When comparing Dungeons of Dredmor vs Crypt of the NecroDancer, the Slant community recommends Dungeons of Dredmor for most people. In the question“What are the best roguelikes/roguelites on PC?” Dungeons of Dredmor is ranked 19th while Crypt of the NecroDancer is ranked 23rd. The most important reason people chose Dungeons of Dredmor is:
The core mechanics of Dungeons of Dredmor are roguelike, but added on top of that is a silly humor that creates and endearing atmosphere.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Combines punishing roguelike game mechanics with silly and satirical humor
The core mechanics of Dungeons of Dredmor are roguelike, but added on top of that is a silly humor that creates and endearing atmosphere.
Pro Several community mods were bundled as a free official expansion pack
In a testament to the quality of the Dungeons of Dredmor modding community, one official expansion pack consists almost entirely of user-created content. It was released for free, since they're not total capitalist jerks.
Pro Skill-based class system improves replay value
A character has seven selected skills, which effectively define that character's class: they have access to every skill selected, and no others. The base game contains dozens of skills, with many more available through both mods and official expansions.
Pro Configurable difficulty accommodates both casual and hardcore play
In addition to basic difficulty adjustment, the player can choose whether death is permanent (in classic roguelike style) or merely resets the current level. There is also a mode called "No Time to Grind" where experience points are increased from all sources, but in compensation, levels are smaller.
Pro Unique gameplay
Crypt of the NecroDancer is a dungeon crawler that is also a rhythm game. Your character can move, attack, and use special abilities only to the beat of a level's music. This means you have to split your attention between listening to the music and watching enemy movements. If you miss a beat your character won't do anything, but your enemies still get to move and attack. While the enemies are bound by the same rules as you, they won't ever miss the beat. Fortunately enough, they're always bound to a rhythm, so learning an enemy's rhythm is the key to defeating them. As a result, the gameplay stands out in both the roguelike and rhythm game genre.
Pro Fantastic soundtrack
Crypt of the NecroDancer has one of the best soundtracks you'll hear in a video game, featuring EDM, synthwave, and even heavy metal music. Each song has a unique tempo, rhythm, and feel to it, so you'll never get tired of listening to them.
Cons
Con Minor interface issues
The interface feels very unintuitive with aspects such as having to change the default action feeling overly complicated and unecissary.
Con Extremely hard
The combat in this game has an insanely fast tempo, requiring you to split your attention between the music and the on-screen enemies. Losing focus even for a split-second means you'll probably die, so you'll have to restart the level. At times this will feel really overwhelming, especially if there are many enemies around.
Con Co-op can make the game a lot harder
While Co-op in most games makes a game easier, Crypt of the Necrodancer is the opposite. This boils down to three main reasons.
First, you and your co-op partner have to share money and items. This can lead to two under-equipped characters that struggle with killing enemies and surviving their blows.
Second, there's no splitscreen, meaning your movements need to be in sync with your partners. If you happen to go in the opposite directions, you can get stuck or attract multiple groups of enemies, causing you to get overwhelmed.
Third, you share one beat counter with your co-op partner. So if one if you misses a beat, that's the end of a combo for the both of you. Not keeping up a combo means you'll have less gold and consequently less gear.