If there was ever a video game that spoke directly to me it would be Dead Cells. It has been described as a “Castlevania meets Dark Souls”. Castlevania … I’m In. Dark Souls … I’m SOOO in. “And it is Roguelike” … Hold up, wait a minute? Now, If you are “noping” instantly at the Roguelike part you should re-consider. I’m not a HUGE fan of “Roguelikes” but this game feels and plays different. You get weapon unlocks and upgrades to those weapons, upgrades to the amount of gold you keep after death, and finally upgrades to starting weapons. All of the things mentioned are PERMANENT. Sure, you have to start over but you feel muuuuch more powerful as time passes. The time that you will sink into it doesn’t feel like it is lost. It’s actually a really cool feeling of progression.
I believe, fundamentally, the most important compliment I have for Dead Cells (which, by the way, is worth every penny it costs to play in its current state) is that the really awesome maneuvers and action pulled off in the very impressive trailer are all extremely easy for me, the player, to pull off in the game. In other words, the game controls and plays so smoothly, you’ll find yourself doing very bad ass things without having to put in too much effort. It all flows quite well and runs like a dream. That alone is a difficult thing to properly accomplish, especially with all that’s going on in this game’s combat. The feel of it all just pops amazingly well. Don’t sleep on it. It’s fantastic. Don’t be fooled by the early access title. It’s extremely playable and very fun. Just be careful, this one is highly addicting.
We got the chance to speak with Steve Filby of Motion Twin. He talked to us about what sets this game apart from others in its genre, feeling over powered and the pleasure of fast, fluid video game experiences. Dead Cells is still in Early Access (Steam) and was the BEST game I played at PAX WEST 2017.
PAX WEST 2017 Exclusive Interview ‘Dead Cells’:
https://soundcloud.com/poppundits/interview-with-steve-filby-of-motion-twin