The developer of the esteemed Dead Cells has announced that its next game will soon be available to play. Windblown will receive a demo during the upcoming Steam Next Fest event and will be released into Early Access on October 24, 2024.

Having played the first two levels of the game myself, I'm fine saying that fans of Dead Cells should take note. Windblown is a 3D rogue-lite that's heavy on act??ion and speed, allowing you to zip through beautiful levels with up to two friends in online co-op.

If you're curious, Steam will host the game's demo during Next Fest, which runs from October 14 to Oc??tober 21. The demo only contains the f??irst biome, but it should be enough to pique your interest.

Windblown blows into Early Access in three weeks

The Steam Early Access launch of Windblown will ultimately be where all the action's at. It'll contain five biomes to explore and 11 weapons to use against a horde of foes. Any progress you make in the Early Access version will also transfer to the full launch, which doesn't yet have a confirmed date. According to the developer, Windblown's Early Access period shou??ld take a "minimum of one year." Naturally, anything could change the studio's plans.

In Windblown, you play ??as one of a handful of anthropomorphic animal fighters. As a Leaper, it's your job to enter a nearby swirling Vortex that's threatening The Ark, a village on a floating island. Like with most rogue-lites, gameplay revolves around entering randomized levels filled with enemies and treasures and survivi??ng long enough to return with cash. You use the currency to upgrade and unlock new items, which hopefully allow you to venture even further into the story.

I enjoyed my brief time with the game. It's fast and action-packed, which is perfect for those who love games that rely on quick reflexes. The game will be available to try soon. You may find it just as enjoyable.

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Windblown is an action-heavy rogue-lite coming from the makers of the indie darling Dead Cells. For many fans of the genre, that line alone should be enough to garner high interest. But for those who need a bit more of a nudge, don't worry: Windblown is pretty dang fun.

The game comes to us from Motion Twin, which, until recently, has been supporting the 2018 breakout hit Dead Cells. Fans of rogue-lites should know the 2D action game well, as it's been propped up as one of the very best in the genre. And it is. Windblown has one hell of an act to follow.

Getting into the motion

So far, Motion Twin seems more than up to the task. While Windblown may not end up redefining? the genre, my seven hours with the ??demo have convinced me it may have the potential to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with its predecessor.

It still carr?ies the ty??pical marks of the genre: You enter a dangerous, randomly generated series of biomes; kill enemies while collecting cash; die, and return to the hub world to unlock upgrades that will hopefully get you a little bit further with every run.

Windblown isn't Dead Cells' successor, however. Unlike its cousin, Windblown is fully 3D, dropping the pixel art to embrace polygons and a gorgeous, hand-painted world. The isometric camera?? gives you a fuller view of each region and battle arena, allowing you to zip around multiple foes or ascend/descend with ease. The game prioritizes speed with its dash move, which you'll end up using with reckless abandon.

Upgrades, people

But Windblown is still very much a Motion Twin game. At the start, I was dropped into the middle of the game's first biome with nothing more th??an a Fish Knife sword to my name. I dashed through the first biome, tackling enemy robots and smashing pots for golden Shells. Treasure chests and some enemies dropped crimson-colored Cogs, the currency you take back to the hub to excha??nge for new upgrades.

I was feeling good, and maybe a bit too cocky. Soon enough, as many are wont to do, I bit off more than I could chew. A mini-boss sent my anthropomorphic axolotl ass back to base camp where I respawned and promptly threw up in front of some strangers. It could have gone a little better.

This is where you get introduced to The Ark, a series of floating islands where you can practice your combos, purchase upgrades, and chat up the locals. Cogs are spent on upgrades such as one that unlocks a Health Flask or another that gives you a starting weap??on for each new run.

Windblown during its first few hours feels like running into a brick wall. But you become stronger as you finish more and more runs, and soon enough you may just be ready to face off against the tougher challenges. Memories of fallen warriors you come across during runs give you access to things like special abilities and new weapons, which you can start unlocking after completing a quest to fix a robot friend on The Ark. By the end of the demo, I began every new run with a second starting weapon, a starting Trinket (such as bombs), and a level-three Health Flask. There was a lot more left to unlock.

Getting into the groove

Much like it did in Dead Cells, the climb feels daunting in Windblown, but still just as worth it. At first, I wasn't sure what I thought about the game's combat. It felt, for the lack of a be??tter description, a b??it lukewarm. But soon enough, it "clicked."

