The rhythm game so good Nintendo made it a Zelda game gets a no-rhythm mode

Five years after its last update, indie roguelike rhythm game Crypt of the Necrodancer has just gotten a v3.0.0 patch, introducing new difficulty options, better accessibility features, Steam Deck support, improved co-op, and more.

"Yup. You’re seeing this right. After 1,721 days, Crypt of the NecroDancer is getting another update. And it’s a big one," the devs say in the announcement blog. "You might be saying, 'Brace Yourself Games, it’s been 5 years. Why are you updating now?' Well, let’s just say this is a precursor to something bigger coming your way, and we want to make sure that we address some of the community’s most significant feedback before we get there."

What that "something bigger" is remains to be seen - perhaps a sequel, dare we dream - but today's update introduces plenty to play with in the meantime.

At the top of the list is No Beat mode, which lets you play the rhythm game without any rhythm. It basically works like the Bard but can be used with any of the game's characters, which means struggling players can use it to complete the story.

You can also now save and quit from anywhere, you'll see "greatly reduced load times," and Steam Deck support has been made official alongside better controller options and button symbols. New co-op systems offer dynamic view scaling when partners move away from each other, and let players use different beatmaps while playing so you can play with two different rhythms.

If you want to take control of your own experience, custom music has been overhauled to make it easier to play with your own tunes, and improved mod support will let you add multiple mods at once and even load mods in the middle of a run.

On top of all that, there's even a brand-new level editor. And these are just the highlights of the patch notes, which you can read in full at that link.

Crypt of the Necrodancer proved to be a hit way back in 2015 - so much so that Nintendo offered the Zelda license to Brace Yourself Games in order to build the excellent follow-up, Cadence of Hyrule.

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