A rhythm game from the studio behind Crypt of the NecroDancer and Cadence of Hyrule, Rift of the NecroDancer leaves behind its predecessor’s RPG roots and fully embraces the musical side of things.

Players once again take on the role of Cadence, who has to partake in musical combat to fight monsters after she is dragged into a new world. The game features a soundtrack of more than 30 tracks by Danny Baranowsky, Jules Conroy, Alex Moukala, Josie Brechner, Sam Webster, and Nick Nausbaum.

The title also features a Remix mode that can be taken on once players have finished the game. Remix mode offers replayability by giving players new levels that still retain the rhythm-based design of the main story mission. Through Remix mode, players can also take on daily challenges for more rewards.

The Celeste Music Pack DLC brings with it four iconic tracks from critically-acclaimed side-scrolling platformer Celeste – Scattered and Lost, Reach for the Summit, Confronting Myself, and Resurrections.

More DLC is also planned for Rift of the NecroDancer, with the trailer hinting that one based on Super Meat Boy is in development.

However, hitting a launch this year would have meant crunching for polish and bug fixing. “Here at Brace Yourself Games, we’re all about a sustainable groove, not the grind. We believe in making awesome games without sacrificing our team’s well-being.”

The developer also shared what it’s been working on for the past year, including the addition of Impossible difficulty (which it’s tuning to ensure that it’s “not actually impossible”). There are also more Rhythm Rift beat maps, readability for off-beat monsters, a revamp of the level editing tool, Daily Challenges, further fleshing out Remix Mode, improvements to tutorials and Practice Mode, and more.

Background visualizers have been added to Rhythm Rifts for more “visual variety,” while Story Mode and bosses have received a “total facelift.” It’s also addressed most of the “high-impact bugs.”

Stay tuned for updates on Rift of the NecroDancer in the coming months. The free demo is still available to try out – head here for more details.

The free demo offers a tutorial and three songs – Disco Disaster by Danny Baranowsky, Amalgamaniac by Alex Moukala, and RAVEVENGE ft. Aram Zero by Alex Moukala. Each has three difficulties – Easy, Medium and Hard – to test one’s skills against.

Rift of the NecroDancer is out this year for Nintendo Switch and PC, featuring even more songs, Daily Challenge leaderboards and Expert difficulty on top of the previous three. It also supports custom music and mods, while mini-games and Remix Mode – which mixes up its monsters with procedurally generated patterns – add to the replay value. Stay tuned for more details on a release date in the coming months.

Surprise! From now until June 27th, try a FREE DEMO of Rift of the NecroDancer on Steam during #KleiFest2024! 🎸

Leaderboards are enabled, so see how you stack up globally!

Download the demo: https://t.co/hLefq8sWVu pic.twitter.com/3wOdnLEq1z

— Crypt / Rift of the NecroDancer (@NecroDancerGame) June 20, 2024

Alongside new characters and mod support, Synchrony adds online multiplayer. Up to eight players can play in co-op or partake in Versus. The new characters include Chaunter, who can possess enemies; Suzu, a speedster; and Klarinetta, who wields a two-handed sword. There are also new weapons, enemies, traps, items and spells to experience.

A new Weekly Challenge mode is also available and features characters, zones, bosses, and more created by the community. Leaderboards track completion times and high scores for solo and co-op play, but the best part is that you can replay previous weeks whenever.

Despite reported layoffs at Brace Yourself Games, a sequel, Rift of the NecroDancer, is also coming this year. Head here for more details.

While the game is “in good shape” currently, Brace Yourself wants to take more time to “make it really SING” and will also add more Rhythm Rifts. It also confirmed their trust in Klei and that their support provides the additional time required to complete the game. As for when fans can expect a new release date, the developer hopes to have an update after the Holidays.

In the meantime, you can expect more details, including other musicians involved in the project. There will also be a free demo in a forthcoming Steam Next Fest and a new one at PAX West (from September 1st to 4th).

Rift of the NecroDancer is coming to Nintendo Switch and PC. Stay tuned for more details in the coming months.

https://twitter.com/NecroDancerGame/status/1691157759037968384

https://twitter.com/NecroDancerGame/status/1691157761957203968

Q: Why Klei?

A: @klei originally published Crypt of the NecroDancer, and we trust them with our lives. For real. Like 10/10. ❤️ Their support is giving us that extra time we need to get Rift to the finish line. 3/6 pic.twitter.com/DvLnmNtyuv

— Crypt of the NecroDancer: SYNCHRONY OUT NOW! (@NecroDancerGame) August 14, 2023

https://twitter.com/NecroDancerGame/status/1691157766738710530

https://twitter.com/NecroDancerGame/status/1691157768127062016

Crystal Savin has revealed that she was laid off from the studio after working there for only four months. Savin has also revealed that the studio has cut its staff by around 50%.

The studio had announced its next project—Rift of the NecroDancer—back in April. In a departure from its dungeon crawling roots, the upcoming title focuses more on lane-based combat and storytelling.

The game was first unveiled alongside a DLC that was released for the original Crypt of the NecroDancer, which among other things, brought 8-player multiplayer to the game, and three new playable characters.

