For those who are extremely spoiler averse, I’ll put the final verdict here at the top for Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania by developers Motion Twin and Evil Empire: Go buy this game. Go buy this DLC. This game is by far one of the best that I’ve played in recent years, and I’ve been truly honored to have been given access to its upcoming content ahead of release. This DLC is the biggest love letter to Castlevania that the franchise has ever received, even eclipsing its inclusion in Super Smash Bros Ultimate.
For everyone else sticking around for the full review, don’t worry: I won’t go spoiling everything. Now, let’s get into it:
Dracula, immortal Vampire and Dark Lord, has once again awoken from his slumber. But It was not by his hand that he was “once again given flesh.” He was brought here by humans who wished to pay him tribute, or rather, by the amazing team at Motion Twin in an amazing tribute to the lasting legacy of the Castlevania franchise. Now, it falls to The Prisoner to join with legendary vampire hunter Richter Belmont and Alucard, son of Dracula, to return him to his eternal slumber. With five brand new stages to explore and a new route winding through the massive castle of Dracula, adventure and danger waits around every corner.
As you explore through these winding corridors and expansive locales, you’ll battle with plenty of familiar and infamous foes: from the bone throwing skeletons to the winged harpies and even a familiar boss or two, there’s plenty of nostalgia waiting to beat you senseless. To match the increased power of these undead hordes, you’ll rack up Cells and unlock the legendary weapons and abilities of both Man and Monster alike. From whacking armored knights with a massive bible, to throwing the iconic boomerang-like cross, to even armoring up with the sword and shield of Alucard himself or wielding the Vampire Killer whip, there’s more than enough power to go around. And you can even power yourself up with the iconic equipment of your opponents! But I think I’ll leave it there; I don’t want to spoil all of the secrets. After all, as Dracula would likely say, “What is a Metroidvania? A miserable little pile of secrets!”
Although Dracula may be right about the secrets, he couldn’t be more wrong by calling this game miserable. With expansive accessibility options to make the game easier as necessary without gatekeeping or locking away any of the experience, an impressively well-designed progression system, and an exhilarating gameplay loop, I can’t think of the last time I died so close to the end and was genuinely excited to do it all over again. But that’s the beauty of Dead Cells: it’s a masterfully designed combination of Metroidvania-style exploration and Roguelike randomness. In fact, I spent nearly three hours of my first day of gameplay blissfully unaware that I hadn’t even installed the new update, gleefully exploring the world and cutting up foes with nary a Castle in sight to Vania. After I finally realized and got onto the demo, I sunk nearly 30 hours into the game just out of sheer enjoyment and love of the content. If there’s a reason that this review came in late, it was probably because of how good the game was, from the gameplay to the music.
Oh, the Music! Don’t even get me started on the Music. This DLC is worth it just to hear the iconic track “Vampire Killer” alone, no gameplay required. A whopping 60 songs from across the franchise’s history are available in this expansion, some of which are entirely new renditions. And they match absolutely perfectly with every moment of the experience, amplifying the action, suspense, and adrenaline of rushing through each iconic location… and dying to each iconic trap and enemy. I have to hand it to Dracula, he’s created such an effective trap it gets his victims running straight towards him to offer up souls and blood.
On the subject of Dracula, it should be obvious that he’s the ultimate big bad of this new route. And boy, did they do him justice. From iconic dialogue and references across his history depending on The Prisoner’s appearance, to powerful and devastating attacks. And… well, I won’t spoil anything here. Let me just say, I won’t be surprised if the final boss receives a MASSIVE nerf shortly after launch. Dracula has never been stronger, but GOD does it feel deserved to see him tank attacks like a raid boss. And Dracula isn’t alone in standing against you… but you’ll just have to wait and see for yourself.
So, what’s next for Castlevania? With a highly successful Netflix animated show and now a wonderful official tribute from a major Indie title, maybe it’s finally time to see the return of this whip-wielding series. I’m sure that plenty of fans out there, myself included, would be overjoyed to see the Belmont clan continue their legacy of breaking into medieval castles, eating chicken that was hidden in the walls, and whipping vampires in the face. But, if there’s a lesson to be learned here from this experimentation, it’s that Castlevania works in plenty of other styles. Why not try taking the franchise in a new direction? Hey, if it doesn’t work, you can always take another nine-year hiatus to find yourself, or you can just go back to the team at Motion Twin and ask them to add more vampire-y goodness. I can assure you that you’d have my money no matter what you did.
As for Dead Cells itself, it’s no stranger to iconic references, as the most recent update before the DLC was a massive crossover and collaboration with countless other Indie game peers as a celebration of the power of creativity. If there’s anything lingering in my mind after the wonderful experience I’ve had with the game, its just how many other franchises could be so perfectly adapted to the system they’ve created. Maybe if Nintendo was willing to play ball, they could make it a true homage to the origins of the term MetroidVania. …probably not, but hey! I can dream! Considering that Konami has shown their willingness to lend their worlds to the game, I can easily imagine Contra, Metal Gear, Silent Hill, or even Bomberman or Gradius making their way in. The possibility for the future of Dead Cells is endless, and the team at Motion Twin has proven themselves time and again to be some of the best in the business. Even if this is how they decide to leave the world of Dead Cells, I’m still honored to have been around for the ride, and I’m looking forward to whatever comes our way next from these expert developers.
Check out the Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania Animated Trailer:
To the team at Motion Twin, I want to sincerely thank you for not only giving me access to the new content early, not only providing me with the entire game and its DLCs, but for giving me one of my new favorite games. This has clearly been a love letter to the entire gaming community, and it shows in every moment. You managed to even make frustration feel satisfying. Here’s to whatever comes next.
Score: 10/10
For more information, visit: http://motion-twin.com/en/game/81/dead-cells
Related: Reviews by Aaron Grossmann
Gaming is a passion that I, like many other people, hold near and dear to my heart. As an aspiring Game Writer and general Storyteller, I enjoy looking into the vast worlds and deep stories of every game I can. Then again, sometimes bad guys just need a good pummeling, and I am more than happy to provide!
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