Enemies smash into body parts and gold with the kinetic blast of a Ys game, granting Dead Cells a Pavlovian response to even the most routine victory. I made more gold, I found more stat buffs, better skills, and I got better at Dead Cells. I found it more prudent to stick around and scour every corner, killing everything in my way. Certain gates protecting significant rewards are time-locked in successive levels, incentivizing ruthless efficiency toward basic progression.

The first is to find an exit as quickly as possible. There are two approaches for every level. Progress is progress and there is no god in thunder dome. In some levels where I felt particularly vulnerable, like The Ossuary or The Toxic Sewers, I would cowardly throw traps in the path of the horrible things, then retreat nearby and let them do their job. The Double Crossb-o-matic, my personal favorite, deploys a turret that fires arrows in both directions. Swarm Grenades explode with blood sucking leaches. Wolf Traps grab feet and stop movement for a few seconds. Assigned to two shoulder buttons, they represent myriad of tactical options for offensive and defensive measures. Skills, bound to cool-down timers, are also available inside of every level. Why am I giving the finger to the creature locked behind a door? Dead Cells is focused on its mission, but it leaves enough room for weird bits of lore, too. Hidden passages, rune-specific routes, blueprints for new weapons, giant treasure chests, and accursed oddities fill in more gaps. Stat upgrades, divided between Brutality, Survival, and Tactics categories, all offer significant boosts in hit points, but also increase the damage and effectiveness of their corresponding weapons.

Shop keepers are tucked away in obscure corners, providing a selection of three new weapons or skills. If youвЂ™re caught off guard any enemy in Dead Cells is capable of obliterating your health meter, but a practiced hand will soon tear through every jerk in The PrisonersвЂ™ Quarters like a wet paper towel.ДЇorks in the road beg for attention. Quickly, their behaviors and tells are internalized and exploited. Shield Bearers charge forward with rush attacks. Grenadiers have no melee attack, but lob time bombs in your direction (and sometimes through walls!).

Lurching zombies notice your presence and leap out at you. Every item has its advantages and itвЂ™s hard to feel disappointed with any choice.ДЇollowing this, youвЂ™re deposited into Dead CellsвЂ™ first level, The PrisonersвЂ™ Quarters. This decision builds into conflict that turns out to be one of Dead CellsвЂ™ principles. The shield can either absorb a significant percentage of damage or, if well timed, parry incoming attacks. The bow can fire limited shots in rapid succession, keeping safe space between you and your opponents. A rusty sword is mandatory equipment for single-button combat, but you have the option to pick between two secondary weapons: a basic bow or an ordinary shield. Failure is inevitable but Dead Cells almost makes it an incentive the optimism it builds behind next time is a constant lure.Д®ach run of Dead Cells begins as an agile, reanimated body with a smoking ember in place of a head. Finding Dead Cells proves to be as engaging as mastering Dead Cells, merging discovery and proficiency into the same productive response. ItвЂ™s visible in its roguelike impulses, delivering a smattering of weapons and power-ups and ensuring all of them are viable and fun to practice through every run. ItвЂ™s felt inside of its levels, a metroidvanian network of procedural generation that feels both distinctive and familiar.

Finding blueprints dead cells