Whether Breath of the Wild was your first Zelda game or you’ve spent decades adventuring across both 2D and 3D quests in Hyrule, chances are you have some assumptions of what to expect when you sit down to play a brand new Zelda. Sure, examples like Four Swords Adventures and Tri Force Heroes take the recognized 2D Zelda formula and subvert it a bit, throwing multiplayer in the mix and streamlining the overworld, but Cadence of Hyrule is planning to take the series in an even crazier new direction on Nintendo Switch.
Zelda games have had musical themes for ages now with things like flutes, harps, conductor wands, and Ocarinas being integral to progression, but music (and rhythm) is connected to practically everything in Cadence of Hyrule, right down to moving your character in any direction. If this sounds sort of familiar, it’s because it’s pretty much a spiritual successor to 2015’s indie darling Crypt of the NecroDancer, a rhythm-based rogue-like dungeon crawler where player movement is essentially tied to a metronome. Every step you take is expected to be to the beat, and missing your timing leads to your run getting dinged a bit. Cadence of Hyrule infuses that gameplay with The Legend of Zelda’s characters and world, creating a flow that feels very, very different than your usual “play and explore at your own pace” Zelda.
Source: IGN.com Cadence of Hyrule Is a Bold New Zelda that Might Frustrate Purists