Dead Cells
Released: August 6, 2018
Game Length: 27 Hours
Grade: B+
The Early Days
The Pitch: On May 10, 2017, a French company by the name of Motion Twin decided to design a particular interesting video game based on an unusual, yet traditional gaming loop. Normally, I am a bit weary when it comes to a gaming company I have never heard about. Their only published works up to that date were a bunch of free-to-play mobile games. I also don't usually trust playing games until they get fully released. Ironically, this game was not introduced in Early Access but actually submitted as part of that ol' Steam Greenlight program right before it ended. However, the media was really quick on covering this game and gave it some raving reviews. It is pretty amazing to see how one of their prototype games by the name of Scarkrow could evolve from a simple platformer in 2015 to an artistic masterpiece in 2017. The $15 price tag didn't hurt either. So after a couple of months, I decided to play the game myself during my Game Week back in 2017.
Original Review: My early review was pretty simple. You venture through several levels, upgrading what you can as you go, and pick up blueprints of various items you can use on your next run. You aren't meant to complete the whole thing right away. Instead, you build-up the number of things that can help you after you die. It took me 10 hours to "finish" exploring all the zones and defeating the final boss. What was presented to me at that time was in excellent condition. The only major changes for the game in Version 0.2 essentially boiled down to the addition of the merchants and maybe another biome. That's when I decided to put the game on ice until it got fully developed with more levels and maybe a couple of DLC packages.
The Changes
History: I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I saw an article appear about its latest changes with the first sentence saying, "Friends, it’s time to get back into Dead Cells. Again. This is the update." Apparently, Update 25 made the game easier and more accessible. How hard did the game get? I guess that depends on who you ask. But before checking up on the reviews, first I wanted to see what was added to the game these past four years. Before the game was released, the major contributions to the game were Mutations (aka Traits) in Version 0.3, Boss Stem Cells that increased the overall difficulty with a Blacksmith in Version 0.5, and a Blacksmith's Apprentice that changes the weapon modifiers in Version 0.7. Amusingly, the actual lore of the game wasn't included until the it was officially released. Afterwards, we received a Custom Mode in Version 1.1, Outfits in Version 1.2, and a Backpack that holds one non-heavy weapon in Version 1.9. Most of the things beyond that lists a number of adjustments to biomes, enemies, stats, economy, difficulty, bugs, mutations, and UI.
Biomes: Though the biggest changes that I saw was how huge the game got. The original biomes consisted of 10 levels and 2 bosses: the Prisoner Quarters, Promenade of the Condemned, Prison Depths, Ramparts, Black Bridge, Ossuary, Toxic Sewers, Ancient Sewers, Insufferable Crypt, Stilt Village, and the Graveyard. The biomes they added (along with the free DLC) included 7 more levels, 2 bosses, and 1 final boss: the Forgotten Sepulcher (v0.3), Slumbering Sanctuary (v0.4), Clock Tower (v0.4), Clock Room (v0.4), High Peak Castle (v0.6), Throne Room (v0.6), Cavern (v1.2), Guardian's Haven (v1.2), Corrupted Prison (v1.5), and the Derelict Distillery (v2.0). For $5 more, you can get the The Bad Seed DLC with the Dilapidated Arboretum & Morass of the Banished with a boss inside the Nest or Fatal Falls DLC with Fractured Shrines & Undying Shores with a boss inside the Mausoleum. It is a pretty sweet deal when you can find The Complete Edition on sale for about $20.
The Bad News
Unlock Abilities: One of the first problems I encountered when playing the game again was how much of the content was arbitrary locked. There is a series of 8 runes you need to collect in the world in order to break open basic functions. A few of them are easy to spot within the first few levels of the game. A couple runes will require you to utilize the abilities you earn from the first lot in order to reach the specific levels they are located at. Perhaps the hardest rune to find, and the most essential, is the Spider Rune which requires you to venture through the Toxic Sewers with the Vine Rune, the Ancient Sewers with the Ram Rune (which is only accessible using the Teleportation Rune), make sure you take the route through the Insufferable Crypt, and go down a pit inside the Slumbering Sanctuary. Then the Homunculus Rune that allows you to break apart from your body and creep into secret crevices is obtained after defeating the final boss. Did you get all that? When you aren't trying to hunt down the runes, you are busy trying to figure out what certain items do or how to get them. Let's not forget those pesky doors all over the place that require you to increase the difficulty before they become available.
Unlock Items: The second problem I ran into was being able to use any sort of basic item. Finding all the various blueprints is easy enough. The sad part is how expensive everything is. Every single thing you collect requires a set number of cells to unlock. After spending about 15 hours obtaining all tiers of health potions, all eight runes, and visiting all 24 biomes and 9 boss biomes (counting the DLCs), I looked at the screen and realized that I was nowhere near unlocking everything. So I started to do some math. On average, a full run from start to finish - regardless of the path I ventured - took around one full hour. My currency totaled around 250 cells. This is merely an estimate since the game only records the maximum number of cells you obtained before spending it. I had around 50 things I could distribute cells into, each one requiring between 30 and 350 cells. If I had to unlock every item on the list that wasn't an outfit, it would cost me a total of 2,700 cells at that moment. To unlock just the 12 outfits, it would cost me 1,000 cells. Unfortunately, even increasing the overall difficulty up one notch does not increase the number of cells you obtain. That double bonus amount is reserved for once you obtain 2 Boss Cells, which probably only counteracts the higher cost items. As you can see, I was pretty angry when I realized how much time it was going to take to try out all those fun things I found on the ground.
