Cadence of Hyrule Symphony of the Mask impressions: Ruthless tuning

Cadence of Hyrule was an absolute gem on the Nintendo Switch when it originally released in June of 2019. Now, over a year after its initial release, developer Brace Yourself Games has finally completed the Season Pass with the release of the Symphony of the Mask DLC pack. The new pack brings Majora’s Mask’s infamous Skull Kid to the musical adventure game, along with new moves, a new storyline, and a ton of challenges that often end in you banging your head against your desk.

Masterful mix-up

When Cadence of Hyrule originally released, I was wowed by just how much freedom Nintendo had given the developer. Not only did Cadence hit all the right notes to fit into the Legend of Zelda franchise, but it also brought some new ideas to the table for the series and told the age-old story in its own intriguing ways.

With Symphony of the Mask, Brace Yourself Games has taken the basic formula of Cadence and bumped it to 11, including a new storyline that gives players a different perspective on the iconic Majora’s Mask villain. It’s a solid trip through the game and includes some additional mechanics – like Skull Kid’s beloved masks – that help to make for an experience entirely different from the original.

I don’t want to talk too much about the story itself, as I feel that’s such a vital part of the experience, especially when combined with the expertly chosen music tracks that play throughout the entire story.

Upping the ante

Perhaps the most interesting change about Symphony of the Mask is the fact that the DLC pack is much more difficult than the base game was, adding in a ton of new puzzles for players to come to terms with. There also seem to be more enemies on the screen at any given time compared to the original storyline, which means you’re going to be moving and fighting frantically.

Skull Kid’s various masks bring a nice change of pace to the combat, though, with many of them unlocking additional abilities for him to make use of throughout every encounter. Putting the Zora mask on will give Skull Kid the ability to swim, helping him move around different areas more easily. Other masks will unlock the ability to shoot projectiles. It’s a nice way to change up the combat and it gives you another edge throughout the various instances you come across.

There are also an assortment of new puzzles, like a series of nodes that you need to activate by standing on a line while the enemy is also on top of a certain spot. These can often turn into you having to restart those rooms, because you end up killing the enemies in the wrong spots. If you’re not someone who enjoys playing the same moments over and over to get things right, then you’re probably going to find yourself frustrated with the Symphony of the Mask DLC. The campaign will probably take you around 4-5 hours to complete, depending on your mastery of the game itself, and the added puzzle mode gives you even more to explore if you want to mess around with Skull Kid and his powers a bit more.

A fantastic addition

All in all, Symphony of the Mask takes the base experience from Cadence of Hyrule and tweaks it a little. The dungeons are a bit more challenging, though sometimes frustratingly so. If you enjoyed the formula from the original story, then you’re going to enjoy what is on offer here. The added masks make for a nice mix to the combat and keep it from feeling stale. Symphony of the Mask is by far the best DLC that we’ve received for Cadence of Hyrule, and it was fantastic getting to explore Skull Kid a bit more than we’ve been allowed to in previous games and titles.

These impressions are based on a code provided by Nintendo. Cadence of Hyrule Symphony of the Mask is available right now on 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.