Like any teen growing up in the 2000s, Guitar Hero was an important part of my life. I didn’t even own it; it was just so fundamental to any gaming set up that I could practically play it anywhere I went. Whether it was at a friend’s house or a school function, I was constantly rocking out anytime I wasn’t in class. It was no surprise when the pricey peripheral fad eventually died out, but I was heartbroken nonetheless. I’ve tried to replicate the thrill of my glory days over the past decade with throwbacks like Fortnite Festival, but I could never recapture the magic.
Now, I finally have — and you can too with two simple steps.
First off, you’ll want to grab a copy of Rift of the Necrodancer. Released at the top of February, the new rhythm title from Brace Yourself Games is follow-up to Crypt of the Necrodancer. Unlike that game, though, Rift isn’t a roguelike where players move to the beat of music. It’s an excellent riff on Guitar Hero that turns notes into monsters, all of which have different timing patterns that players need to learn.
I praised Rift in my review, noting that it really captures what it feels like to play live music. It scratched that Guitar Hero itch more than any music game I’ve played like it, but something was still missing. Tapping my keyboard to hit notes still didn’t feel right. I wished that I could play it on a plastic controller with a fretboard full of buttons. As it turns out, that wasn’t a dream. It’s entirely possible to pull off.
Accessory-maker PDP got back in the plastic guitar market last year with the Riffmaster, a modern spin on Guitar Hero’s iconic controller. It has everything you could want: fret buttons at the top and bottom of the neck, a whammy bar, a strum button, wireless support, and more. It even has some fun engineering tricks packed in, as the neck can be dethatched for easy storage, and there’s a sneaky joystick conveniently tucked under the head. It’s a high quality controller that can be easily hooked up to a compatible platform via a USB dongle.
I was eager to see if it was compatible with Rift, though I had been exclusively playing it on Steam Deck. That wasn’t a problem thanks to my Razer Handheld Dock Chroma. I plugged the dongle into its back side and could immediately control my Steam Deck with it. Then, I fired up Rift and jumped into the controller remapping menu. I was able to assign commands to my fretboard and even make it so I could activate my special ability by pressing my whammy bar down. The only thing I couldn’t do was strum to trigger the fret buttons, so I’d just have to press them instead.
Was it a success? You bet. As soon as I started playing, the joys of the Guitar Hero era came rushing back to me immediately. It’s not just that it’s fun to use a goofy controller. There’s a physicality to using the Riffmaster, especially since its wireless. I could bop around my office to my heart’s content, showing off with rockstar tricks. I was in heaven.
As an added bonus, the experiment gave me an excuse to check in on Rift of the Necrodancer‘s Steam workshop community, which has churned out over 1,000 custom songs since the game’s launch. You can download everything from Uptown Funk to Not Like Us to Sonic’s Live and Learn. My personal favorite? Someone has already turned The Simpsons‘ infamous Steamed Hams bit into a playable song — and it even utilizes fire traps at the exact moment that Principal Skinner burns dinner. It’s incredible.
So, if you’re still trying to recapture the thrill of Guitar Hero too, I can’t recommend this setup enough. Rift of the Necrodancer and the Riffmaster are a match made in heaven, and I imagine they’ll take up a lot of my gaming time this year. Who knows? Maybe I’ll even start making my own custom songs. Somebody needs to add some Limp Bizkit to the mix.
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