Crypt of the NecroDancer is a colourful roguelike with a very unique twist: the movement and attacks of every enemy in the game are performed to the beat of the music.

The main protagonist is Cadence, a feisty lass, who recklessly decides to enter the forbidden crypt in search of her long-lost father. She promptly dies... and gets resurrected by the ominous NecroDancer, albeit with a dark musical curse. Her heart, and by extension lifeforce, is now linked to the rhythm of the crypt. But there's still hope: if she manages to turn this curse into a boon, reach the lowest floor of the crypt and defeat the NecroDancer, she may yet win her freedom.

The gameplay loop is easy to grasp: on each level you need to find a mini-boss, defeat it and reach the stairs to the lower floor, preferably before the music stops. It is recommended that you move and attack to the rhythm of the music, as apart from the effect of changing the ground to a flashing disco floor, it increases your combo meter. This in turn gives you more gold from enemies and strengthens certain weapons. Every fourth floor you enter is occupied by a music-themed boss posing a difficult challenge e.g., reaper-like Death Metal with sped up music. The true difficulty of the game though, comes from learning the enemy patterns and utilizing them to your advantage.

Every run that you perform brings you one step closer to victory, not only due to the fact that your skills are improving, but also because in-between the runs you get to unlock new weapons, spells and items for use in the future. By reaching specific milestones and goals it is also possible to unlock new characters to play, each with an additional quirk such as the Monk who dies instantly upon entering a tile with gold. In fact, to experience the full story you will have to finish the game thrice, with increasingly difficult characters.