This is the game that pulled me away from Hearthstone and Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Absolutely gorgeous and genius, even in its early state. Yes, you'll die a lot, but it never feels like a big deal. The point of the game is in the moment to moment combat anyway -- and the fact that you're rewarded for each run in a slow permanent progression means you never feel cheated. Highly recommended.

Some of the tightest controls, buttery smooth animation and gorgeous scenes you'll see all year. I've bought it three times now, (once for me, twice as gifts for friends) and each time was worth it.

Support developers like these.

Game so I good I bought it after trying it pirated.

Dead Cells is a 2D sidescrolling action platformer. And it's a good one at that.

It draws heavy inspiration from titles such as the Dark Souls series or BloodBorne, and during your gameplay you'll notice mechanics such as the Estus flask, the Bloodborne combat heals, or a roll with invincibility frames shaping up combat.

The controls feel good and are fully rebindable, attacks are satisfying to land and the enemies have tells that stand out enough that taking damage doesn't feel cheap. There's a lot of platforming involving, and the map is full of secrets and loot. The jumping and climbing around itself feels generous, less challenging than it seems to be at first glance, as in you will make jumps you think you wouldn't be able to.

I like the graphic and sound design, as well as the general themes and setting. There is not a lot of variation when it comes to enemies, tho, but I would expect more to be added.

To finish up there are some rogue-lite mechanics implemented, too, as you can unlock items from run to run and other upgrades, and the map itself is somewhat procedurally generated or something.

Anyhow, I think Dead Cells can end up becoming a great title, only depending on where the developer team decides to take it from where it is now, but the foundation's there and it's solid, if only missing some content, and maybe some invincibility frames when you get hit so you're not boxed.

Dead Cells is a game that I would describe as a mix of Castlevania, Dark Souls and most of the rogue-lites out there. You take control over a ninja-like character and your goal is to get through a bunch of randomly generated levels and defeat evil (I suppose, I'm yet to finish the game myself :P and keep in mind that it's the EARLY ACCESS game and that there's like a year of development to come which will fill story gaps and bring a ton of new items and mechanics)

Now this game is a masterpiece in my opinion, and here's why:

1) levels - randomly generated levels make the adventure fresh every time you play. Not only that, but there are alternate paths to be taken (pretty cleverly locked behind certain 'skillchecks') and you're not destined to commit to one of them! It's this 'interweave' sort of a deal, where you can go hard path for one level and then hop back to normal path in the next. To put it more simply - in each level you have pretty much 3 entrances to the next level, it's entirely up to you which one you'll choose. And it's not only one enviroment. You fight in the castle, sewers, harbor-esk town, graveyard... And every level is different. In one you go up, in other you drop down, others are just flat, long distances to traverse. Everything designed to be easy to traverse but difficult to leave unscathed

2) weapons/skills - you start the run with 2 weapons - sword and bow/shield. You can find random gear during the run of course and what's cool is that there's never a 'right' answer to what to use. You have to be flexible and think about your loadout, because one random weapon/skill drop can flip your playstyle inside out. And I like that weapons have weight attached to them. for example, when you swing the big, massive sword or hammer, it has a significant delay in attack (but much better damage of course). There's tons of other weapons with different quirks. Some inflict bleed/poison, some crit while backstabbing, some crit when enemy is near the wall, some get bonus damage against frozen targets, etc - the variety is stunning

skills - 2 slots, things to crowd control / augment your weapons. Magnetic grenades to keep enemies in place, meat grinders to bleed them, turrets, bear traps, etc, all with additional benefits / synergies. Again, stunning variety already

3) movement - this has to be one of the most precise and enjoyable to traverse games available. Super tight controls (at least with x360 pad), dash move, double jump - full control! You even have dropjump which can hurt the enemies, but it's one of those moves that you love videogames for, because it's just fun to use randomly :) You know what I'm saying? :P Sometimes you just jump around to use it, it's so fun :)

4) builds - there's no 'right' build in this game. You can upgrade strenght and go full sword damage, you can upgrade health and create regen build, you can make skills only build, you can do something stupid like whip that brings enemies closer to you and then your secondary kick that pushes them away :) Again, everything depends on the stuff that you find on the way. Adapt or die, that's the name of the game :P

5) presentation - graphics, music, sound effects - everything's gorgeous, period :P

6) difficulty - this is a difficult game. It's because of the combination of randomly generated enemies and dungeons, loadout and skill upgrades, precision in platforming, patterns recognition and ability to fight a bunch of the enemies at the same time. Which brings me to pretty much my only pet peeve with this game:

No post hit invincibility - it's a deliberate design decision, but certain enemies in this game can hit you multiple times in a very short period of time. It makes the game much more deadly to the player and sometimes it gives you literally no chance to recuperate. But that's ninja's life I suppose. Be precise or die :P

Overall, this game is a gem in the genre and it's already great despite being in early stages of development.

9/10

The AAA games industry has abandoned many genres in favor of more popular ones. Luckily, these genres often get picked up by smaller studios who manage to resurrect them with their own takes. Dead Cells comes from indie studio Motion Twin and offers a unique take on the rogue-lite genre with elements of a Metroidvania. It's what they call a "Roguevania".

