We've known for some time now that Dead Cells' The End is Near update would be the last the game officially receives, but the information hasn't yet come home to roost proper. Dead Cells' 35th major content upd?ate is, regardless, now live, and we have to deal with that.

Setting the melodrama of a game wrapping up its post-launch support aside for a bit, Dead Cells is one of those ??ever-present indie sidescrollers that have been a mainstay for fans of the genre. Punchy and chunky in equal measure, this game has stood the test of time after its 2018 Early Access release ended up being a resounding succe?ss, and every big update has added something meaningful to the mix. The final The End is Near update is thus no different, outside of the context of it being the game's grand finale, that is.

Dead Cells: The End is Near is now live, wrapping up the indie classic's post-launch content coverage

It is a heck of a wrap-up though, I've got to admit. Totally free for all owners of the base Dead Cells game (unlike the delightful Return to Castlevania DLC), The?? End is Near aims to round off what few rough edges there still were in the game. To that end (ha-ha, I know), the crux of the new content are the Curse-based items, mutations, and enemies, as well as head customization, of all things. Here's the bottom line:

• 3 new Curse mobs: Sore Loser, Doom Bringer, Curser
• 3 new weapons: Anathema, Indulgence, Misericorde
• 3 new Colorless Mutations: Cursed Flask, Damned Vigor, Demonic Strength
• Cursed Biome level effect
• 20 new Legendary affixes
• 40+ new unlockable avatar heads
• Slight rebalancing of The Bank level
• New routing options (e.g. the ability to roll both Castlevania-themed levels in one run)
• More accessibility options

An excellent showing, then, by Evil Empire, the studio working on Dead Cells over the past couple of years. Though this basically concludes the story of Dead Cells at this time, the important bit to remember is that th?e game fully supports Steam Workshop mods, allowing the community to continue releasing third-party content for the game for the for??eseeable future.

Further, the future's not grim at all for the people who worked on Dead Cells. The original developer, Motion Twin, is set and primed to release its next flagship project, Windblown, sometime in the near future. Evil Empire, on the other hand, recently pushed out the new roguelite Prince of Persia game which has loads of Dead Cells DNA if my experience with it is anything to go by. Oh, and let's not forget that Dead Cells is getting an ani??mated series some time this year, too, which is a wholly different kind of exciting. Keeping all of that in mind, it's kind of hard to complain about Dead Cells winding down, I'd say.

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The brutal rogue-lite Metroidvania-esque sidescroller Dead Cells has firmly established its position as a long-time indie darling, and the developer Motion Twin is moving on to an all-new game, Windblown. This new game has just received its first proper gameplay trailer, in fact, and it's a doozy.

Moving on from the wildly successful Dead Cells was always going to be a challenge for Motion Twin. Though the Dead Cells IP isn't done anytime soon, with an animated series slated for release in 2024, the game itself is being wrapped up, and Windblown will take its place as the Motion Tw??in flagship.

Windblown's first gameplay trailer shows off rapid-fire combat and cutesy mascot-like characters

There was some concern, of course, as to whether Motion Twin would be able to transpose Dead Cells' legendarily chunky combat and movemen??t gameplay from a 2D side-scroller to a full-featured 3D isometric hack 'n' slash. If the first gameplay trailer, featured above, is anything to go by, Mo??tion Twin might have something special on its hands.

The combination of almost mascot-tier character design with satisfyingly brutal, hard-hitting combat is something to behold. The sheer speed of Windblown's gameplay, too, appears delightful already, and it's impossible not to spot clear parallels with Dead Cells proper. The broader design considerations, enemy projectiles, and the general visual style are all a clear evolution of what Motion Twin had done with Windblown's predecessor years ago, making this project very promis?ing indeed.

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The highly acclaimed indie roguelite side-scroller, Dead Cells, is about to wrap up shop, from the looks of it. While it's been known for some time now that Dead Cells' Update 35 will be fairly size??able, Motion Twin has just announced it'll also be the game's final cont??ent update.

