Dead Cells Review

No matter how you really look at it, there is nothing better than a well done Roguelike game, which is possibly why the indie scene has been chalk full of them. The latest to hit the scene is Motion Twin’s Dead Cells, a self-proclaimed Castlevania inspired Roguelike with some Souls-style combat.

Dead Cells take you in the role of a prisoner on a mysterious island, one that seems to change and shift every time he attempts to escape. The rest of the game’s story is presented in a minimalist style, in which you find through your adventure notes from the King, prison guards or Alchemy experts on a fatal disease that is swarming through the land and what the kingdom intends on doing about it.

This type of story telling is popular among horror inspired games and the Soul series, leaving enough information to build up your own theory and keep you going in order to find out more about what is actually happening. This is a hit or miss style of storytelling but for a game like Dead Cells, it works quite well, giving you just enough to give you the slightest idea on what is happening, yet throw a curve ball later on.

But like any great Roguelike, it’s the gameplay that really stands out. Dead Cells is heavily inspired by Castlevania titles like Symphony of the Night and its follow-up Gameboy Advance titles. Dead Cells does a couple of things that are interesting to the formula however by giving you options on how you want to play the game.

For example, those who love exploration and finding everything that there is in a level, will be treated to multiple paths, hidden treasures and optional Elite guards who will drop more Cells for you to upgrade your Prisoner. Those who are the Speedrunner type are given additional hidden rooms that hold stronger items and even more bonus Cells to compensate your avoidance of combat.

The Prisoner can hold up to 4 items to bring with him into battle, two weapons and two traps/grenades. Weapons range from swords, daggers, bow and arrows, whips, and shields, while traps can be items that will leave opponents trapped in place (wolf/bear traps) to automatic turrets that will help take down enemies while you deal with other things or avoid getting brutally murdered. On top of this, players have other means of attacks by busting down doors, a downward kick that can help stun or damage those below them, and a quick dodge roll – which can also help in sneaking behind their enemies for extra damage.

Combat in Dead Cells never feels boring, even after collecting several power-ups or high-class weapons. This is mainly thanks to the game’s difficulty curve which while insanely difficult, still feels quite fair. Dying of course is par for the course in a Roguelike and collecting Cells to upgrade your Prisoner’s available arsenal and various power-ups is a necessary method of attempting to survive the island, along with giving you a helpful strategy for dealing with whatever killed you in the first place.

As a fan of the PSOne and GBA era of the Castlevania series, the graphics for Dead Cells felt like an homage with the necessary updates. The environments feel like it plays to a big part of the history of the world and acts almost as its own separate character. The game’s music features a great orchestrated score that is falls in place with the dark fantasy setting that gives the game a bit of that Souls feel when it, raising the tension when needed.

In a year that is filled with Roguelikes, Dead Cells is definitely one that stands out on its own. After many hours of going through the game, it never lost its intrigue or its ability to make you feel like a bad ass, yet reminds you to stay humble after it knocks you down a few pegs.