Crypt of the Necrodancer is the rhythmic roguelike Chris once described as "beautifully designed, tough, and cheerful" where players are rewarded for their perseverance "with a singular feeling of finesse." I couldn't argue with that and while I've yet to sample its Amplified DLC that landed in Early Access in January, the prequel chapter appears to growing into a similarly rewarding game.
Amplified's latest update, version 2.42, introduces a range of quality of life adjustments and bug fixes—the sum of which can be perused over here—however its most interesting additions befall its new hard mode, whereby more enemies fill rooms, the majority of rooms house an enemy-spawning sarcophagus that's immune to weapon damage, exit rooms have not one but two minibosses, rooms have no trap doors, and, most interestingly, rooms are moddable via the game's customisation suite.
As it stands, a number of base game's mods have been reworked to suit the Amplified DLC, however I'll be keeping an eye on the twisted offerings that're bound to crop up from hereon.
Besides new artwork and items—such as cookies, monkey paws, bomb charms and ice familiars—Amplified 2.42 introduces new character Diamond, who is unlocked when players best Zone 5. Key combos allow the new star to move diagonally, so reads this Steam update post, whereas up and down allows Diamond to unleash bombs.
Full patch notes for Amplified's latest update can be found in this direction. Crypt of the Necrodancer's base game is available to buy for £10.99/$14.99 via the Humble Store.
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