According to Motion Twin's latest Dead Cells blog post on Steam, "Update 35 for Dead Cells marks the end of [their] creative journey on the game." Having been released from Steam's Early Access program back in 2018, Dead Cells has received dozens of big content updates, one free expansion pack, and four major paid DLCs over the past five(ish) years. In 2019, Motion Twin s??pun off a smaller support studio, Evil Twin, to support Dead Cells with this breadth of post-launch content, ?but this team, too, is just about ready to move ?on from the project.

Dead Cells' Update 35 is the game's final official content update

"After an incredible 5-year collaboration in bringing additional content to Dead Cells' live-ops, Evil Empire will be pursuing new adventures and we can't wait to see what they come up next," says Motion Twin's announcement. "This comes after much reflection, especially following the awes??ome succes?s of the "Return to Castlevania" DLC last year."

The studio is, as per its own admission, afraid of falling into the 'more of the same' trap with Dead Cells, and there ?are fewer a?nd fewer ways for them to keep the game fresh with so much content having already been produced over the past couple of years.

With 10 million copies sold since its inception, Dead Cells has been a crucial aspect?? of Motion Twin's success, and it shouldn't be surpris?ing that the IP will keep being leveraged for times to come: "Stay tuned for more updates about the Animated Series, the Board Game and�the Beheaded appearing in another world?!"

Keeping all of the above in mind, however, this move has certainly been telegraphed well in advance. The official title of Update 35 is, after all, "The End is Nigh," and Motion Twin did announce an all-new game not too long ago. Indeed, the new title is decidedly not a Dead Cells 2, but an all-new 3D action platformer known as Windblown.

"OK, so, imagine [Dead Cells] downed like 312 energy drinks, and then slammed its fist into a 3D button. We then thought what if we made a game that was�absolutely absurdly fa?st. Almost silly levels of fast," said Motion Twin about its next flagship project. Promising stuff, certainly.

To circle back, Dead Cells' Update 35 does?? not currently have an actual release date: "We are all hands on deck trying to figure this out, so please look out for more updates in the future," said Motion Twin on the topic. Update 35 is currently in alpha testing, and it's going to add a handful of new weapons, assorted items, and tweaks to the game's massive roster of content.

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Expect lots of dodge rolls

Motion Twin has announced that their indie mega-hit, Dead Cells, is getting the animation treatment in 2024.

The 10-episode series is being handled by Bobbypills, the group that handled all of Dead Cells�animated trailers. The Animation Digital Network will be co-producing. Right now, we have a short teaser trailer of the prisoner sitting on a?? pile of corpses attempting to spark their head back to life. This comes complete wit??h the sound of someone flicking a cheap lighter.

//twitt??er.com/moti??ontwin/status/1668982072797454338?s=20

That’s not much to go on, admittedly, but despite being a roguelite, Dead Cells has a lot of lore to draw from. It also has a lot of memorable characters to draw from, like, uh, t?hat one lady who dies. Or maybe that guy who�Crap.

I’m going to be honest with you. I picked up Dead Cells for their Return to Castlevania DLC, and I loved the heck out of it. Once I finished with Return to Castlevania, it was my intention to continue on through the rest of the content. I?? guess it was a ??busy time for me because I just didn’t do that. When was that? March? Oh, yeah. I did 12 reviews that month. That wasn’t a very good idea.

However, my time spent with it does leave me convinced that it could be adapted into a very?? watchable animated series. No word on whether or not you have to start from the beginning if you fail to watch the series from start to finish.

The Dead Cells animated series will arrive sometime in 2024. The show will premiere exclusively on French ne??twork ADN, bef?ore screening worldwide.

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Over 30 updates launches so far

Studios Motion Twin and Evil Empire have announced that popular fantasy Metroidvania Dead Cells has now smashed past 10 million global sales. This incredible number represents an accumulation of sales on PC and cons?ole since the games' Early Access debut back in the summer of 2017.

"Following the success of Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania, Evil Empire has been exploring the path forward for the title as a whole," said the studio in a celebratory statement. "With years of successful updates and expansions behind it after taking over live ops of Dead Cells in 2019, the studio is tinkering with its time-tested methodology, experimenting with ideas for future updates and new ways for fan??s to enjoy one of their favo?rite roguelikes."

