It's been three years since Motion Twin officially launched Dead Cells, a roguelike that didn't struggle to make itself known and, in a short time, became one of the most popular independent games for the genre. Credit for all this success, undoubtedly, goes to the intrinsic qualities of the title but also and above all to a constant support from the developers, who in 36 months and more have never stopped adding new areas, bosses, weapons and balances to this now immense product.
Despite this, in this period of time, moreover, players have never been asked to shell out an additional single euro, compared to the approximately 25 euros of the initial list, with the exception of only one occasion in 2020 given by the arrival of the Bad Seed DLC. , however, sold at a negligible price when compared to the value of the offer. Over the years the skills of the artistic team have grown dramatically and with them the visual quality of Dead Cells has also improved, the graphic effects and the majestic settings, capable of ranging from the narrow ravines of the dungeons of the prison, up to wide open spaces. where nature and magic have taken over, giving the eye those extra details that are definitely welcome and expected. Today we find ourselves in the situation of being able to return to talk about it on these pages thanks to the arrival on all platforms of Fatal Falls, the third official DLC that appeared a few hours ago on the various digital stores. Time, therefore, to take back the title and evaluate it also by virtue of the new entries on the market: here you are Dead Cells: Fatal Falls review.
The usual great gameplay
A really beautiful game can be recognized immediately and when a title like this, after three years, is still fresh, precise and visually incisive, it is because you are faced with a real cornerstone. In fact, it doesn't matter how much time has passed since the last time you picked up a pad and started slamming into the dark world of Dead Cells, it only takes a few moments to find yourself at ease again, as if that pad is not. you ever put aside.
I movements and animations fluid, the jumps that seem almost magnetized to perfection towards the most distant protrusions, offer an experience that is never frustrating although, with the passage of time, the difficulty has not decreased despite the many changes to the dynamics of the game. Fatal Falls then wants to re-propose the same experience had with the previous DLC, a set of levels and enemies never unrelated to production but rather an integral part of an ecosystem that is still sublime today.
The new theme, however, does not focus on raw combat and turns the gameplay on platform more pushed, with opponents engaged in an attempt to plunge you into the void rather than behead you as in the past. The contents fit into the mid-late game and will not be available on the first run, this gives you time to get used to the game and avoid crashing into a wall when the new monsters arrive, with their unique patterns and their tricky skills to avoid. Motion Twin has updated almost all connections in existing levels to allow players old and new to reach the first of the new areas, Fractured Shrines, quite easily, being able to go through both the first zone introduced with Bad Seed, facing Mama Tick, and arriving there through the Black Bridge in case you want, for some strange reason, to buy only this DLC and skip the previous one. Once in the new area, a real hell awaits you, as parades and dodges at perfect timing will no longer be enough to save your skin.
I enemies have the clear intention of putting a spoke in the wheel while you desperately try to jump from platform to platform as already mentioned and to these are added mobile platforms unable to bear the weight of your alter ego for long and carefully placed rotating axes to require commitment even in the apparently easier jumps. Then there are traps scattered on the floor with logs ready to overwhelm us but which you can also use to throw opponents off the platforms, thus earning some new achievements. At the end of the level, however, the nasty surprise: to access the next biome you must have worn a special outfit that can be recovered in the level, forcibly requesting a second run. Not bad, of course, given the cyclicality with which the games in Dead Cells start and a nuisance among other things that can be avoided by intelligently exploiting the dislocation of your head, a unique feature for this content that opens up interesting future options from the point of view. of the possession of enemies.
Tough enemies and advanced weapons
Opponents show up with a good amount of health and the snake men will give you a hard time with their long shot and quick teleport. The biggest difficulty however comes from giants of stone made to protect the most valuable treasures, beasts with an abnormal attack range and capable of killing you with a single shot in the unfortunate case you are playing with a high number of active Cells. If Fractured Shrine tends to play with light and yellowish colors, Undying Shores will instead drag you into a darker region where undead and spirits are the order of the day, ready to drag you into the presence of the only new boss added for the occasion: a rather anonymous scarecrow in appearance but that will be able to really give you a hard time, being one of the most complex boss fights seen in the updates by virtue of its great mobility.
There is also a whole series of new weapons and powers that expand the already rich range of options of Dead Cells, mostly magical weapons and guided by their own life capable of attacking enemies independently while moving quickly around the screen or bo with which to send back the shots to the sender, plus a new companion which is added to the owl and mushroom already highly appreciated. Motion Twin has decided to go big to relaunch the game and starting today the title will be playable completely free for a whole week on the Nintendo E-shop (in case you have an online subscription) while there is a discount of the 50% on all other consoles, don't miss it!
Comment
Tested version PC Windows Price 4,99 € Resources4Gaming.com9.0
Readers (12)8.8
Your voteTwenty-two updates for a title are a lot but today, like three years ago, we feel we can fully promote the work that Motion Twin has done and continues to do with its Dead Cells. Fatal Falls is a canonical DLC for production but not to be underestimated: the new biomes integrate perfectly with the existing ones and expand the offer instead of simply replacing some elements. Therefore, the strategies, the way of dealing with the levels multiply and the player is stimulated to experiment with new combinations of weapons in a vicious circle that continues, day after day, to keep us entangled exactly as in day one. A wonderful title from many points of view and inevitable in your library if you appreciate roguelikes and two-dimensional action.
PRO
- Extremely different new biomes
- Not just combat but a lot of platforming
- Perfect gameplay, exactly like three years ago
- Balancing at high levels has yet to be perfected
