Dead Cells (2018)

Completed on Xbox Series S, 13 deaths.

Uhm, I'm not sure how to feel about Dead Cells... you have to spend way too much time to reach the final boss after each run, and I found ranged weapons + turret-like powers to be OP against most enemies, to the point that the game felt like it was mostly "not ready" for a hit-and-run ranged approach. Oh and the boss fights themselves are dissapointing.

Honestly for the majority of my playthrough I was just thinking Oh man this is just an inferior Rogue Legacy uh? and the only thing that I really like about Dead Cells is how fast you can move, and that's it.

Regardless, it was still a fun game, but I beat the final boss once and unistalled it... not interested in playing it again.

Quick and super fun roguelite action game.

It has enough combat depth that it utilizes with dodges, parries, and spacing to be a good amount of fun, with an especially competent grasp of these fundamentals. Enemies force out quick thinking and reactionary attacks, with some strategy in terms of approaching any fight. There's a good amount of different weapons and cooldown abilities with decent depth, and all but a few super safe options are interesting. The bosses are a bit hit or miss, but they're well done as well, especially the final boss.

I've only finished the game on normal but I'm already sort of satisfied, which is part of its main problem. The gameplay peaks rather quickly in terms of your options, and it starts to slowly turn into trying to do things no hit or similar challenge aspects that expand out the game's content. Replaying it continuously is the name of the game for people (not me) so there's definitely enough in store to make this a worthy recommend. (7.5/10)

While I’m mostly enjoying Dead Cells, I’m starting to find it a little too repetitive. Once you make it far enough into the game, dying and returning to the beginning leaves you trudging through the early levels. Those levels don’t offer enough of a challenge for them to feel engaging. I typically like a good grind, but the one found in this game is more tedious than challenging. I’m reminded of Rogue Legacy, as both games are procedurally generated Roguelikes. Rogue Lefacy never felt boring because you push deeper into the more challenging areas any time you like. This meant that when your skill exceeded that of the early levels you could skip them altogether. As much as dead Cells has forking paths you’re still stuck trudging through early levels and wishing desperately for a way to bypass the easier sections. Rogue Legacy also handles boss a little better only insofar as you don’t have to face the same damn bosses over and over. It means you can focus on pushing deeper into the game rather than repeating the same content every time you die.

Dead Cells isn’t a bad game. It has great combat that feels very fluid, something that Rogue Legacy doesn’t quite match and that is one of the things keeping me playing. I don’t plan to give up but I do crave some variety.

Soooooo... I've been playing this game for the past couple of days it just feels great. Like everything in the game is made yo make you move fast, and then faster. Once I get in to the rhythm of things gameplay becomes a blur of colors and explosions and it is magnificent. Even though I haven't finished the game, actually I haven't beaten the second boss even, I must give it 5 stars. I don't remember which was the last game that made 10 minutes feel like hours of satisfaction. It is pure gameplay.

Most weapons feel different and alter how I approach situations but it all culminates in the same feeling of speed and action. Usually in games like these with unlockable components I try to figure it what is the best way to unlock things the fastest, but with "DC" I enjoy the simple act of picking up and playing the game, getting as far as possible and repeating. Unlocking things, everything else, it is EXTRA.

Highly recommended for those looking for FAST, 2D Action.

I am really enjoying this game. The combat is a ton of fun and the weaponry is varied enough that I find myself trying them all out to see what my preferred playstyle is. I like Rogue-lite games where there are periodic places to “save” your progress and store-up some of what you have acquired. It reminds of the Dragon’s Crown mode where you could keep playing the same levels with progressively better and better rewards.

It makes me want to go back and play Salt and Sanctuary. The main reason I bounced off that game is due to the map and not be able to figure out where to go next, which is also one of the big reasons I bounced off Hollow Knight. But the combat was fun and maybe a FAQ or something will help me get through it.

A few recent posts make me want to dig out my Vita anyway.