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBBwIHYm8Mw&ab_ch??annel=MotionTwin

The studio also revealed that plans are in motion to develop new updates and DLC for Dead Cells for the foreseeable future �with new content drops planned until at least 2025. Just recently, Dead Cells fans were able to enjoy the aforementioned Return to Castlevania DLC, which saw Dead Cells partner with ??one of the foremost titles in the Metroidvania genre, br??inging familiar locales, enemies, and bosses to the title.

Outside of the digital realm, Dead Cells is also being adapted for the tabletop crowd, with an official board game in the works at Scorpion Masque. This project opened its crowdfunding campaign with a $30,000 USD target, and successfully raised around half a million dollars in less than fifteen minutes. Clearly, even with an amazing 10 million sales under its tunic, Dead Cells is only just be?ginning to open up its fascinatingly weird u?niverse

Dead Cells is available ?now on PS4, PC, Xbox One, and ??iOS and Android platforms.

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Die. Mutate. Repeat.

Acclaimed roguelite Dead Cells is getting set to bring its compelling and amorphous adventure to your local coffee table, courtesy of a brand new board game currently in pro??duction at Le Scorpion Masque.

The Montreal-based studio, which has previously produced board games such as Decrypto, Zombie Kidz, and Stay Cool, launched a Kickstarter for Dead Cells, which will be the company's first licensed title. While the crowdfunding kicked off with a modest target of around $30,000 USD, the campaign has, at the writing of writing, surpassed a staggering $250,000, with 15 days still to go. As such, the g??ame will now go into production. A release window is yet to be announced.

//youtu.be/rfl-gb3M520

The Dead Cells board game will look to retain both the visual aesthetic, immersive atmosphere, and general gameplay of Motion Twin's 2018 release, as 1-4 players pick their way through ever-shifting dungeons in co-operative action, as they battle through High Peak Castle en route to a confrontation with the nefarious Han??d of The King. One of four uniquely skilled Beheaded can be chosen, and the board will retain the Die/Repeat nature of its roguelike origins.

You can check out a breakdown of a pre-production copy in the video below, courtesy of the board game fans at Good Time Society.

//youtu.be/qny-UMI4y1Q

Explore biomes, level up your character, defeat enemies, conquer challenge??s, and lose it all on the turn of a card. Level up your Beheaded, e?arn permanent upgrades, and work with your fellow team members to defeat what seems, at first glance, a near-insurmountable challenge. But strategy, synergy, and persistence can pay off in the end, or you'll simply die, and die, and die, and die trying.

You can check out a full breakdown of Dead Cells on the official Kickstarter.

Dead Cells ?is available now on PS4, PC, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and iOS/Android platforms.

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A miserable little pile of cells

I’m not the biggest lover of roguelikes. I maybe avoid them a little less than I used to but listing that little influence in the bullet points still isn’t a way to sell a game to me. However, I do love Castlevania. Throwing that full name (Metroidvania doesn’t count) into your press release is a better way to get me salivating. So, yes, the Return to Castlevania DLC was enough to get me to fully pick up Dead Cells.

What’s amusing is that I last played Dead Cells around the time I was reviewing GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon, which was a revival of a forsaken Konami franchise that largely took influence from Dead Cells. So both times I’ve played Dead Cells have been due to a Konami franchise. Don’t look at me like that. I found it funny.

Dead Cells is a roguelike that took a lot of influence from Castlevania, so having it get officially sanctioned Castlevania DLC is a great fit. As it turns out, it’s not only a great addition because of the addition of themed levels, but because the unlocks you get from tackling them enhance the Castlevania flavors of the base game.

[caption id="attachment_366995" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania(PC, Switch, Xbox One, PS4, iOS, Android)
Developer: Motion Twin
Publisher: Motion Twin
Released: March 6, 2023
MSRP: $9.99

You can begin the Return to Castlevania DLC rather easily. As long as you have the?? flasks hanging outside the opening room, you can fin??d Alucard in the Prisoner’s Quarters. If you’re starting fresh, this just means you’ll need a few (failed) runs before he appears. Afterward, you start off in the Castle Outskirts. There are only two full biomes available along with two boss rooms. However, you have to go through Dracula’s Castle at least twice, once via entering through the Prisoner’s Quarters to defeat death and again through the Clocktower.

