Cadence of Hyrule

I polished this off in a few sittings over the last few days!

It's a lot of fun, at least after you find a weapon that works for you beyond the default sword. The spear was my weapon of choice - attacking from two spaces away was too useful to give up. I loved traversing the overworld and finding new secrets and items. It made for a much more engaging time than my brief experience with Necrodancer. The dungeons were probably the weakest bit by comparison, actually, which makes this game eerily similar to BotW!

Still, once you get into the groove, the combat feels satisfying as hell. It genuinely feels like a rhythm game as you bop around the screen taking out foes in time to the tunes. Beating a whole screen of enemies without losing the beat once felt great. And of course, the tunes in which you bop along to are fantastic. I might commandeer a music week if Balla doesn't ever get around to this.

Speaking of getting around to this, I don't think I could recommend it at full price unless you're a big fan of Necrodancer or you really really like the look of this. They've done a fantastic job of merging Necrodancer with a traditional Zelda game and it's one of the best games I've played so far this year... but it's rather short. Totally rinsing the map of all its secrets and beating the game fully took me around 6 hours or so. It's one for a sale, for most, I'd say.

The legs of this game is definitely in the custom modes like perma death which is actually a poor name for what it adds to the game, for example items and weapons become way more valuable; such as glass weapons, I never touched these after I got my flail upgraded to the titanium version despite the extra damage but they are so helpful in this type of run as long as you're confident in the enemy you are facing. Enemy variety happens a lot sooner & extra hearts can take longer to get which means you really can't just brute force/tank an enemy to defeat them you actually get to learn their patterns.

I get that style of game isn't for everyone but the length of the game is very much on purpose because of modes like this & you shouldn't let that the short length put you off buying the game.

The_Jaster wrote:

...also I can't stop whistling and humming the music either.

This remains the main reason for me to play the game. Still possibly a bit steep for how excited I am about it and what I'll get out of it (because like heck am I going to play 'perma-death mode' ).

And it's a great reason, I really really hope Nintendo let them release a stand alone soundtrack for this.

The_Jaster wrote:

I get that style of game isn't for everyone but the length of the game is very much on purpose because of modes like this & you shouldn't let that the short length put you off buying the game.

I didn't feel that... it's a move away from the instant replayability and gratification of a roguelite in that a run of the game could easily span a few hours. I didn't feel the urge to jump back in and replay it after beating in the way that I do after a run of Binding of Isaac or what have you. I think most folks here would be of the "one and done" mentality in terms of a runthrough of this too. That's why I suggested waiting for a sale for most.

The cost to length thing isn't that much of a problem, just like SteamWorld Quest I don't want to spend that sort of money on a digital Switch game.

JayMoyles wrote:

The_Jaster wrote:

I get that style of game isn't for everyone but the length of the game is very much on purpose because of modes like this & you shouldn't let that the short length put you off buying the game.

I didn't feel that... it's a move away from the instant replayability and gratification of a roguelite in that a run of the game could easily span a few hours. I didn't feel the urge to jump back in and replay it after beating in the way that I do after a run of Binding of Isaac or what have you. I think most folks here would be of the "one and done" mentality in terms of a runthrough of this too. That's why I suggested waiting for a sale for most.

That's fair, I just think even if a perma death (again it's a poor name for said mode) run isn't something you normal like you should at least give it a try for an hour or two because for me that's where the game truly sings.

If I didn't have such a miserable backlog, I'd probably do just that! As such, it's onto the next game for yer boy.

I've got a decent backlog as well tbh but certain games should just be savoured & this is one that could definitely sit nicely alongside other games you're playing.

I think I'm going to put it onto my wishlist. It's a game I'd like to play but a lot of games fit into that category, and I'm not burning to play it.

I'm burning to hear the soundtrack though!

Then go buy the game then.

aaaaaaaaaaaargh

Cappa also found it going for cheaper in here.

https://www.gnamer.com/t1271p175-nintendo-switch-bargains-thread

The_Jaster wrote:

EDIT: This is such a cool video.

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2019/06/video_cadence_of_hyrule_guitarist_and_grant_kirkhope_combine_for_epic_banjo-kazooie_collab

My goodness me that was hammy as all heck, but in a good way.

I'm loving the game so far - I can see it being a bit short, but I don't regret getting it at full price. My problem is that I forget about the Zelda bits! I've only just stopped playing the original CoTN, and I'm not used to having a whole array of permanent inventory items!

Spoiler:

Glad to see you are enjoying it, Jimbob.

I honestly thought more of the forum would've jumped on this by now, also I hadn't played any CoTN before this and it fast became not only one of my favourite games of the year but slots very easily into the pile where all the top tier switch games sit.

I'm holding out for a possible physical version, if not a sale

I'm playing it in bits and pieces as my focus is currently on SAO Hollow realization, but from what I have played I've enjoyed (even with up to 50 deaths)

masofdas wrote:

I'm holding out for a possible physical version, if not a sale

Same. Also I have Necrodancer to play first anyway.

I honestly would recommend this over Necrodancer. I felt the Zelda formula worked really well as opposed to a traditional "one more run" style roguelike.

Well I already have it anyway so might as well play both, liked what I played of it so far.

Just read this great review and I thought I'd share it.

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2019-06-28-cadence-of-hyrule-crypt-of-the-necrodancer-review-zelda-fans-rejoice-because-this-is-the-real-thing

This feels like Jas doing what I did with Sushi Striker and Ever Oasis.

Not going to lie I'm definitely being a bit of a champion for it but that's honestly because I think it deserves way more attention that it has seemingly got. After playing Sekiro I tweeted out that not many games will get close to that good for me & it'd easily be my GotY but now I really cant pick between that and CoH.

An absolute belter of a game.

Yeah! Still loving this. Despite the random dungeons, I'm still basically dying through my own incompetence.

Did you get the spear, Jim? I found it made the game much easier to manage.