Nintendo Announces Surprise Indie ‘Zelda’ Game ‘Cadence Of Hyrule’
Nintendo just announced that it’s producing a new Zelda spinoff for Switch called Cadence of Hyrule. But this time around development is being handled by Brace Yourself Games, the same team that made the musical dungeon crawler Crypt of the Necrodancer. As The Verge reports, the game has no fixed release date but will hit the Switch sometime this spring.
The game features Cadence, the protagonist from Brace Yourself Games’ hit indie game Crypt of the Necrodancer, and throws her into Link’s world. The game’s trailer shows Link and Zelda fighting enemies in a game world that appears to be heavily inspired by the Super Nintendo game The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past but with graphics that bear a closer resemblance to Crypt of the Necrodancer. The trailer also teases the game’s soundtrack, which consists of 25 remixed tracks inspired by Legend of Zelda songs.
As per Kotaku, Nintendo released a press release along with the trailer that offers more insight into the game.
“As Link or Princess Zelda, players explore randomly generated overworld and dungeons on a quest to save Hyrule, and every beat of the 25 remixed Legend of Zelda tunes is a chance to move, attack, defend and more. From modern-looking Lynels to the Hyrulean Soldiers of old, players must master the instinctive movements of each pixel-art enemy and strategically outstep them in rhythmic combat using an arsenal of iconic items from The Legend of Zelda, as well as the spells and weapons from Crypt of the NecroDancer.”
Cadence Of Hyrule is the newest Zelda spinoff game where you can play as Link or Zelda in "rhythmic combat" through a series of roguelike dungeons.
Read more: https://t.co/o6q6hSbeSp pic.twitter.com/hvvEe4n9Pq
— Kotaku (@Kotaku) March 20, 2019
Crypt of the Necrodancer was originally released on Steam and eventually on Switch after it was met with critical acclaim. The game was a dungeon crawler created on top of a rhythm game base. As Nintendo Life reports, the game created a unique genre by mixing procedurally-generated levels and a high difficulty level what the heart of a dance game.
The new Zelda release is somewhat surprising for two reasons: Nintendo handed one of its biggest franchises to a Canadian indie developer best known for an indie hit on Steam, and it’s the second Zelda game that is going to be released this year.
As Inquisitr reported, Nintendo announced back in February that it is remaking the 1993 Game Boy game Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. The game will release on Switch sometime later this year and gives the original a graphical overhaul that has some fans excited and others disappointed. While some enjoy the whimsical designs, others feel that it’s too cartoony and childlike.