It’s a bit more complicated than it needs to be, but not so cryptic that it’s impossible to figure out. The rules were initially unclear to me, so I wasted a run or two trying to get to Drac. For that matter, if you fail at Drac, it’s a long walk getting back to him, which I suppose is just the nature of a roguelike. If you’ve played Dead Cells, you probably know the kind of time commitment you’re in for. Runs can ex??ceed a half hour, and while that’s not huge for a full game, when a miscalculation can send you back, that can be punishing.

It’s progressi??on by degrees. Sure, you fail, but spending cells make subsequent runs easier. You also ?build up your skills and strategies. You figure out what your weapon preferences are, and that moves success within your reach.

[embed]//youtu.be/QBBwIHYm8Mw[/embed]

Cat Scratch

The two included biomes are pretty lean meat. It definitely fits the price, and I think the biggest issue with it is that the correct amount of Castlevania for me is endless Castlevania.

Despite there being only two boss rooms, there are act??ually three bosses. There’s Dracula, of course, but there’s also Death and Medusa. The last battle with Dracula is appropriately brutal, with a harsh difficulty spike ??even for the well-prepared.

Where I think the greatest value lies in Return to Castlevania is in the unlockables you can use in the main game. I was somewhat concerned that the DLC would exist as its own side game, but thankfully, it’s fully integrated. You can unlock classic Castlevania armaments like the holy water and Maria’s cat Byakko. These are then available for playing the vanilla content. It’s maybe not much, but it helps the whole game feel a bit more like you’re playing Castlevania.

Additionally, there are unlockable skins for the Prisoner. One of the first I unlocked was Maria, whic?h is pretty exciting??. There’s also Richter, Simon, and Trevor, as well as a few unexpected side characters. It makes it very easy to complete the illusion.

[caption id="attachment_366994" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Love letter

The remixed music is also pretty great. The cover of Vampire Killer is probably the best adaptation, and I’m somewhat disappointed at the approach to Divine Bloodlines?. However??, in general, I really want this soundtrack.

If you want to play Return to Castlevania, you’re going to need to be ready to play Dead Cells. There’s no way around it. Thankfully, Dead Cells is an absolute gravy boat, and you should play it.

What makes Return to Castlevania better is that it essentially allows you to turn Dead Cells into a Castlevania roguelike, and a damned good one. The DLC serves as a fantastic love letter to one of the series that helped inspire Dead Cells, and that love absolutely comes across. I honestly wish that more games would let me just turn them into a Castlevania spin-off. What’s the matter, Mario? Think you’re better than Castlevania? Well, you’re not, so put on this leather? cuirass and carry this whip??. Wait, that sounded weird.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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A date with the night

As part of the February 8th Nintendo Direct, Motion Twin has revealed the release date for the DLC for the 2018 Rogue-Lite platformer, Dead Cells, will be March 6, 2023. Return to Castlevania makes the assumption that you’ve been there in the first place and takes The Prisoner to the world of Castlevania. There, you’ll team up with Richter Belmont and Alucard to take down Death?? and Dracula.

Considering that Dead Cells owes part of its “RogueVania�design to the seminal Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, the crossover seems like a great fit. Not only that, but Konami and GuruGuru recently lifted a portion of Dead Cells design for GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon. First comes love, then comes marriage.

[embed]//youtu.be/ZSZ0qY6FRgw[/embed]

The trailer shows off the inspiration. Music, locations, bosses, and weapons have all been lifted from the surrogate franchise and transplanted into Dead Cells. The lo-fi visuals really fit well with the Castlevania flavor. The appearance of Alucard and Richter is a welcome treat for fans like myself, and the boss battle against Dracula really takes me into Castlevania’s weird image of Romania.

I played a bit of Dead Cells as a point of reference for when I was playing GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon. Since I’m such a huge Castlevania fan, the Return to Castlevania DLC might be just what I ??need to dive further into it.

Dead Cells is available on mobile, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC. The Return to Castlevania DLC will ??drop on March 6th, and will run you $9.99.

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Have fun storming the castle!