Pros and Cons
👍 A simple combat system that never gets old
👍 Many weapons to choose from
👍 Colorful presentation
👍 Progression is well-handled
Click here to see my rating chart

Dead Cells is all about speed. Combat is swift and satisfying, yet never gets out of hand. Given that this is a rogue-lite, death is permanent. Make too many mistakes, and you'll likely face your own grave. In your aid is a deluge of weapons and tools to choose from, each represented by one of three attributes: brutality, tactics and survival.

Each run will be different. It's not about your skill with a specific weapon, rather how good you are at adapting to whatever the game throws your way. It can make for a lot of uniquely entertaining situations. Will you focus on melee, or perhaps take enemies out from afar using a bow and arrow? How about confining your enemies with traps, followed by a quick grenade throw?

You can carry two weapons and a pair of tools at once, and the simple controls allow you to combine their powers for devastating results. You could, for example, freeze an enemy and then smash them with a great hammer. Due to the permadeath mechanics, you're never committed to one style of play; you can always experiment with new ways of approaching enemies.

There are many foes to encounter, as each area adds new ones while also retaining previous enemies. It does mean that the first area is going to get dull in comparison due to the low variety of enemies, which is sad. I wish they had found a way to integrate new enemies into each area as you progress. Fortunately, it doesn't take long before many of the distinct enemies appear.

As to be expected, boss encounters are present, ramping up the difficulty with unique movesets and more health. They are far and few between, but this is an indie game, and bosses do take a tremendous amount of time to develop. Sometimes you'll also encounter Elite enemies, which are buffed versions of normal ones. They come with a few extra tricks up their sleeve, but not as many as the more prominent bosses.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2189196426

You'll explore a series of nonlinear areas, all with branching paths. Each time, you'll start in the Prisoner's Quarters. While randomly generated, each area stays true to an overall theme when it comes to atmosphere, level design, and art direction.

The paths you can take in terms of progression will not change as well, so you won't find yourself unable to go down a specific route due to the randomness. The game does also present some Metroidvania aspects in runes not lost upon death. These grant you abilities letting you access new areas that, in turn, allow for new progression routes to be taken. You can also find blueprints that unlock new purchasable items.

In each level, you come across interactable objects, which will result in a small piece of dialogue from the protagonist, explaining some of the events that have taken place on the island. Be wary that the lore consists of a lot of references and humorous notes, and, most of the time, isn't something to take seriously.

A full run should take around an hour, but you'll find your playtime significantly higher before the final boss will have drawn its last breath. As someone used to unforgiving games, it took me a little over 40 runs to complete the game. I'd say it would take an average player about 20 hours to finish Dead Cells, but remember that there's still plenty more to do after the credits roll.

Before each area, you'll visit the Collector's Room. Here, you'll be able to spend Cells, which are sometimes dropped by slain enemies, on various upgrades to your character, including new gear, starting equipment, or even outfits! All enhancements bought with Cells will carry over from run to run, so in a sense, you are making progress all the time.

You can also increase the quality of the weapons and tools currently in your possession, as well as acquiring new mutations - valuable perks that affect combat. Note that these, like your equipment, are lost upon death. Most importantly, you can replenish the charges of your Health Flask, which allows you to recover a large amount of health. Dark Souls players are sure to be familiar with this aspect.

Each visit should be over quickly, as menus are easy to navigate and comprehend. The game doesn't take a lot of time to explain the ins and outs to you, but due to the way it presents the mechanics, you don't have to spend a lot of time with it before you fully understand what's going on. Therefore, it's easy to play in shorter sessions.

When it comes to visuals, Dead Cells brings nothing new to the table, which isn't necessarily bad. It goes with the classic pixel art style often seen used by indie games. Despite the game's gloomy setting, the visual style comes off as upbeat, which is a refreshing change.

Instead of going down the usual route with dark and depressing colors, the game utilizes an extensive color palette. Even the most sinister locations apply expressive design. The Graveyard brims with neon purples and reds and gives off an '80s vibe, while the Ramparts emit a majestic characteristic with the sun adding a golden touch on the sky.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2189197940

You'll quickly come to understand the enemies' attack patterns through the animations and sound design. Both are solid, with the latter being particularly important in combat. One of the first opponents you'll encounter is the zombie. It will rush towards you, but groan beforehand, letting you know what's about to happen. If observant, you'll naturally prepare to dodge the incoming attack.

The sound effects might not be of the highest quality, especially not when compared to games of a higher budget, however they do what they need to, informing the player of what's about to unfold. To pump you up is an exciting soundtrack with a unique piece of music for each area in the game. It does a great job of keeping you excited, both in the quiet and intense moments. It fits the aesthetic of the visuals quite favorably with encouraging tones cheering you on as you slay enemies one after another.

Unless your system is composed of old parts, you'll be able to run the game. The game ran in a consistent 500 frames per second, with smaller areas reaching around 1000. The game didn't crash at any point, nor did I encounter any bugs. I did find the lack of a resolution option strange - the game will only run at whatever resolution your PC is outputting.

If you're up for a challenge, Dead Cells is a must-buy. It's an outstanding rogue-lite game that also manages to integrate new ideas. When you finally beat the game, you can only sit back and relax, thinking about what you've just accomplished.

The game was played on a PC with the following components:
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super
16GB DDR4 RAM 3200MHz
Intel 660P NVME M.2 SSD

The ongoing support for this game has been unreal.

Heavily recommend.

The first 1387 hours have been good.

Doesn't get hit for 3 floors.
Takes on a curse.
Immediately gets hit.

Very addictive. Similar to Salt and Sanctuary and the souls series. Unforgiving.