Dead Cells is yet another fame that hovered on my periphery. I was interested but never made the plunge into actually buying it.
A fortunate turn of events led new back to it this month. The story isn’t thrown at you but subtly sprinkled throughout as you explore each area. Even dying and being sent back to the start reveals bits and pieces of the story.
The sets are amazingly designed and combat is satisfying but not too easy or hard. All weapons behave differently and have different effects depending on the level of the weapon. The player acquires more power and health as they collect scrolls. And at the end of each area you have the option to adjust your special stats.
Dying is the LEAST frustrating part of this game. When you die, the only thing you lose are your money and your items which are RNG. The items are differentiated from each other by type and level. [ex: Balanced Blade III] There are also three different colors to level up (green, purple, and red) which level up stats and items. Then there are the colorless items which level up with your highest stat. Just this adds a level of difficulty and depth to the game which is astounding.
So far I haven’t been frustated. Not once in 10 hours of play.
I’ve been having fun attempting to speed my way to the final boss and taking my time exploring every nook and cranny of the island. I highly recommend it to both casual and experienced roguelike players.