Dead Cells

I was very sceptical about the rogue-lite mechanics - especially the random levels and the fact, that you loose all your equipment and progress after dyding. Very unfamiliar for a Dark Souls fan ;-). And the first few hours were also quite frustrating for me. Starting all over after 1.5 hours, because some foe infected me with malaise - wtf? It took me 30 hours and a lot of patience to kill the hand of the king for the first time. At a certain point I didn't care anymore about loosing equippment or starting over - it is just a lot of fun to play and it gets really addictive. The controls are smooth, the visuals and soundtrack amazing. It is great to see brave developers who not only try new concepts, but also deliver such an intense gaming expericence.

I really liked the Metroid-vania + Roguelite mashup. The combat is very pushing, but it still feels fair (usually). The model of enemies only being able to hurt you with their actual attacks (instead of just by touching you) is great - I wish more games would use it. I think that the Metroid-vania aspect could have been a little deeper. There were really only 4 abilities that you gain. And really only 2 of those actually change you movement/combat abilities (the other 2 just opening up different map traversal options). The animations were great, and the main character manages to show a lot of character without saying a word. The devs have clearly put a lot of work into the game and have continued to enhance it - including a free DLC that is pretty cool. I know I'm just old, slow, and need to get good. But I honestly wish that the game was a little easier on 0 & 1 BC. There's plenty of room for higher difficulty as you move up. I hear that some interesting new stuff gets added as your progress, but I don't have the time to sink into working up into the higher levels. Finally, I wish that you could get a little more info about the weapons/powers before you unlock them. You feel a tension that you don't want to dilute the available weapon pool with weapons that you won't like. But it's hard to tell if they will be worthwhile before unlocking them. But overall, it's a great game. Very much recommended.

The game's developers made an amazing game which they continued to support for years now. The journey is coming to an end but this game will keep you hooked for at least the same amount of years ahead. While made to be sadistic, it does also provide option for assisted gameplay for the not so hardcore players which while not a necessity, curtainly opens the game to a bigger audience of more casual or inexperienced players. The gameplay can be really punishing but it does make it more rewarding in the end when you finally complete your first successful run. Needless to say, that is not the end and your journey just begins. Unlocking items, mutations and finding synergies that work for you. 10/10, absolute masterpiece.

This game deserves to be in every gamer's library. Even in early access, the game feels and looks rock solid. I haven't encountered any bugs or crashes so far. I like everything about Dead Cells. - Combat is never boring. It's fluid and tactical. - Graphics are nice to look at. Don't be fooled by its "pixel graphics". - Responsive and well-layedout controls. - Variety of weapons (melee and range), grenades, slicers... - Main weapon and sub-weapon available at your disposal - Great mobility: you can jump, double jump, evade, parry, air roll, duck, down smash, climb, etc. - Challenging gameplay because of permadeath and you lose your gear when you die. - Variety of mutations that aid you in battle such as resurrection. - Secret treasures, zones.... - Difficult boss and elite fights. - You can inflict different status types such as burn, critical, freeze, poison, stun... - Teleport portals (I love these) My only few suggestions are: - would be great to add the ability to aim 360 using the right analog stick (for range weapons) - ability to test gears before buying - local co-op? That's it. This game pretty much contains everything you would expect. If you like games such as Castlevania, Guns Gore & Canolli, The Badass Hero, I'm sure you will like Dead Cells too! It will test your reflexes and you'll eventually git gud! Worth every penny spent. Kudos to Motion Twin.

In this game you go through levels killing enemies to harvest their "cells." If you survive a level you can cash in the cells to earn upgrades. If you die mid-level, whether you are at the first or tenth level, you are put back at the start of the very first level in addition to losing all the cells you earned. This may seem harsh, but this is actually what the game intends you to do. You are supposed to grind the early levels enough times so that you earn enough cells to get upgrades to your weapons, stats, and abilities. You get stronger and stronger, then progress further in later levels. The key of this game is to earn cells, so sometimes it is better to avoid combat, head for the exit, and cash in your cells. The game makes grinding less boring by having all procedural level designs. You see different (but not wildly different) layouts for the same levels every time you respawn from death. The game does not auto-save, but saves your progress when you exit the game. Some upgrades are permanently saved. Dead Cells is a mostly combat-heavy game, unlike those acrobatic platformers like Celeste or Ori. But Dead Cells does have optional "challenge rooms" that offer great acrobatic challenges. There are bosses, as well. You can wield different combinations of weapons: sword and shield, sword and bow, shield and bow, etc. There are traps and turrets you can set. The PC version lets you remap keys and mouse controls. I play this game with a keyboard only and have no problem with the controls. Game controllers are also supported.