Rift of the Necrodancertakes you to a new world where you can play in a variety of game modes. If you don’t know where to start, then you’ve come to the right place. The gameplay remains largely the same (attacking to the beat), but the situation around it can change depending on the mode you pick.

In this guide, we are going to take a look at all the game modes in Rift of the Necrodancer. This will cover exactly what each one means. Additionally, we’ll dive into the ‘Extras’ of the game, where tons of great content is buried away.

A player looking at the daily challenge menu in Rift of the Necrodancer.

Play Mode

This is the game mode where you can justpick a song and start jamming.From here, you’ll see all of your unlocked songs; locked songs will also appear, with the amount of diamonds required to purchase them.

From the Play menu, you’ll be able to choose betweenEasy, Medium, Hard, and Impossible.For each of these difficulties, you’ll also be able tocheck out the leaderboard(both global and with your friends).

A player looking at custom song menu in Rift of the Necrodancer.

At the bottom of the screen, you’ll see some additional options. Firstly, you canequip modifiers, which change how you play.Currently, there are only two;the Golden Lute and Coda.In the future, more may be added.

Lastly, you can choose Remix mode,which essentially remixes the enemies in a song.This gives the songs in Rift of the Necrodancer some replayability, and there is aseparate leaderboard for you to climb.

A player looking at a story beat in Rift of the Necrodancer.

Daily Challenge

As its name implies, the Daily Challenge is achallenge that you can complete… daily.Rather than picking a song, you’llonly be able to choose the difficulty of a set song.For example, when we wrote this guide, the challenge song was Disco Disaster.

You don’t have to play the song on a hard difficulty;just pick whatever you are comfortable with.From the results screen, you’ll also be able to check out the leaderboard.

A player looking at the screen to unlock challenges in Rift of the Necrodancer.

From the main menu, you cansee the time to the next Daily Challenge once you completed the current one.For example, we did the Daily Challenge of Disco Disaster, and the menu in the top right corner notes that the next daily challenge will be in about seven hours.

You can’t replaythe Daily Challenge after you complete it.

Custom Music

Looking for even more songs? From the Custom Music menu, you’ll be able toeither install a community-made track, or create your own.When you choose ‘Steam Workshop’, the Steam overlay will appear,allowing you to look at songs that other players have made.

By selecting ‘Level Editor’, you’ll get to make your own custom track. The method of doing so isn’t built into the game; when clicking on it for the first time,you’ll be directed to Steam in order to download the separate level editor.

Story Mode

Story mode mixesmini-games, typical song rifts, bosses, and story elements into one.From here, you can play the story following Cadence as she tries tounderstand why she is in this new world.

The story isseparated into smaller beats,so you won’t ever feel like it’s dragging on for too long. Story mode is also a great way tounlock new songs, mini-games, and battles without spending any diamonds.

We recommend playing through the story, as it can be agreat way to have fun, meet new characters, and earn some diamonds.

Extras

This menu is made up ofseveral smaller sections,which you’re able to find in the table below. These are a bit tucked away from the rest of the content, butstill worth checking out to get the full experience(especially if you want to challenge yourself further).

Mini-games

There are five mini-games that you can play through.

While you can directly unlock them with diamonds from this menu, they will also naturally unlock as you play through the story.

Each mini-game has a tutorial, as well as medium and hard versions.

Boss Battles

There are five bosses that you can battle.

Similar to mini-games, you can either spend diamonds to unlock these or just play through the story to avoid spending the currency.

Challenges

Challenges are replayable rifts that present some sort of challenge for you to complete.

Each song will note what the actual challenge is. For example, the challenge for Count Funkula is that you only have one HP, and any mistake will instantly cause you to lose.

Bestiary

This displays all monsters in the game, allowing you to practice against their patterns.

you may opt for simple practice, or choose the ‘patterns’ option to ramp up the difficulty.