Dead Cells - Nintendo Switch [Digital]

Oh how pretty these pixel are. It feels visually more like Castlevania, but elevates the aesthetic with some really solid lighting effects, depth and animation. Instead of roguelike, it’s rogue-lite. There’s no turn based battle, but the levels are procedurally generated, meaning: nothing is in the same place when you die. And you’ll die often, starting over at the beginning, losing (almost) everything in your inventory. But as you go along, getting a little farther each time, you’re also gaining some traits that are permanent, like health restoration potions you can use once, then twice and so on. It’s a totally different approach to gaming for me. I’m usually a point A to point B kinda player, but this encourages getting better at going with the flow, identifying patterns and honing tactics. Super enjoyable.

One of the best games I've played in a long time. I like it on the switch but it's also available on xbox and ps4. Wherever you can play it if you like permadeath (with some progression through carry over items) with random generated levels then you will absolutely love this game.

Just an excellent platformer and slash-em-up. Many unlockables, including permanent upgrades. A great variety of monsters and biomes, with multiple difficulty levels to unlock - some enemies only appear at higher difficulties. Been playing since Steam early access and have seen the devs put in a lot of work refining the game, both before and after release. It's a steal at this price, a great addition to any Switch. (I've owned this on multiple platforms for ages - this copy was for a friend)

I bought Dead Cells on a whim even though I'm not a fan of roguelikes, due to the huge amount of praise it has received from reviews. I've done about 50+ runs, and it's a tough game - I've been stuck on the Clocktower the last few runs because there the enemies swarm the screen and hit really hard, and there's a higher need for exploration. That said, it plays great - the controls are perfect, I love the art style, and you do get a satisfying feeling of progression with all the available unlockables. If you like tough platformers, it's a recommended game.

This is my first “roguelike” game, and I have a love/hate relationship with this style. I love the non-linear approach, but I hate the “groundhog day” scenario of starting over completely after dying. I think its extremely well done: graphics, sound, controls, the myriad weapons & abilities... its addictive! There is tons of effort in honing your skills, learning what works best, having success, BUT then you die again and start over with none of those effective weapons again. Grind through, maybe you get something else that works for a bit, maybe you struggle for 5 more playthroughs with no luck. At some point, it wears off and you just want to play something else. I couldn’t wait to jump into a more traditional game after this diabolical torture experience! Maybe I’ll come back to this down the road, but everytime I see the cartridge, I cringe at the brutality that awaits. But it’s a great game nonetheless, just not my favorite style. I still recommend trying it for awhile to catch the fever... misery loves company.