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2 months ago
If you thought twitchy roguelike platformer Dead Cells was hard before, you're in for a hell of a time when the free Rise Of The Giant expansion launches this Thursday, March 28th. While daring players can opt in to a testing build now, the major, story-focused update to the game will officially roll out soon. It adds more enemies, weapons, zones, boss fights and multiple…
3 months ago
Dead Cells documentary features a peek at the Rise Of The Giant DLC
We've known there's free DLC on the way for rogue-ish metroidvania Dead Cells for a while - daring players have been playing a pre-release build for days. This somewhat dulls Red Bull Gaming's boast that their little Dead Cells documentary contains "exclusive footage" from the DLC, but it's still worth a watch because developers Motion Twin seem like lovely people. There's some talk about their challenges making…
5 months ago
Feature: Gimme a high five
It is terrifying to be an independent developer right now. Before, small teams might compare themselves to a ‘soulless’ billion dollar industry built on games where Very Large Men shoot other Very Large Men (regardless of the merit of that claim). Now, those same big studios are bringing their absurd levels of manpower and polish to titles that are more empathetic and experimental than ever…
6 months ago
Feature:
Is... is it over yet? Are the Black Friday and Cyber Monday PC gaming deals finally finished? Just a couple more hours to go now, you can do it deals herald, you can get through this. You've got a week and a half holiday coming up soon, just get through the afternoon and then you can go and lie in a dark room and not…
8 months ago
Feature: Hack 'n' dash
I start with only a bow and a sword, fighting against entry-level enemies and depending on my dodging roll for survival. During the next five minutes of Dead Cells, I have doubled my HP. I’ve become stronger, and consequently, I begin to see myself as a walking killing spree that will leave no room hidden or treasure chest untouched, no matter how many enemies are…
Dead Cells getting customisable Custom Mode, teasing first DLC
A 'Custom Mode' letting goofolk choose their gear and mysterious new pretties are among goodies planned for future updates to Dead Cells, the roguelikelike stab-o-platformer which I'd say has a fair chance of scooping our much-coveted "Bestest best game best of the best year best best" award in December. Developers Motion Twin have been taking it easy, sleazy since Dead Cells launched out of early…
9 months ago
Feature: Hindsight is 20/20
8 things I wish I’d known about Dead Cells before I played Dead Cells for dozens of hours
I've been away for a few weeks - NOT THAT YOU NOTICED - and my poison of choice during that time was the release version of Dead Cells. This Metroidvania/roguelike hybrid ticks pretty much every box I've got going, leaving my former flames The Binding of Isaac, Hollow Knight and Slay The Spire suddenly abandoned. Like all the best 'vanias, Dead Cells doesn't tell you…
Feature: Monstrous
OK! OK! Look, thank you, yes, yes, I know, thank you. Yes, it's very exciting that I'm here with this week's Steam Charts, but come on, please, sit down now, that's really enough. Oh, come on, all of you, you're lovely, but it's only little me. Goodness gracious!
10 months ago
After fourteen months in early access, Dead Cells officially launched today. We declared the roguelikelike platformer our favourite game of 2017 even in its early access state, and our Brendan's Dead Cells review yesterday will tell you it's now even sharper. A good video game. But if you've not been persuaded by our baby-and-a-half of squawking, instead waiting for the full launch, today's your lucky…
Feature: What a handsome rogue
Dead Cells gets into your nervous system like a wonderful toxin. If it wasn’t so fast-paced, you could almost feel the electro-chemical effects pulsing through your body, from hand to eye to screen to brain, as your panicked flurry of knife strikes eviscerates another sewer worm. The game began as a “roguevania”, and it was strong even in its early days. But the final version…
Feature: Listen to this in media res
Then the bus EXPLODED. Hello, this is the RPS podcast, the Electronic Wireless Show, and we are here to talk about the best game openings and intros. Whether they are cold opens or slow burns, we love a good first impression.
11 months ago
Metroidvania roguelike Dead Cells busts out of early access August 7th
RPS have watched platform roguelike Dead Cells like some sort of many-headed nightmare hawk. Excellent even in its first early access release and steadily improved by patches, its deep combat and huge number of viable play-styles making each run feel fresh enough to keep us coming back. We even declared it the best game of 2017 in a fit of communal enthusiasm. After a great many updates, it's…
Feature: The 1000 step program
Soundbyte: Why is it so hard to start a union in the games industry?
Welcome to Soundbyte, an audio mini-series that stimulates your ears and explores topics in the games industry. In our first episode, Pixel Picketers, we're talking about unionisation in the games industry, what some folks are doing to make it happen, and the challenges they face. Let's start by speaking to Doug Cockle, who plays Geralt in The Witcher among other roles, about his negative experiences in…
With Dead Cells nearing its exit from early access, developers Motion Twin have ticked off a few big boxes on their to-do list for the rad roguelikelike metroidvania. Today brings Mac and Linux versions, "experimental" mod support, and final confirmation that the price will go up by $5 ahead of its August launch. But heck, Dead Cells was our favourite game of 2017 even in…
Feature: Recky with the good hair
The old quote is wrong: neither death nor taxes are, it seems to me, as terrifyingly certain as the Steam Summer Sale. Yes, once more we can add to the heap that is our backlog by buying games for, what, five quid, on average? But there are so many to choose from that it's easy to get flustered, so who better than the staff of…
Roguey romp Dead Cells - one of the best games of 2017 - is getting mod support, possibly as soon as this month. It’s been requested frequently, so the announcement still comes as a pleasant surprise, mentioned at the end of a brief update post yesterday. The early access game is also now available on Linux and Mac - just pick those versions in the…
12 months ago
The “Not a Metroidvania” bundle includes 4 great Metroidvanias
If only you could have heard the RPS treehouse chat a few months ago, during the great Metroidvania debate of 2017. Battle lines were drawn. On the one side: John, insisting that of course Dead Cells isn't a Metroidvania. On the other side: everyone else, calling John an old fogey for insisting on overly strict and out-dated genre boundaries. On the other other side: the…
There are only three colours in Unworthy - black, white and blood. It’s an upcoming minimalist monochrome Metroidvania that isn’t so much “inspired” by Dark Souls as it is a pixel demake of it. In one sense, it's very derivative. The health and stamina bars, the slow and deliberate attacks, the “sin” you collect from kills (and drop on death), the depressed ramblings of NPCs.…
1 year ago
The splendid roguelikelike metroidvania Dead Cells--our favourite game of 2017, don't you know--has taken a big step towards leaving early access with the launch of the update codenamed 'Baguette'. It's a biggun, overhauling how persistent weapon upgrades work, letting us reroll the modifiers on particular weapons to shoot for something nicer, replacing the UI, adding new Legendary weapons... lots of good stuff.
Feature: You can take it with you
Persistence & Permadeath: progression in Spelunky, Into the Breach and roguelikes
Progression is so often an illusion. Many games use the idea of permanent progression as a way of tickling our lizard brains with a growing pile of loot or numbers which constantly tick up, so that we feel like we’re achieving something while we sit in front of a computer and repeat the same set of tasks over and over again. The beauty of permadeath…
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