Dead Cells (2018)

OK, this is very interesting.

tl;dr

Motion Twin, developers of Dead Cells, its a Co-op. That means there's no bosses and everyone has equal pay and equal say in the decisions (check the Kotaku profile on the studio).

Now that Dead Cells is a success and kinda turned into a constantly updated game (not really a GaaS, but kinda), a new studio, formed with some people from Motion Twin, is taking charge while the old studio goes on with new projects.

The new studio lead is the ex-marketing head of Motion Twin and it has a more 'capitalist' structure. " it’s a little ominous when said changes, a shift from worker equality to worker inequality, come under the guise of a studio calling itself “Evil Empire.”

Evil Empire. They choose to call themselves Evil Empire. Too on the fucking nose, if you ask me.

I'm definitely hitting a wall with this and debating if I should continue. Each run is a grind for cells and the daily challenges are a joke. Some are easy, most are insane. Permadeath sucks big time. Ugh. If I'm going to grind then I want to at least get closer to the end. I don't feel like I am at the point.

Also, starting weapons are a complete crap shoot. Lightening power that drains you health? Terrible.

I have enjoyed the 10 hours or so I've spent with this game so far. However, I am thinking about giving up on it soon.

I can't seem to figure out how to play with 1 Boss Cell. I also realize that this is one of, 5 (maybe?) Boss Cells I have yet to play with, and I can barely get out of a single level as it stands. The game is meant to test you and I realize my issue could be solved by "getting gud", but it quickly dives into frustrating territory for me (still referring to Hard mode).

I play the game on Easy and it's a great time - drop in a Boss Cell and there are 2 options: run past everything, and be perpetually underleveled, then get absolutely ripped in half by the Concierge, or I try to explore and find all the upgrades and best weapons, take my time... and then still get absolutely ripped in half by the Concierge.

I've tried all manner of weapon combos, upgrades, Mutations, parrying, you name it - and no matter what I just get brutalized.

It's been a fun run so far, but the dreadfully slow upgrade process (seriously, the reward for taking your time is minimal at best, and rushing results in no Cells to reinvest in further upgrades) paired with the dramatic spike in difficulty from Easy to Hard (1 boss cell!!) is too much to keep me wanting to play. Easy borders on boring, Hard is impossible. Would have loved to see a more gradual shift rather than a harsh spike.

Honestly, not removing the Vial refill between levels would have made Hard mode what I would consider hard mode. This shit is just impossible though. If I can't progress after 10 hours with a game, it's days in my cartridge slot are numbered.

I don't like roguelikes. I don't like very difficult games. I don't like anything random.

But damn, do I love Dead Cells. And that says a lot, because this game is a very random roguelike, and it is freaken hard.

I took a gamble and grabbed a used copy from Gamestop, who (very generously, I may add) have a 7 day return policy on their used titles. Fully expecting to return the game the next day, I figured I had nothing to lose. Instead, I was blown away by just how precise and satisfying this game is. Yesterday I finally peeled the Gamestop stickers off the (gorgeous) box, and threw out the receipt - yeah, this is mine now!

The feeling of progression that you get, however slow it may actually be, is found both in your own skill and mastering of the mechanics, as well as unlocking upgrades that make life just a tad easier. Even then - you'll get ripped in half over and over, but you'll keep pushing yourself: "one more run! One more run!"

I've had the game a little over a week now, logged around 10 hours (a lot of time for me to play in a week), and still only beaten the final boss once. Yeah, I'm not great at the game - but somehow it keeps me coming back. Dead Cells does everything right.

It's absolutely not for everyone, just the opposite in fact - so I'll say this. If you are even slightly interested in a challenging game with excellent combat, maybe a Diablo fan who loves comparing weapon perks (or as this game refers to them as, "mutations") and getting to mix and match skills and weapons that complement each other, or just love a bit of the old ultra-violence - go on Youtube and watch a run of Dead Cells. It may just be for you.

Maybe if you don't like any of those things, you'll still like it. Heck, I do! 5/5

A significant update to Dead Cells dropped today. This change is interesting to me:

Damage Reduction has been heavily reworked. Most items no longer grant DR anymore, their power has been increased as a compensation. Damage Reduction is not a mandatory strategy anymore and the whole game difficulty has been rebalanced accordingly.

I'm curious as to the effect, as damage reduction was a prime strategy for getting through many of the bosses, especially when you have one or more cells.

Other adjustments include the scrapping of auto-scaling mobs, a new custom game mode and the Switch version running at 60fps. There are many more changes listed in the Dead Cells patch notes.