Cadence of Hyrule Melody Pack DLC impressions: A little flat

The music in Cadence of Hyrule is by far one of the best parts of the game and it all syncs up so well with the movement and combat. Whether you're playing to the beat or with rhythm mode off, there’s no arguing against the fact that the audio is the most endearing part of the experience. With the Melody Pack DLC, developer Brace Yourself Games has brought almost 40 new remixes of original Zelda music to the game for players to jam out to. It’s a really great way to expand on the game’s already great music, but ultimately it falls short of hitting all the right notes.

Back on rhythm

Don’t get me wrong, the music in the Melody Pack is absolutely beautiful. But is it worth the $5.99 USD (or $7.55 CAD) that you’d spend to pick it up without the Season Pass? Not really. Sure, it all sounds really good, and it does make some minor changes to how you approach situations since Cadence is a rhythm game, but for the most part it doesn’t really bring anything new to the table.

The 39 new tracks are made up of remixes from artists A_Rival, Chipzel, and FamilyJules, and each artist has completely reimagined all of the base game’s songs. If you were expecting to receive some new never-before-heard music in the game, then you’re probably going to be pretty disappointed. That isn’t to say that A_Rival, Chipzel, and FamilyJules haven’t done a great job with their versions of each song, because they have all outdone themselves. There’s just not really enough meat here to justify what they are asking for it.

Missing a note

I really feel like there is more they could have done with this DLC pack, even if all that included was adding a simple music player that lets you experience all the music from the main menu. As it stands, though, the Melody Pack just doesn’t live up to what the first DLC pack had to offer and what the final pack – which includes a completely new character and play mode – is promising.

To be honest, there really isn’t much else to talk about here. The tracks sound good, but the pack doesn’t add much value to the game. If you aren’t planning on picking up the Season Pass for Cadence of Hyrule, and want to purchase the DLC as standalone items, then go ahead and skip this one, unless you’ve just got six bucks burning a hole in your pocket.

These impressions are based off a review code provided by the publisher. Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the Necrodancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda DLC Pack 2: Melody Pack is now available for Nintendo Switch.

Josh Hawkins

Guides Editor

Joshua holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and has been exploring the world of video games for as long as he can remember. He enjoys everything from large-scale RPGs to small, bite-size indie gems and everything in between.