Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the Necrodancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda - Symphony of the Mask (DLC) (Switch) Review
Release Date: 23 September 2020
Date Played: 13 February 2022
Symphony of the Mask was the 3rd DLC expansion pack released for Cadence of Hyrule and introduces the beloved Skull Kid as a playable character. Although he plays much like the other characters in the game, he has the ability to change masks to gain various powers like swimming, blocking attacks, and more that can help you make progress. In addition to the new character, this DLC pack also contains a new story mode that consists of a future Hyrule where Ganon has conquered everything and turned the once bright and vibrant land into a muted brown and green wasteland. While the map isn't as large as the base game, it is still a good size and is about half the size of the full game. It is, of course, randomized just like the overworld map in Cadence of Hyrule but due to it's smaller size, there's really only so many ways it can be jumbled. As you explore, you'll definitely get a darker and more sinister vibe similar to Majora's Mask (if you're familiar with it). Everything feels bleak and desolate and is a nice juxtaposition to what you experienced before with the original game. You can feel the despair in the air and you want to help fix this broken world.
As you explore around, you'll encounter the Gerudo and Deku civilizations and learn that they are still managing to survive after Ganon has taken power. Also, Ganon's minions are fully thriving and out of blood. Many screens you enter will be inundated with harder versions of enemies you've encountered before as well as a host of new bad guys to make you tear out your hair. And, on that note, Symphony of the Mask is HARD. Not a little more difficult than the base game... but MUCH more difficult. The enemy attack patterns are draconian and difficult to manage. In addition to that, there can be more than twice the number of enemies you're use to encountering if you've finished the base game. You'll find yourself losing a huge chunk of your health on almost every single enemy encounter and you'll die repeatedly. Although the game is about half the size of the standard game, I would say that I probably died about 5X more often in this DLC pack. So, if you're a pro at the original game, this expansion will be more than happy to smash in some of your teeth if you're willing to give it a shot.
There are two new temples to complete this time around. The first is the Garudo Village Arena which is just a gauntlet of clearing 5 rounds of attacks from the same bad guys you've encountered all over the overworld before facing off against a final boss. It'll take some skill for sure, but doesn't really feel like a real dungeon to me and has more of a side quest feel to it. If you've got enough heart containers and a few health potions, it shouldn't be too bothersome just to tank your way through it with a little skill. The second of the two temples is far more interesting. The Temple of Brainstorms is by far the most difficult portion of the game and is a sprawling 3 story tall tower of difficult puzzles and combat encounters. You'll have all of your weapons and collected items stripped away from you at the onset and you'll have to work your way through the procedurally generated dungeon and clear rooms to recollect them. Along the way, you'll learn new mechanics and be forced to use them to defeat enemies in ways that are totally unique to the game (and a little obtuse, in my opinion). Apparently, if you've played the original Crypt of the Necrodancer, you'll have a clue how these combat encounters work. But, as someone who hasn't had a chance to play it yet, I was totally lost and actually had to do a quick internet search to figure out what to do. Unsurprisingly, a lot of other people out there had the same problems as me and were somewhat put off by the lack of direction and huge increase in difficulty of this DLC pack.
Once you work your way through this temple, you'll encounter the most difficult boss fight of the entire game and if you have the skills to complete it you'll finally have access to fight Ganon. It's the exact same fight as the base game of Cadence of Hyrule and is a bit of a let down because I was hoping for a different ending or at least different boss fight mechanics. I guess it does provide an alternate route to finish the game, but that doesn't help it feel like less of a cop-out. With all the love and care the developers put into the base game, I was a little surprised by this lack of content.
Overall, I feel like this DLC pack is a good addition to the base game but it doesn't really elevate it in any ways other than the difficulty. The Temple of Brainstorms was a really unique and interesting dungeon and certainly stands out as one of the best in the game, but the rest of the content doesn't live up to its standard and by the end of the experience, I was kind of relieved when the whole DLC content was over. Skull Kid is an interesting character, but none of the characters in Cadence of Hyrule play that differently to each other and this one is no exception. While I did spend some time with him, I found Link's charge attack to be so essential for dispatching the difficult enemies that I ended up using him most of the time. If you're a huge fan of the base game, give this one a shot. If you bought the physical version of this game on the Nintendo Switch, it's already included on the cart and you have nothing to lose.
Final Status: Beaten
Final Score: 6/10 (worse than the base game and much more difficult)
No comments:
Post a Comment