After much online speculation, Nintendo has announced Cadence of Hyrule – Crypt of the NecroDancer Featuring the Legend of Zelda will release on the Nintendo Switch sometime in June.
Earlier this week, GameSpot reported that the source code within Cadence of Hyrule’s page on the Nintendo website contained line of text that simply read, “Release date: May 30, 2019.” Their discovery came in the wake of NintendoLife reporting earlier in May that Nintendo Europe included Cadence of Hyrule in an email newsletter promoting new games releasing on the Switch in May. A May 30 release date appeared likely, as all Nintendo had offered previously concerning the game’s release was a broad “Spring 2019” window, as first revealed in their spring 2019 Nindies Showcase.
In Nintendo’s Indie World 2019 direct on May 31, Nintendo included an update for Cadence of Hyrule, now confirming the game will release sometime in June. The Nintendo website has also updated Cadence of Hyrule’s page to have “June 2019” release date, though GameSpot has reported that where the site’s source code once presented May 30 as the release date has now been updated to say “June 20”—the very last day of spring—though GameSpot speculates whether it’s legitimate or just placeholder text for the code.
The Indie World 2019 direct, uploaded to Nintendo of Japan’s YouTube channel, included about a minute’s worth of gameplay. Link and Zelda battle a variety of monsters familiar to Legend of Zelda fans, such as Moblins and Darknuts, to the beat of the music. The footage also provides a sneak peek to items available in the game, such as different weapons and tools, compiled from past Zelda games and Crypt of the NecroDancer, the 2015 indie rhythm-dungeon-crawler-hybrid which Cadence of Hyrule is based upon.
Like the original NecroDancer, Cadence of Hyrule will challenge players to navigate and fight through randomly generated dungeons to the beat of the music, which will consist of 25 remixed Zelda songs. Cadence of Hyrule is being developed by NecroDancer developer Brace Yourself Games and will be published by Nintendo.