Rift of the NecroDancer doesn’t yet have a release date aside from a 2023 release window. It is slated for release on PC and Nintendo Switch.

https://twitter.com/Cryssylol/status/1659600037461250048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1659600037461250048%7Ctwgr%5E1f6fe23c708b62243bb550c29648507295184feb%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gamespot.com%2Farticles%2Fcadence-of-hyrule-developer-reportedly-lays-off-workers%2F1100-6514396%2F

Rift of the NecroDancer will feature different monsters to fight, with each enemy having different attack patterns and rhythms. It will also feature boss fights, as well as special mini games for its five character storylines.

Rift of the NecroDancer was originally announced back in August 2022, and at the time was believed to be a sequel to rhythm-based dungeon crawler Crypt of the NecroDancer. Alongside Rift of the NecroDancer, Brace Yourself Games had also unveiled a major update for Crypt of the NecroDancer.

Rift of the NecroDancer doesn’t yet have a release date aside from a vague 2023 release window. The game is slated to release on PC and Nintendo Switch.

Synchrony brings three new playable characters: Chaunter—who possesses enemies and can fight using their powers, Suzu—a speedy character with an invincible dash attack, and Klarinetta—who uses a huge two-handed sword for combat.

The DLC also brings 8-player multiplayer to Crypt of the NecroDancer. The multiplayer modes feature both co-op as well as versus options. Other features of Synchrony include full mod support, an integrated mod portal, and new weapons, spells, items, and enemies.

Alongside the release of Synchrony, the studio has also begun teasing the sequel to Crypt of the NecroDancer—Rift of the NecroDancer. Currently little has been revealed about the sequel aside from its name and logo. The sequel is also teased at the end of the trailer for Synchrony.

While Crypt of the NecroDancer is available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, and even the PS Vita, the Synchrony DLC seems to be exclusive to the PC for now.

I hope you didn't think the new DLC was all we had up our sleeves pic.twitter.com/GKz6acxTNS

— Crypt of the NecroDancer: SYNCHRONY OUT NOW! (@NecroDancerGame) August 4, 2022

This is probably the “something bigger” teased when Update V3.0.0 dropped recently. One could assume this to be a new expansion or but we’ll have to wait for more details. The latest update already added tons of new features and quality-of-life improvements like No Beat Mode which sees every character playing like The Bard and a new level editor.

Dynamic view scaling and independent beatmaps for local co-op, save and quit at anytime, Steam Deck support and much more were also added. Crypt of the NecroDancer is available on PC, PS4, iOS, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Android. Perhaps the upcoming announcement will involve PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions as well. Stay tuned in the meantime.

Update V.3.0.0 is still hefty, adding new features like No Beat Mode that allow for every character to control like the Bard. Players can save and quit at any time while load times have been “greatly reduced.” Steam Deck support has also been added with improved controller support. Co-op also sees some improvements with dynamic view scaling for local co-op sessions, independent per-player beatmaps and more.

Arguably the biggest new addition is the new level editor. It provides various tools for placing tiles and objects, selecting and moving entire sections, and much, much more. You can also modify boss levels from custom dungeons in the editor after they’ve been generated and reroll freshly generated levels with a different seed while keeping the same settings.

For more details, check out some of the patch notes below. Update V.3.0.0 is currently available for PC but should be released for other platforms soon. Stay tuned in the meantime.

List of New Features in v3.0.0

EDIT:

• Fixed a big that granted achievements for No Beat Mode (sorry)

No Beat Mode

• Added No Beat mode, enabling Bard-like gameplay for any character. Yes, even Aria for anyone who would like to experience the game’s story in an easier way!

Save and Quit Anytime

• Added a Save and Quit feature to allow exiting the game and resuming the session later.
• The session is also automatically saved when closing the game window.
• Suspended and resumed runs can be submitted to the Deathless, Story and All-Characters leaderboards.

Greatly Reduced Load Times

• Greatly reduced loading time when starting the game by streaming more resources on demand.

Updated Controller and Steam Deck Support

• Added improved controller support via Steam Input, with gamepad-specific button symbols and Steam Deck support.

Controls and Input Improvements

• Added various improvements to the controls and input system.
• Added the ability to assign multiple keys or buttons to the same action.
• Added support for custom multi-key combos for any in-game action.
• Most menu controls can now be customized.
• Mouse buttons can now be assigned to in-game actions.
• Added a menu for quickly switching between keyboard/controller schemes for co-op players.

Custom Music Overhaul

• Added an overhauled custom music system with the ability to save multiple playlists and switch between them.
• Audio files in the MP3, OGG and FLAC formats are supported.
• Beat detection is performed in the background, allowing more songs to be selected in the meantime.
• Special tracks (story bosses, training, tutorial) can also be customized.
• Imported songs and their beatmaps can be previewed directly in the Custom Music menu.
• On Linux, a native file chooser dialog is now used in place of the in-game selection menu.

New and Improved Co-op

• Added dynamic view scaling for local co-op sessions when players move away from each other.
• Added independent per-player beatmaps in co-op mode: play any combination of Cadence, Bolt and Bard!
• Each player tracks their own rhythm: the presence of a Bard or Bolt does not transfer their effects to all players.
• Adjusted the behavior of all enemies to follow the rhythm of the nearest player.