Rift of the NecroDancer Reviews

Rift of the NecroDancer is ranked in the 86th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
8 / 10
Apr 7, 2025

With Rift of the Necrodancer, Brace Yourself Games has picked up the rhythm genre and, well, riffed on it. This is a smart, stylish remix of what rhythm games can be. By swapping prescriptive note charts for more involved pattern reading, it cracks open a whole new dimension of challenge – one where you will feel both cool and overwhelmed at the same time.

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IGN
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Jan 29, 2025

Rift of the NecroDancer is a clever rhythm game that innovates on some of the genre’s best ideas.

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Game Rant
Zackari Greif
Top Critic
9 / 10
Jan 29, 2025

Cadence and friends return in Rift of the NecroDancer, a full-fledged rhythm game that uses Crypt of the NecroDancer's specialties to its advantage.

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Sam Woods
Top Critic
Jan 29, 2025

It’s a really competent rhythm game with great music, tons of content, and another strong concept from Brace Yourself Games. You’ll no doubt face frustrations with some of the story mode’s decisions and the game’s overall difficulty spikes, but if you just want to rock out and chase some high scores, you’ll have a blast.

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9 / 10.0
Jan 29, 2025

Rift of the NecroDancer is a seriously clever rhythm game with a sublime soundtrack, which will keep you busy for many musical months.

8 / 10
Feb 12, 2025

It’s a clever core concept that doesn’t wear out its welcome with additional complications or gimmicks, opting instead to deliver the best experience possible based on that core.

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Jan 29, 2025

Rift of the Necrodancer captures the true essence of music by creatively visualizing rhythm.

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Digital Spy
Top Critic
Feb 3, 2025

Rift is another great entry in the NecroDancer series. It may be a more 'traditional' lane-scrolling rhythm title, but how the game incorporates Crypt's elements to create its own spin on the formula is noteworthy.

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Jan 29, 2025

Negative emotions may not be so easily dispelled for us as they are with Cadence’s magical guitar, but music can help us to motivate ourselves, making this a feel-good game in more ways than one.

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7.5 / 10.0
Feb 4, 2025

Rift of the Necrodancer is a solid rhythm game with some fresh and exciting takes on the classic Guitar Hero formula. The different enemy types and health system make this stand out from the crowd, but at higher difficulties, these fade into the background as you memorise your way through the tracks. Still, with killer design, delightful minigames and some absolutely banging tracks, this game delivers foot-tapping goodness that might just have you hooked.

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Jan 30, 2025

Rift of the Necrodancer successfully transitions the core tenets of the Crypt series to the Rhythm game genre delivering highly amusing and fun gameplay melded with its rocking soundtrack. Paired together with a more defined cartoony art style, silly pun-filled writing, and just enough gameplay variations to keep you playing again and again. Rift has the potential to become a franchise all on its own.

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7 / 10.0
Apr 1, 2025

In taking a step back and adhering to more classical rhythm games I think that Rift lost a bit of the appeal of what made the original game special for a lot of players. While the cast and characters do retain their appeal and made me more curious about playing the original, I think that my retention with Rift of the Necrodancer will fade quickly. I'm hopeful that future instalments can find a balance between innovation and keeping the appeal of this world and characters and it won't need a Necrodancer for itself in the future.

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3DNews
Мила Пономарева
Top Critic
10 / 10.0
Mar 8, 2025

Rift of the NecroDancer is a spectacular, cute, and extremely engaging ride with an outstandingly energizing soundtrack and infinite rifts full of joy!

Review in Russian | Read full review

80 / 100
Feb 9, 2025

Rift of the NecroDancer packs a steep learning curve, but those that come to know their way around slimes and skeletons are in for a real treat. Those that take the time to learn the inner workings of Rift of the NecroDancer's Action Row will be blessed with good tunes, a high skill ceiling, and plenty of replayability.

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8.6 / 10.0
Apr 1, 2025
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Worth your time
Mar 20, 2025

This latest foray into the franchise was a risk that paid off well. Aside from the lackluster story mode, there is not a thing I can fault Rift of the Necrodancer with. The visual clarity built into the core of the game plays so well with the game’s exhilarating score, and there is enough extra content for players to be more than satisfied. Brace Yourself Games has proven that they aren’t a one trick pony when it comes to rhythm games, and I am excited to see what kind of rhythm-genre-mashup game they come out with next time.

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9 / 10.0
Feb 24, 2025

At the end of the day, Rift of the NecroDancer is an absolute joy to play. Whether you’re here for the music, the challenge, or just a fun way to kill time, this game delivers on all fronts.

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9 / 10.0
Feb 20, 2025

With its innovative mechanics, Rift of the Necrodancer completely reimagines the rhythm game genre, resulting in a unique and highly deserving title. However, not every aspect of the game feels fully developed, though this doesn't significantly detract from the overall experience.

Review in Italian | Read full review

8.7 / 10.0
Feb 27, 2025

Rift of the Necrodancer is a very creative take on the classic lane style rhythm game. Even though, the story mode does not provide any real benefit, the main gameplay is absolutely addicting. The Custom Song integration is also great for longtime replayability while the very(!) high difficulty ceiling will keep even the best players on their toes.

Review in German | Read full review

8.5 / 10.0
Feb 19, 2025

[...]Rift of the NecroDancer stands out as an excellent addition to the series, offering an addictive gameplay and memorable soundtrack. Supporting community track creation, there's great potential for longevity and new experiences in the future.

Review in Portuguese | Read full review