Dead Cells never disappoints when it comes to DLC, but there's probably more hype leading into the game's crossover with Castlevania than we've ever seen before. The collaboration was announced at the 2022 Game Awards, and the reveal alone left us wondering why it took them so long to team up in the first place -- and certainly left us wanting more. Motion Twin and Evil Empire have finally dropped a new trailer for the DLC, officially titled Return to Castlevania, and this first look shows off some classic Castlevania weapons and enemies in style.

This update will include all kinds of new Castlevania-themed content, including two new biomes, three bosses, 20 outfits, and 14 weapons, including classics like the Vampire Killer, Throwing Axe, and Holy Water. There will also be a new story to play through as well, with Castlevania protagonist Richard Belmont recruiting Dead Cells protagonist The Beheaded to join forces and take on Dracula himself. Players who like a challenge should also be pleased, because Return to Castlevania is also supposed to be a pretty difficult DLC, espec??ially when it comes to the boss fights (I mean, how much harder can it get than facing off against Death himself?).

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=q10fKa_MkW0

As if that wasn't already cool enough, Motion Twin made sure to include 51 tracks of the musical score from the original Castlevania games, in addition to 12 Dead Cells-style remixes of some of the series' most beloved tracks. Castlevania is known to have some of the most iconic music in games history, so it's cool to see this ??DLC honor it like this.

We don't know when to expect Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania quite yet other than sometime in 2023, so we'll be looking forward to its release for PC and consoles in the coming months. The game's Steam page calls this their "biggest D??L?C yet," so I'm sure they're taking their time to make sure every detail is perfect before it ships.

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Return to Castlevania

The first announcement of The Game Awards pre-show just might end up being one of the best reveals of the night. Dead Cells, one of the best games of the past five years, is getting a new DLC campaign in 2023 that'll bring some familiar faces. Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania looks like it'll bring Simon, Richter, and Dracula to the world of Dead Cells.

Or is the Beheaded invading the world of Castlevania? Either way works for me as these are two excell??ent? franchises that'll likely go together like peanut butter and jelly. Or a brick wall and cooked chicken.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu3zfCDbRoU

Return to Castlevania is the third DLC package for Dead Cells, following Rise of the Giant and The Queen and the Sea. The game is available on nearly every platform and was recently released for Apple Arcade as Dead Cells+. That's how I've been playing it recently an?d I keep forgetting how much I love this game. Hopefully, I'll be able to experience this DLC on the platfo?rm when it releases in Q1 2023.

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Dead Cells update shows some love to the game's peers yet again

Dead Cells is one of the most renowned indie games of the past few years, and it's part of a larger wave of really awesome roguelike games we've seen. Now, as yet another homage to beloved indie games, a free Dead Cells update is available that includes in-game goodies inspired by titles like Terraria, Hotline Miami, Shovel Knight, Slay the Spire, Risk of Rain 2, and Katana Zero. It's known as Everyone Is Here Vol. II, and the update includes new lore rooms based on the featured games, in which players will find related weapons and armor they can use in their next Dead Cells run.

The theming doesn't just stop at being able to wear costumes or don weapons from those games -- the effects and animations for actions like attacking and jumping are also pulled from the featured games. You can check out the update in more detail with the trailer that Motion Twin posted earlier today. I'm honestly impressed at the detail the developers included in a DLC like this, rather than just slapping a skin into the game and calling it a day. Indie developers are known to be really passionate people who simply care a lot about not only the game that they're making, but games as a whole, so it's not surprising to see them include a nod to what I can? only assume are some of their favorite games as well with so much care.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_kmohIc-b4

The previous Everyone Is Here update included references to other indie classics like Hollow Knight, Blasphemous, Hyper Light Drifter, Guacamelee, Skul: The Hero Slayer, and Curse of the Dead Gods. There honestly isn't a better way to get good game recommendations than from the developers you admire, so the list of included games in both updates are a great place to start if you're looking to dive into some other great indies (I will also include my personal endorsement of Slay the Spire, which has been hands down one of m??y most-played games of recent years).

Dead Cells' Everyone Is Here Vol. II update is live today, and free for all players on PC platforms, including Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG.

