First of all, in my opinion, this is one of the best games ever created if you are a fan of the metroidvania genre of games. The developers of Dead Cells, Motion Twin and Evil Empire, describe the game as a "Roguevania" because it is a game that takes the aspects of exploration, getting stronger, and learning from your mistakes. The genre of rogue-like (rogue-lite) involves a player going through a game multiple times, dying often, but making progress through learning enemy patterns and unlocking upgrades found through a "run." It is not a game for the feint of heart, but is quite rewarding for many reasons.
Gameplay consists of you starting in the same area of the Prisoner's Quarters. You will begin with basic weapons, but can unlock more powerful weapons as you find blue prints and unlock them between areas with blue orbs known as "cells." These unlocked weapons and defensive items along with a player's personal learning of the game allows them to reach further areas that are randomly generated with each new "run." Upon finding an exit from the Prisoner's Quarters through exploration, upgrades, and more, the player's game will differ from that of someone else based on the choices of exit they take. In total there are more than 30 different areas a person can visit, but they will only see about 10 areas in a given game due to their choices. Some of these areas are hidden behind DLC which can be purchased separately. This version of the game comes with one free DLC (Rise of the Giant) already on the cartridge and most other DLC (The Bad Seed, Fatal Falls, The Queen and the sea, and Return to Castlevania (as of March 2023)) is for sale for about $10 unless it is found on sale on most digital stores (the Nintendo eshop in this instance). When your character "dies" or completes the game, you return to the Prisoner's Quarters without the cells you didn't spend and begin again, perhaps taking a different path, and trying to reach a further point until you beat the game. As there are many things to unlock in this game, a person often will play over and over again ensuring many hours worth of enjoyment or pain.
The game graphics have a 2D (two dimensional) look that has great contrast so that you can always tell where you are in relation to the enemies that will attack you. Each environment that you enter and exit has a distinct look from towering ramparts of a castle, poison infused sewers, and even dark caverns. Each will have unique enemies with their own patterns and ways to overcome them. If you manage to beat the final boss, you will earn a "boss cell" which can be used in the beginning of the game to make the game even more difficult. Doing so unlocks new enemies, more cells to collect, and better rewards, but at the risk of dying faster or more often. These "boss cells" also allow special rooms to be unlocked which contain special items or areas only available to you with the right number of cells. If you are finding the game too difficult, there are accessibility options available from the very beginning if you want to enjoy the game's "story." These options can allow enemies, traps, and enemy health to be reduced to the point you can practically kill everything with one to three hits or take little damage to learn timing of enemy attacks to avoid or parry for an opening to attack yourself. There is also an option to retry from where you were in the game up to an infinite or limited number of times, so you don't lose progress. While the game does have a timer that counts the amount of time you have played in that run, it is merely for you to track how long you took to beat the game and is mainly used by the speedrunning community. You are free to move at whatever pace you feel comfortable with the game, but doing so quickly can grant you bonus items from special rooms.
While I rate this game five stars, results may vary for others. If you are easily frustrated and do not enjoy a challenge or repetition, this game may not be for you. While there is a story, it is very light and is mostly pieced together by finding random rooms that may or may not spawn on your run. While you can unlock items, if you die often and don't make much progress, it will take a long time to unlock these items. These items are also random and while more often than not they are worth the use, if you have focused on a specific color (red, purple, and green) and the new weapon is not helped by your choice, you can feel a bit cheated. Fortunately, as an accessibility option, you can create a custom game mode of which weapons and upgrades you would like to use in the game so that you may have the option to play with only those weapons and not have a random weapon, ability, or trap appear that does not help you.
My experience with the game at the time of this review is only about a week where I have put in about 20 hours with the game and it has quickly become one of my top 5 games of all-time. The idea behind the game was a love-letter to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night with their own take and as Castlevania is one of my favorite game franchises, this game definitely feels like it, just with perma-death. There is more that I would love to say about the game, but this review is long enough. Hopefully this gives you an idea of what to expect and if you do purchase it, I hope you find hours of enjoyment as much as I did.
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From the manufacturer
Dead Cells - Action Game of The Year
Dead Cells - Action Game of the Year
Includes access to Rise of the Giant DLC, exclusive keyring, new artbook and reversible cover featuring new artwork.
Dead Cells puts you in control of a failed alchemic experiment trying to figure out what's happening on a sprawling, ever-changing and seemingly cursed Island. Tough but fair combat, responsive controls, challenging foes, permadeath and of course, the emergency panic roll to get you out of trouble, make for a demanding, visceral and cathartic action game.
Dead Cells is amazing!
Dead Cells is an awesome game and they even included a cute little keychain in the box! Super happy with this purchase!
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2025Style: Dead CellsVerified Purchase
Dead Cells is an awesome game and they even included a cute little keychain in the box! Super happy with this purchase!
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Top reviews from other countries
- oven_kittyReviewed in Canada on December 17, 2022
Best buying option for Dead Cells on Switch.
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- Matthew S. WallsReviewed in Australia on November 16, 2024
Great game.
Style: Dead CellsVerified Purchase - Amazon CustomerReviewed in the United Kingdom on November 3, 2023
I recommend this seller
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Salvador TorresReviewed in Mexico on November 28, 2023
Excelente juego
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