Four years on, Dead Cells remains a roguelike delight

4 years on, Dead Cells remains a roguelike delight

Definitely nevertheless alive

An image from Dead Cells: The Queen And The Sea, which shows the player swing a shark at a horrible glob monster.

I take a strange human relationship with Dead Cells. I picked information technology up in 2019 and played it for a while, by which point I'd clearly had my fill. No DLCs to my name, nothing. I'd done a large run and put the game down.

Fast forward to now. Of a sudden I ain the latest expansion The Queen And The Bounding main, plus all the DLCs that came earlier it. I'm nonchalant, thinking that I dropped the game for a reason. Surely I can't be won almost three years subsequently? Well, nope. I was wrong. The DLCs take opened my eyes to the game in ways I hadn't anticipated. The combat is crunchy, the claiming is thrilling, and Dead Cells more than holds its own next to more than mod darlings of the genre like Hades.

Ask me to pinpoint exactly why I dropped side-scrolling roguelike Dead Cells all those years ago and, well, I don't really have a physical reason. Possibly it comes down to "the amount of stuff". After a single run of slicing and dicing, I felt like I'd seen enough. My retentivity is hazy, merely I swear I went on one absolute tear and finished off the final dominate. I just couldn't bring myself to go through information technology all again, knowing that I'd likely put my fist through plaster in the process.

And then heading back into Dead Cells for this Queen And The Sea DLC - and all the residual - I wasn't certain what to expect, or whether the folks over at Evil Empire (the folks who've taken over evolution from Motion Twin) had made the game's roguelike runs more appealing. Would it finally manage to hook me?

In i word: yes! In fact, after three years of thinking I was done with Dead Cells, I've fallen in love with it a little bit. Whether I've grown into Dead Cells, I don't know. Mayhap my gaming palette has merely matured over the years. But I reckon a big part of my renewed admiration lies in the greater scale of the game at present. With three DLCs, information technology feels like it's bursting with secrets and pathways, similar each run tin lead to something new or heady. Where earlier I thought I'd seen it all (which I hadn't), now it's this steady drip feed of new areas and encounters that keeps me coming back.

A screenshot of Dead Cells' Queen And The Sea DLC showing the player wielding a trident.

The game is fluid and crunchy and tightly designed. In that location are loads of doors that lead to places. A tentacle spoke to me. I plant a demote from Hollow Knight, then got to use the little fella's nail as my weapon. Finally, I unlocked the power to teleport to statues instead of rubbing them to no avail. Really, I reckon that last revelation was in the base game, but all the same, the new DLCs are helping me see the game in a new light.

Speaking of which, I was initially puzzled by these mysterious doors of lite. Three of them, all leading to ominous-sounding places. I picked 1 and information technology was rather pleasant - for a chip. Rusted platforms with a aureate sky every bit a backdrop, which fabricated for a nice change from dark and chilly. Then the nagas with spears showed up, every bit did some horrid crows and spell-slinging cultists. A quick Google tells me they're from The Fatal Falls DLC.

That's the affair - much of my time with Dead Cells is shrouded in mystery. In that location's and so much content with these DLCs, I don't know what's what anymore. And I think that'south swell. I like it when a lot of stuff just mingles and mixes into a cocktail of loot. In my terminal run I discovered a sword and pistol combo, that'south obviously from a free update unrelated to the DLCs. I'd slash a couple of times, then round off the swingy concern with this blindside that ripped through enemies.

And man, is the combat skillful. I look at my previous self in puzzlement, to exist honest. Fighting is fast and frenetic, with tonnes of multifariousness. How could I have left this backside? Still, at least I appreciate the punch it has now. Yes, y'all've got the brilliant Hades with its thumps, or the likes of Rogue Legacy with its pings, just Expressionless Cells does impact amend. The twin-swords make for stylish scissors, while the Nutcracker is an oversized meat tenderizer, and there'due south always this satisfaction, no matter what you're using, when the enemy splats into red goo at the end of a combo. You move with a springy agility, withal hitting similar a truck. It's glorious.

And there'southward nothing more glorious than getting a expert run going. 1 time (1), I managed to reach the Queen And The Sea DLC. It's a bit like the fishing hamlet from Bloodborne: waterlogged, damp, and home to nasties that chuck anchors. What's groovy is that I was steered to the endgame expansion by seemingly random encounters. At commencement a tentacle handed me a note, and from there I stumbled into a fishy character who dropped hints as to how to reach the ocean. Manage to arrive to the latter stages of a run and you'll take the door that's not glowy and gold, but tinged with a ghostly blue.

It'south fair to say my time in the beginning stage of this DLC infinite was a bit limited, albeit an absolute thrill-ride. I wouldn't say information technology'southward designed all that differently from whatever other areas, as it'southward got the usual den of lefts and rights and drops into pits. Just I would say that it'due south populated with some truly horrendous abominations. I particularly dislike the leech men who relentlessly spew even more ravenous leeches from their gullets until you down them, or, in my instance, douse them in fire.

A screenshot from the game Dead Cells. The player's currently jumping through platforms in an underwater ship, surrounded by enemies.

Well-nigh terrifying of all, though, were sinewy balls of gloop that stalked me across corridors. They reminded me a bit of the Carrion monster, with tendrils that would extend and latch onto surfaces as they pursued me. If you let them get as well shut, y'all demand to dodge their lunges or be minced in seconds. I did, nevertheless, manage to acquire a beautiful niggling gloop friend of my own! He'due south chosen Gangling and he'southward crimson and has a nice smiling. He follows me about and smacks nearby things and if I activate his move, he puffs his cheeks and emits spikes that bleed enemies. This makes his hits bargain disquisitional damage, considering he'southward a good boy.

I also acquired a lantern-weapon-thing, that let me pulverise enemies with a swing and collect their fallen souls. Now for the actually cool flake: I could then fling these souls at enemies like missiles, causing them to explode in bursts of gore. My first taste of ultimate power, until I realised that I was taking double damage in return and swiftly got mauled to decease by a hulking body of water helm.

Although I'grand yet to reach the heights of The Lighthouse or face off confronting the Queen, I'one thousand having a blast with Dead Cells. Heck, I've barely scratched the surface of the DLCs that came earlier this one. Now I see why everyone lauded this game dorsum in 2017, and why it's still popular. As a lapsed player, all this new "stuff" has proven a reawakening of sorts. My eyes take been opened to how moreish this game remains four years on. I mean, my main concern right now lies in finding a throwable shark, which speaks volumes.