If you're a regular reader of my reviews here at Cheat Happens you probably already know where this is going. Crypt of the Necrodancer, the newly released indie game that combines dungeon crawling with rhythm games appeared on my list of the top 25 games of this past year. While the combination may seem like a strange one at first, it becomes very evident early on just how much it somehow works. It's smart, it's fun and it's one of the freshest games you'll play in quite some time.

Right from the start, Crypt of the Necrodancer plays the part of the dungeon crawler in a remarkably predictable fashion. Girl wanders into tomb, tomb is full of monsters and it's up to her to fend them off and save the day. What makes this game different though is that our protagonist Cadence has wandered into the tomb of the titular Necrodancer and he curses her heart to beat to music eternally.  From this point on all of your movement is done to the beat of the music and missing a beat means hindering your movement, which also could mean the difference between completing a section of the game or failing and losing everything.

Though it's a formula that you wouldn't think would work at first, once you spend some time with the game you'll be wondering just why no one has thought of something like this before. As a standard dungeon crawler on its own, Crypt of the Necrodancer would be sufficient but adding in the rhythm element it becomes a game that borders on genius. The game is broken up into three zones, each with a harder level of challenge and randomly generated. You might be surprised at just how much more strategic you're forced to be when your movement is limited and must be calculated. There were plenty of times when I misjudged a song's rhythm at one beat and found myself getting into a heap of trouble as a result. This is one game that isn't afraid to punish you and it benefits from the same twitch style “one more try” gameplay that had me sitting with games like Super Meat Boy for hours.

Still, I never felt like Crypt of the Necrodancer was ever throwing more at me than I could handle. Thanks to how the game is built into the three zones, there's a natural sense of progression to be found throughout the game. The game frequently introduces new elements to you, but you won't have to go searching the internet for how to use them as everything is laid out pretty simply throughout the entire experience. There are unlockable powers and characters and while some add to the game greatly (some that even change the way you'll play the game), others don't add much at all and you'll rarely find yourself using them. What's really going to make your game last longer is the ability to add your own MP3s into the game itself. I found a lot of fun going through my music collection and trying to beat what the game created for it. I thought I knew some of these songs but there were beats I don't think I've ever heard and it made me appreciate the music that much more when it meant the difference between my survival and having to start over.

In a year filled with dozens of AAA titles all paying big money for my attention I found myself constantly going back to Crypt of the Necrodancer. It's a smart and novel way to combine two genres and breathe new life into a formula that's been around since almost the medium itself. While I'll admit that I was a pessimist about the game's potential before playing it, I can't recommend Crypt of the Necrodancer enough.