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Get ready to battle some bosses

Dead Cells is widely regarded as one of the best roguelike games out there, and one of the best indie games of the past decade. It's one of those games you can play over and over again -- literally -- but for fans who are itching for something new, well, the Dead Cells dev team has you covered. The studio behind the game, Motion Twin, along with their subsidiary studio Evil Empire, announced an all-new Boss Rush mode as an add-on for the PC version of Dead Cells.

The idea is that players will have four unique stages ?to play through, and each stage has the player going up against bosses from the game back-to-back. Th??e breakdown of stages goes like this: stage one has three bosses, stage two has five bosses, stage three has three enhanced bosses, and stage four has five enhanced bosses.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCaZwowMm78

The enhanced bosses are new for the Boss Rush mode, and as you might expect, they have ways to make their already-intense battles even harder, like healing powers or allies that come and join them in the fight. If you've played through some of the harder heats in Hades, think of the enhanced boss sta??ges like runs where you're only fighting Extreme Measures bosses.

Each stage also features Dead Cells bosses randomly selected from Tiers 1, 2, or 3, to which they are assigned based on how difficult they are -- so at least you won't be fighting The Queen five times in a row. The Boss Rush mode is accessible in-game through a door in the basement of the Prisoners' Quarters. Player??s will also win some serious loo??t as they defeat the different stages, with the type of prizes scaling depending on how many bosses they fight, which bosses they fight, and so on.

The Boss Rush mode is available now in Dead Cells for PC players, and will be coming to consol?es late??r this month.

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Next year will be the "most exciting" in Dead Cells' history

Time rolls on, and so does Dead Cells. Today, the team at Motion Twin shared an updated roadmap for the future of Dead Cells, which is set to carry into 2023?? and contains some big t?hings.

The team says this update is specifically to combat the belief that, after the latest DLC, Dead Cells is at or near the end of its lifespan.

Currently planned for 2022 is the panchaku update and flame head outfit, as well as some rebalancing and reworking. Then this fall, Motion Twin plans to launch a Boss Rush mode for Dead Cells.

More update?s are set for winter as well. Keep in mind these are all rough estimates, and nothing's quite set in stone.

Then, in 2023, the team is advertising the "most exciting year" in Dead Cells' history. Motion Twin says it will be the biggest year since the Dead Cells 1.0 launch.

"What we're getting at here is that w?e're very much in the mid-life of Dead Cells. We're not sneaking out at night to get drunk on street corners anymore, but we've still got plenty of life in us before our knees start to give in, so prepare yourselves for more Dead Cells content."

Not quite dead after all

To its credit, the Dead Cells team has been steadily rolling out update after update over the years. Even though the action roguelike is roughly four years old at this point, Motion Twin and its spin-off studio Evil Empire have kept on delivering new content.

So, even though The Queen and The Sea DLC went live earlier this year, rumors of Dead Cells fading out of the picture seem to be greatly exaggerated. As f??or what Motion Twin and Evil Empire have planned for 2023, we'll have to see in the new year.

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Death isn't the end with the Breaking Barriers update (unless you want it to be)

With its new Breaking Barriers update, Dead Cells has added a long list of granular accessibility options �including an Assist Mode �to help struggling players pummel the Hand of the King and ultimately rise the (Boss Cells) ranks. It's been a long time coming, and for anyone who feels like they've peaked in the game, it's time to circle back??.

Using Assist Mode toggles, it's now possible to reveal the biome's map, auto-hit enemies with your primary melee weapon, auto-destroy nearby doors, give yourself more wiggle room to land parries, and make traps slower. Similar to Rogue Legacy 2's House Rules, there are also s??liders �you can lower trap damage, enemy health, and enemy damage.

Bigger yet, Dead Cells now has a resurrection option, meaning death isn't the end of your run. With revives toggled on, when you die, you'll resurrect at the start of the current biome in the same condition you originally entered it in. There are options for one, thr?ee, seven, or infinite resurrect?ions. Also worth stressing: Achievements won't be locked out.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=joDnuQaGXsg

"Dead Cells is intended to be tough but fair," Evil Empire marketing manager Matt Houghton explained in the Breaking Barriers update overview video. "However, we realize that this tough-but-fair experience is just unattainable for some players, for a whole range of reasons. The new options that we're introducing here should allow these players to make specific, tailored adjustments to the game to remove the barriers preventing them from having that experience, rather than introducing arbitrary difficulty options. We hope that these changes can let more players enjoy Dead Cells as we intended."

