Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda

Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda is an unusual 2019 crossover game by Canadian studio Brace Yourself Games that combines the rhythm roguelike Crypt of the NecroDancer with the world, characters, and music of the long-running Legend of Zelda series. The player moves through an infinitely generated, differently arranged version of Hyrule each time as Link, Princess Zelda, or the heroine Cadence, fighting classic series enemies such as Moblins or Lizalfos, with every move and attack needing to be performed precisely in rhythm with the music.

The musical side is absolutely central – famous melodies from the Zelda series were rearranged into an electronic dance style that also dictates the pace of the entire game, and the ability to keep the rhythm directly affects the chance of a successful attack, defense, or dodge against an enemy. Alongside the mandatory rhythm mode, the game also offers an optional classic mode without the musical pressure for players who prefer a more traditional, slower approach to combat and movement through the randomly generated world.

The combination of roguelike elements, such as permanent character death and randomly generated dungeons, with the intimately familiar world of Hyrule and its iconic music created a thoroughly original gaming experience that earned praise from both Zelda fans and fans of rhythm games and roguelike titles. Cadence of Hyrule proved that an experimental crossover between an established major brand and a smaller independent studio can work surprisingly harmoniously and offer content interesting to both groups of players. The game also contains optional, later-added expansions with additional playable characters and dungeons, thanks to which the amount of content gradually grew long after the original release and kept a lively community of players sharing their own record runs alive around the title.