You know the moment; it's when you slowly fall into a rhythm and the game starts getting exciting. For me, that was after I began mastering a move called the Alterattack, which you unlock early. Pressing a butto??n at the end of a combo when the Alterattack icon appears above your head lets you unleash a powerful special attack. The kind of attack depends on your secondary weapon type. One attack may fling you into the air in a devastating spin slash, whereas another adds a bleed effect to your primary weapon.

After a while, I was able to find weapon combos that synergized well with my playstyle �and I was having a blast. Windblown leans hard on quick reflexes and knowing when to strike or give your foe some dis??tance. The action is fun and ??frantic, with plenty of skin-of-your-teeth moments where you barely avoid a devasting blow with a well-timed dash. You can also delay your Alterattack by activating it the split second after a dash, letting you evade an attack and follow up or get into a better position.

Eye candy

My enjoyment of the combat was buoyed by Windblown's wonderful visu?als. The game's environments are rich in color, featuring thick blades of grass that dance with the breeze. I have a particular fondness for the water in the first biome. As a child, I always felt in awe of aquariums you can look into from above. The rivers and ponds of the first biome remind me of those, complete with gently waving underwater grass and floating lily pads. I didn't notice any fish, though.

Of course, it's sometimes hard to soak in the visuals due to how fast you can move through the biomes. The sense of movement in Windblown is fantastic. Using the dash, you're able to zip across gaps and move from floating platform to ??platform with blistering speed. It's thrilling to tap the dash button and watch your character scream across the level like a bullet. There was more than one moment where I lamented not having a turbo button, but that's not an issue that lasts for long (wink).

But it's also wise to slow down at times. The two levels contained secrets with hidden chests offering up a bounty of Shells to exchange for new weapons, items, or things like Gifts that offer passive upgrades such as health or damage increases. Looking for treasure hidden behind waterfalls is a classic gaming trope, but it's one that Windblown is happy to keep in the zeitgeist.

It's dangerous to go alone

Windblown can be played solo or with a group of friends. Up to three people can play together to clear worlds and take on bosses. Sadly, I wasn't able to experience ??the game with an ally. If you do, be sure to unlock the ability to change your appearance at The Ark (a cheap upgrade is required). Surely not everyone needs to be an axolotl, no matter how tempting it may be. I ended up swapping between the lizard and hamster, myself.

The demo I played was completed after I beat the second stage boss, which was an absolute monster compared to the first one. But I enjoyed what I experienced in the end. Windblown has some big shoes to fill, but so far it seems to be up to the task?. You can try the game yourself later this month when a Steam demo containing the first biome launches on October 14, 2024. The game enters Steam Early Access on October 24, 2024.

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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 update is, regardless, now live, and we ha??ve 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 success, 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), t?he 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 the game fully supports Steam Workshop mods, allowing the community to c?ontinue releasing third-party content for the game for the f??oreseeable 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 animated 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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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. Th?is incredible number represents an accumulation of sales on PC and console 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 fans to enjoy one of their favorite roguelikes."

//www.youtube.??com/watch?v=QBBwIHYm8Mw&??amp;ab_channel=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, bringing 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 beginning to open up its fascinatingly weird?? universe

Dead Cells is available now on PS4, PC, Xbox On?e, and iOS and 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 find 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, yo?u 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 exceed 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 progression by degrees. Sure, you f?ail, 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 actually 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 diffic??ulty 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 unloc?ked was Maria, which 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 sou??nded weird.

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

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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, especially 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 "bigg??est DLC yet," so I'm sure they're taki??ng their time to make sure every detail is perfect before it ships.

The post New Dead Cells: Return to Castlevan??ia trailer shows of??f new biomes, weapons, and more appeared first on Destructoid.

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 sta?ge has the player going up against bosses from the game back-to-back. The 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 th??e enhanced b??oss stages 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. Players will also wi??n some serious loot 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 w?ill be coming to consoles later 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, whic??h is set to carry into? 2023 and contains some big things.

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 updates are set for winter as well. Keep in mi?nd 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 we'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 gi??ve 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 for what Motion Twin and Evil Empire have planned for 2023, we'll ha?ve to see in the new year.

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