New accessibility features, too

As for accessibility options, the list keeps going: you can customize certain inputs like jumping and rolling, change the HUD size, visually outline elements like the protagonist and enemies so they don't get lost in the chaos, disable blood, reduce particles, and change up the sound effects. The video up top is an extensive recap, but if you want to skim the Breaking Barriers patch notes, they're over here. More updates are coming, too.

"If you're a Dead Cells player who doesn’t need any of the content that we’re introducing in this update, don't worry," said the team. "We have plenty of shiny new things to introduce to Dead Cells this year."

As someone who hasn't fully cleared Dead Cells' rising difficulty tiers and never will, I am all about this Assist Mode. I'm not sure which features I'll use, exactly, but the idea of defining my own granular ideal experience, and adjusting it as needed to keep the game challenging but not overly so, sounds great. I absolutely flipped on some of the House Rules in New Game+ runs of Rogue Legacy 2, and ??I don't regret it. Brick walls be damned. I am fine being stuck f?or a while �hours; sometimes even days �but I've got my limits.

The conversation around video game difficulty is always a lot, but I hope this grows the Dead Cells fandom and helps existing players reach ??new he?ights.

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The free Break the Bank update is worth playing

There's a generous (read: free!) Dead Cells biome update out this week called Break the Bank, and can you believe it's the 28th update for the game? And they're not slowing down either, as the developers at Motion Twin and Evil Empire are planning to release ??more DLC and updates for "at least another yea??r." No one's getting off this wild ride!

Before diving in, you may want to skim the patch notes to see what's new.

There are new weapons like the Gold Digger, which "gives gold on hits plus critical hits if you're filthy rich," and a few shiny foes, like the Golden Kamikaze (aka the exploding bats). There are mutations, too �one of them, Gold Plating, causes you to lose gold instead of health when you're hurt. And there are balance changes, including a Vampirism rework that "now sacrifices a percentage of your maximum he??alth to gain life leech on your melee attacks (effect doubled for heavy weapons) and a speed boost for 10 s??econds."

Or maybe you just want to barrel toward the new Bank biome. H?e??re's how to find it.

If you've reached the Hand of the King before, look for this chest in the biome transition areas

[caption id="attachment_314578" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{This chest is your ticket into the Bank biome.}[/caption]

In theory, the Bank should be easier to find than some of the other routes in Dead Cells, assuming you know what you're looking for: a chest. This chest. According to the de??vs, it can appear randomly in the "transition area between biomes (but not before a boss)," and if you ignore the Bank entrance chest, it won't appear again in your current run.

On the bright side, the Bank chest is "guaranteed to appear once" per run, assuming you've gotten to the Hand of the King or The Queen at least once in Dead Cells �that's the prerequisite. In?? other words, you don't need to ?curse your bad RNG. It'll show up.

[caption id="attachment_314576" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{Agitated Pickpockets are one of the new enemy types in the Break the Bank update.}[/caption]

There's another interesting ?wrinkle: the Bank replaces (what would be) the next biome on your current path, and that actually affects which enemies will show up since the new zone borrows from other spots, in addition to having all-new foes like Pickpockets.

As the developers put i?t, if you pop into the Bank "at the transition after Prisoner's Quarters, you will face mobs from Toxic Sewers, Promenade of the Condemned, and Dilapidated Arboretum." That's just one example; the Bank chest can show up elsewhere.

The Bank itself is pretty straightforward

It's not as bewildering as Spelunky's secretive City of Gold, but the Bank is neat in its own right. I like that it isn't too fussy to explore. Once inside the biome, a teller will hand you a Red Pass (which goes to a red doo??r that's just a quick elevator ride away), and you can take out a bunch of gold loans if you're feeling spicy �but you'll need to pay them back.

