In the past decade, Metroidvanias have seen a massive resurgence thanks to the indie scene. There have been dozens of new entries in the genre that introduce their own twists on the formula, and one of the best examples of this is Dead Cells. Released in 2018, the title from developers Motion Twin and Evil Empire has gotten numerous updates over the years that have kept it feeling fresh and fun. If somehow you’ve never played it, then you need to take advantage of Steam’s massive discount on Dead Cells and its many expansions.
As a Metroidvania, Dead Cells sticks to many of the genre’s established pillars. At its core, the game requires you to traverse its 2D environment while fighting off enemies, slowly collecting new abilities that open up new areas of the map. It’s a tried and true formula and Dead Cells doesn’t mess with it too much, but where it does add its own ingredients, it succeeds wonderfully. The big hook of Dead Cells is that in addition to being a Metroidvania, it is also a roguelike. This means that every time you die, you start back from square one without any of the hard-won upgrades and weapons you found in your previous run.
This may sound like a relatively simple tweak but, in practice, it turns Dead Cells into a completely different beast. The twisting hallways of Metroidvanias are designed to make you form your own mental map and develop your own sense of direction. Play Symphony of the Night enough, for instance, and you’ll be able to navigate it with your eyes closed and find every power-up in no time. In Dead Cells, however, each death means that the specific structure of the world shifts. The overarching structure of the map remains the same but procedurally generated areas fill out the connections between set locations, as if each run is coloring inside the lines of the same drawing with a different palette. Every run is familiar but still unique. While you’ll eventually gather skills that carry over from run to run but you are still challenged by the game itself to learn the fundamental rules of movement, enemy patterns, and how the map can fit together. Knowledge in Dead Cells is a skill in its own right, just as important as any weapon or upgrade for your hero.
The roguelike nature of Dead Cells means that replaying and mastering its dangerous world never gets old. Just to make sure players are satisfied, though, there are also a number of expansions that introduce new levels, characters, and mechanics to spice things up. The complete Dead Cells bundle is currently $US23.95 on Steam, down from $US49.95, so there really isn’t a better time to pick up this exemplary Metroidvania. And if you want to know what Motion Twin is up to next, then check out our preview of the studio’s next exciting project, Windblown.
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