Motion Twin were running two computers at the recent PC Gamer Weekender, showing off their upcoming roguevania Dead Cells, and I got to spend quite some time playing through the build they had on show.
The platforming title is undeniably a hybrid of several genres, with the developer’s portmanteau of roguevania only covering several elements of the game; namely its unforgiving battle system, and its twist on progression. In fact, the game’s equipment and fighting system was what really stole the show for me, that and the game’s cool, neon, busy world.
The game features a combat system that takes both hands into consideration, IE you can equip a deadly flame sword in one hand, and a sword in the other; or you can dual-wield; or you can go one handed and carry a magical weapon, or bow. Yes, this variety and set up isn’t new, and neither is what I’m going to say next, but it was all done in a manner where it felt new, and fresh.
Each of these weapons, and each of the enemies, are almost over animated. The actions are slow and deliberate, with tells and glints at the attack to come – after a short time, or a few deaths, you’ll learn that those creatures leapfrog once they charge up, and it hurts. And you’ll learn how long it takes for your character to wind up their swooping, bastard-sword sweep, or fire off an arrow. Very quickly the game becomes similar to a dance, with the game’s 2D plane giving just enough space for you to physically dodge (there is a button), or move to block (if you have a shield), enemy attacks. Despite the fact that you start looking for these tells, and they do seem to happen quite some time before the attack plays out, it all becomes very fast, and frantic. I think this is what people keep telling me is good about Dark Souls. Personally, it reminds me of the somewhat clunky, but still magnificent, swordfighting of the original Prince of Persia, albeit played out on a vastly wider axis, and with a deeper variety of enemies (and, bosses).
The PoP nod also comes in from the navigation; there’s a lot of ambling, and clambering to be done in the dungeon; not quite leaps of faith, but the developers certainly had no fear of generating extremely tall/deep dungeons in the game, and that’s a-okay with me.
Life is fleeting in the Dead Cells setting, with only a couple of mistimed dodges resulting in your character shifting off their mortal coil, but, similar to Rogue Legacy, you’ll start right back at the start of the game again, with a few alterations to the world.
For a start, the game world -although procedural in it’s generation- is split up into areas and zones, which remain unlocked and accessible once uncovered (you unlock new areas through getting certain types of items to certain areas, ergo the ‘Vania’ part of the genre) meaning that your pushing, against the odds, further and further through is directly rewarded with the near areas still accessible on the next run. Your gold also carries over, and you get offered better equipment to buy at the start depending on your progress through the game.
Enough with the mechanics though, I’d like to take a moment to discuss what you’ve been seeing up and down this article. The game’s aesthetics are amazing, there’s an incredible level of detail in both the foreground and the backgrounds, and the contrast that is almost always playing out between red & black makes the game a joy to watch & play. Then there’s the magical enemies, and the spells, which lean again against that darkness, this time leaning on light, bright colours and neons. It’s all a little bit like a firework show.
I was massively impressed with my 10-15 lives in Dead Cells, I managed to explore several areas, and pass a couple more portals that I didn’t head into (each area is tucked away through portals from the starting area), and although I didn’t run into any bosses, or get to dabble with the game system that sees you reuse enemy essence to progress, I certainly feel like I got a good look at the game’s carefully choreographed combat, and definitely feel that fans of the ever expanding roguelike genre, or combat-platformers, should definitely give the game a look.
Dead Cells is set to launch into early access this Spring.
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