The elevator branches out to other floors (with other colo??r-coded doors that need a corresponding key), so it's easy to fully ex??plore your surroundings without getting lost.

[caption id="attachment_314579" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{You can return to the elevator to open up new areas of the Bank using color-coded keys.}[/caption]

While poking around the Bank, you might come across a series of chains that phase in and out �try not to touch them! Like, really try. They hurt! This is a full-on platforming obstacle course, and it goes mu?ch longer than I would've expected, so I'd recommend taking your time. If? you slip up, you'll warp back to the beginning. Mind your health bar.

[caption id="attachment_314577" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{Don't come into contact with these chains as they phase in and out, or you'll pay.}[/caption]

There's a scary new achievement, too

When I reached the end of the Bank, I settled my debt to get through the final door and exit the area, but there is another way. You can break through it, and as it turns out, there's an intimidating achievement related to this called "Up to the eyeball in debt," which requires beating the game "w?ith the ma??ximum debt remaining." Wait, what?

According to Dead Cells players on Reddit who are much more skilled than I'll ever be, you can take out a loan "ten times for a maximum of 20,000 gold," then break the golden door at the end of the Bank biome, suffer?? ?a 100-enemy curse, and finish out your run.

I, uh, won'??t be doing that �but good luck to the rest of ya!

Dead Cells has been piling up content for years now, and I'm stoked to see things go so well for players (who keep coming back) and the creators (who are still getting sales). The?? Break the Bank update is out on PC and consoles, so dip back in when you get a chance.

The post Dead Cells now has a Bank biome, and here’s how to find it appeared first on Destructoid.

The third DLC is playable on PC and consoles

Dead Cells has rolled out its third DLC release, The Queen and the Sea, on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch today. It's a testament to the game's finely-tuned chaos that fans are still showing up,?? excited as ever to jump a??nd roll and slash the night away.

To ??set the mood, Motion Twin and Evil Empire have a new animated trailer.

//youtu.be/J89G6Sxyc18

So, what are we in for this time? As the video suggests, there's a lighthouse with a rising fire to keep you moving and an imposing figure up top. The Queen and the Sea adds the Infested Shipwreck and Lighthouse biomes (as stand-ins for the High Peak Castle and Throne Room), along with a new final boss and ending. This DLC is a continuation of the story elements in The Bad Seed and Fatal Falls �can we actually get off this island?

The rising flames and vertical nature of the Lighthouse make me think of that monstrous saw that chases you up trees in Donkey Kong Country 3. I always hated that obstacle as a kid, and while I've since gotten more comfortable with the ever-present threat, it still induces some anxiety. I'm expecting to make a lot of panicked slip-ups in Dead Cells.

There are new weapon?s and skills to exp??eriment with, too. Here's the list:

• Abyssal Trident â€?/strong> Charge towards your enemies and impale them, to inflict critical damage.
• Hand Hook â€?/strong> Grab your foes and throw them behind you, for easy kills off the side of platforms, as well as that little bit of crowd control.
• Maw of the Deep â€?A literal shark. And you can throw it. Yep. No, for real, where did the Beheaded find this.
• Bladed Tonfas â€?/strong> whose damage scales upon your running capacity, with a big critical jump when at max speed.
• Wrecking Ball â€?/strong> the heaviest weapon of them all. Quite hard to throw, but it will tear through crowds of unsuspecting mobs with ease.
• Queen's Rapier â€?/strong> Tear through reality (and your enemies) with the favorite weapon of the so-called Queen of the island!
• Throwing Cards â€?/strong> Shoot cards in various patterns and stick them in your enemies, before recalling them all to deal major damage!
• Gilded Yumi â€?/strong> the heaviest bow of them all, with the heaviest arrows, and the heaviest hits. So heavy, in fact, that those arrows might just pick mobs up off the ground, and bring them along to their inevitable death.
• Leghugger â€?/strong> A new pet, a baby evil shrimp, although this one seems to be quite more friendly. Let it free and it'll quickly bite the life out of your opponents.
• Scavenged Bombard â€?/strong> The Beheaded took inspiration from those pesky pirates and made his own automatic turret-cannon. The reloading is quite slow, but the damage it deals makes up for it.