in Zelda’s best dungeons, but they still feel intense because they present Cadence of Hyrule’s most intense combat/puzzle challenges. There are even familiar tricks like hiding cavities full of extra enemies in the walls for you to stumble upon. They adhere to Zelda tradition in that you need open locked doors and chests to find a map, a compass, and a “big key” on your way to the boss’ lair, but feel much more like Necrodancer because their structure relies on tools like shovels which are used to dig through some walls and torches to increase visibility in dark dungeons. “Dungeons, on the other hand, are completely procedurally generated aside from a hub entranceway.
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