Artwork by: Diogo Cétolo
“Dead Cells” was released on 6th of August 2018, it was developed and distributed by Motion Twin. The game had been in Early Access for sometime, but the 1.0 version only came out recently. It is available for: Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch.
It is a 2D game, with pixelated graphics, belonging to the roguelike and metroidvania genres. Because both of these expressions are unknown to most of the readers, here is a quick explanation of them. Roguelike is a game without a linear progression. In these games you go back to the start whenever you fail, losing the items you had and bringing only certain upgrades with you. In the metroidvania games, the protagonist explores different areas, finding a great variety of items. This sort of game is usually 2D.
The game does not have a rich story, full of compelling characters and a good ending. Here it serves just as a mean to justify what is going on. You play as a mass of black matter, which is able to control bodies by getting into them, becoming a skilled swordsman, assassin and sorcerer. The start of the game is always at a prison. From there you can explore the different parts of the island
by Diogo Cétolo
An almost perfect combination of roguelike and metroidvania
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you are in.
The art style is stunning. From the most complex landscape to the simplest movement, every single thing you see looks stunning and like the product of well done job, mainly the look of the landscapes. The soundtrack also fits very well with them, which is something to be admired.
This is a hard game, so, if you get frustrated easily, I do not recommend playing it. Most of the frustration comes from death. It is a moment of despair, where you lose all your gold, cells and items.
Therefore, “Dead Cells” is able to provide a large amount of fun and frustration within its gameplay. You will very likely feel many things about it: despair from death, a sense of reward from getting through a hard situation and contemplation of its scenarios. So, although it is not my favorite game (and also not the one I got the most frustrated with, both of these go to “Dark Souls 3”), I enjoyed what I played, seeing it was a well done work. “Dead Cells” received positive critics around the world, and received a 8,9 on metacritic, a fairly high grade. I give 4.5 out of 5 stars to it.