Difficulty Curve: Now comes the point of the review where I have to address the main aspect of the game. I liked the original concept of the game - you choose a random path, try-out a random build, and fight off all the bosses. Unfortunately, I have a sinking feeling that the developer's experience for "never-ending mobile games" seeped into their first PC game. In order to properly reach the end of the game, you will need to advance through 5 difficulty tiers. Each tier requires you to invest a large sum of cells into a forge to increase your chances of getting better items that can combat the higher stats of each of the enemies. However, the game also takes liberties to increment the amount of health and damage each enemy has every time you finish a biome (and maybe the number of scrolls you receive depending on who you ask). This can cause some weapons to feel overpowered one moment and severely lacking the next. Let's not forget that each biome has their own list of weird mechanics that make people want to avoid them entirely. There's also a lack of iframes in the game (that split-second you get to gather your thoughts before an enemy can hit you again). This sort of disparity between the paths you take can ruin a successful run unless you plan ahead.
Audience: When I reached a point where I failed repeatedly in my playthroughs, I took the time to scour the Internet for answers. The results of my search was full of elitist snobs. The game caters to their very whims - rewarding them to the extreme with golden outfits & achievements from not getting hit during boss fights, more cells by completing biomes quickly, and more upgrades if they can advance through biomes without anything hurting them. There are items you can use that double or triple your damage in exchange of receiving double or triple the amount of damage. And yes, there is a weapon with an achievement that makes any hit deadly. The creators actively encourage people to use their Streaming Mode where a long list of modifiers (like Captain Chicken) can extremely change how the game works that isn't available offline. There are also quite a bit of competitive players who are very demeaning when anyone suggests using certain modes/tools that are there to ease new players into the game. It can be a very toxic environment.
The Good News
Controlled Environment: This brings me back to the initial article regarding Update 25. The game does so much in letting people, at the very least, have a successful run by defeating the final boss. By the means of Aspects, people can dramatically increase their abilities in exchange for not gaining a Boss Cell. One can now use the new Training Room against all enemy types. By pressing the X button, you can access the World Map to carefully plan out your route. It may not reveal how you get to each one, but it does inform you that the option is there, which DLC package they are a part of, the ones that contain a boss fight, and whether or not you ever visited it before. I love how you can compare items from the merchant before buying it. I love how you can recycle a chosen item on a pedestal without picking it up. Music gets muzzled when you are out-of-focus (other than adjusting the sound options). You can totally quit the game at any time and then resume in the exact position you were at. There are some actual functional pets you can obtain in the game. You can buy a Hunter's Grenade to automatically receive a blueprint you haven't received yet from a certain enemy type.
Custom Mode: Just because it doesn't say "Normal Mode" doesn't mean it isn't any less of a legitimate way to play the game. Just like a Game Master, you can easily adjust a ton of perimeters that can make the game more interesting to play. These can include: limiting the number of potions you have, adjusting what items are available to you, changing your outfit every time you finish a biome, making only one type of item drop, replaying the same map, making doors explode, and a bunch of other things. Although some options will disable achievements, it is entirely possible to limit yourself a total of 20 items before starting a run.
Options: There is a surplus of options that are tucked away that you really should check out as you play the game. For example, you can choose between the standard Dead Cells Soundtrack or go retro with the Demake Soundtrack. While you are at it, revert back to the original pixelated font and change how the healing items look. If the white flashes bother you when teleporting, you can change it to a quick zoom effect. Is your game not moving fast enough? Toggle to skip cutscenes and deactivate lore locations. If you want to strive for one of the special rooms in the passageway, there is an option to turn on your kill count. There are plenty more listed that might be of some use to one person or another.
Setting: By now you are probably aware that there is an actual story tucked away in the background of this game. It isn't as simple as "everyone is dead or out to get you." While you are trying to solve for some of the puzzle mechanics for that one rare item, take the time to really look at the environment and in the foreground. There are numerous clues about your history and what might have happened to the population. There are lore locations that hint to the setting of the game, sometimes gives you a little bonus, and pauses the game so you don't have to feel so rushed checking it out if you encounter one while speed running. The music is phenomenal and really adds to the mystical setting while still maintaining that quick-paced feel. One of my favorite tracks that encourages you to go faster through all the traps has to be from one of the new DLCs - Fractured Shrines. Warning: Spoilers in the Links - Although the conclusion of the story is tied behind advancing the difficulty tiers, there is much to see in the main campaign, Bad DLC, and Fatal Falls DLC. The developers were also pretty cute in designing cartoon animations for the core game, Free DLC, Bad Seed DLC, and Fatal Falls DLC.
Return to a Classic
Review: Dead Cells is one of those games where you must display some patience. The core aspect of the game that is still there from its early infancy stages is quite enjoyable to play. The graphics are better, the interface is a bit more complex, and the environment in general is much nicer to look at. However, the game feels more bloated now than ever before. You will never have enough to unlock everything without devoting hundreds of hours to the game. Newer levels are more difficult to traverse and cosmetics cost way more to unlock than the actual weapons. The difficulty of the game can reach a point where using certain items can actually become a liability. Despite all this, people have found a solid and balanced game with very little wrong with its premise. I definitely recommend this game for those who like a challenge.
9-27-2021