The developers of Dead Cells for Windows call their project "roguevania." After each death, you are reborn in the starting area, as in well-known rogue-like games. At the same time, the locations are huge and have many secrets, and the character is gradually learning new skills and getting stronger. This idea was terrific: after being in Steam's early access for about a year and getting many updates, the game has become the best pixel masterpiece today. We will tell you more about this game.

Why is this game unique?

Dead Cells for Windows harmoniously combines all its elements. Let's consider the procedural generation of levels. In other games of this genre, you can feel that the location of the rooms is designed by a computer, not by a human. In this game, you can hardly notice such a feature. Vast zones contain teleportation points, hidden paths, chests with valuable items, and much more. Everything is arranged and connected correctly as if the generation is not random but was designed that way. The structure and many rooms are similar, but you won't get bored with the monotony.

Weapons and inventory

At the beginning of the game, the character has just an ordinary sword, a bow, and a shield. You can only take two weapons, and you will win in any case. The bow allows you to shoot at enemies from a distance, and the shield absorbs part of the damage but can also be used to counterattack. Over time, you will find whips that ignore enemy shields, Spartan sandals that allow you to kick, etc. There were balance issues in the early stages of the development, but it is now possible to succeed with almost any equipment.

There are also two slots for additional weapons. These are unique items with cooldowns after you use them. You will encounter them early in the game, unlocking more options as you pass them. These can be traps, forcing your enemy to stand still for a few seconds, or tracks of circular saws. There are also all sorts of grenades: one explodes and covers the ground and enemies with oil, another freezes the enemies, and the third calls on the little biting worms. You can throw daggers in different directions, causing your opponents to bleed.

You can try all the possible variants and decide which one is the most comfortable to run with. Not all the necessary weapons can be found during the journey. All the inventory is taken away after your death. There are also not many items unlocked at the first steps. To get access to new things, you must collect blueprints that are either well-hidden or fall out of the enemies and bosses.

You can take these blueprints to a quiet place where you get after each level and then pay for each item with cells. It is a local currency that periodically falls out of defeated enemies. If your character dies, all remaining cells are destroyed, so the game won't let you enter the next zone until you've given all your currency to the appropriate character.

Disadvantages

Let's consider the disadvantages of Dead Cells for Windows. Each "paid" blueprint allows you to find a particular weapon in the game world or buy it from a merchant later. However, it is impossible to get rid of any item and remove it from the list of unlocked items. If you don't like some grenades you got earlier, you'll have to encounter them until the game is finished.

On the other hand, even useless items have excellent additional properties. A sword may cause bleeding or drop bombs with every swing. If you like shields but get bows constantly, that's not a problem because enemies destroyed with arrows will leave poisonous clouds behind. After defeating the first boss, you will unlock the forge, where you can change these parameters to give an inconspicuous piece of equipment other valuable properties.

You have a choice here too. Scrolls increase brutality, tactics, survivability, and XP. But at some point, you will have to choose between upgrading your sword with 15% bonus health or an unnecessary weapon with 60% extra survivability. After death, you will lose these upgrades, which are essential for individual cases.

What's great about this game?

Dead Cells rewards you for exploring each corridor thoughtfully and quickly, running from one location to another. You can destroy each enemy, admiring the gorgeous animation that changes depending on the weapon. You can dodge attacks by reacting to exclamation marks above your enemies' heads and rolling in time. You can learn the characteristics of your opponents and use your surroundings to defeat them by luring the entire crowd into one spot by throwing bombs or making a ground impact when falling from the top platform. You can also roll to move quickly to the exit. Then you can open the door with the treasure in the next zone.

Many features in the game are well-thought-out and almost perfect. The controls are intuitive, and the combat system is fantastic: enemies react to blows and fall apart into pixels, while the protagonist dodges attacks, uses additional weapons and swings his swords or daggers. Runes allow the main character to access new rooms and corridors. First, you learn how to grow a vine in a particular place and use it as a ladder, and then you start teleporting from one tomb to another and bouncing off the walls. Procedural generation does not spoil anything. You can use your abilities to shorten the path or solve a mystery.

Conclusions

There are no extraordinary innovations in the game. Almost everything has been developed before. The system of progress is partially taken from Rogue Legacy. The need to cope with difficulties using found weapons reminds The Binding of Isaac. The enemies can destroy massive XP in one blow, as in many hardcore projects. However, Dead Cells for Windows does not seem to be a copy. Its developers achieved a balance and made the gameplay so enjoyable that you can spend many hours here and still want more.

A successful combination of genres, a spectacular and dynamic combat system, various enemies and weapons, a unique style that makes the game differ from other similar projects, a significant progress system with functional improvements, incredible location design (despite the procedural generation), and an excellent soundtrack is worth playing this game at least once. You will want to return to it later.