DEAD CELLS Review for iOS

PLAYDIGIOUS and MOTION TWIN have rolled out a lofty feat—DEAD CELLS for iOS. This action/adventure platformer has garnered fantastic success with stellar reviews on PC and console (check out our PS4 review), but scrunching this down to a phone game comes with its own set of problems.

For those of you unfamiliar with DEAD CELLS—think Rougelite and Metroidvania have a brilliantly-colored love child. Make your way through this ominous, yet oddly enchanting, castle in true 2D platform style. Expect to battle bosses in an old-school and formulaic fashion. Roll, dodge, slash, and cast crazy spells…anything to make it out alive. And trust me, you are going to want to make it out alive…for if you die…it truly is game over. Rinse and repeat, my friend!

This ‘end all, so sorry’ gameplay irritates a lot of people—understandably so. Checkpoints? No, so sorry. Unfortunately there is no way to beat the system, if you die, you will lose everything. If this feature is going to cause you to huck your thousand-dollar iPhone off a cliff, don’t do it. Go with Cookie Jam instead. You can never go wrong with Cookie Jam. That being said, if you are a Rougelite maniac with a thing for unforgiving consequences, DEAD CELLS will have your heart from the very beginning.

Okay, so here is the big problem with DEAD CELLS on iOS—the controls are an absolute abomination. It is really, really, really challenging to dodge, roll, and leap with the option-based side scroller provided. Initially I was excited for the opportunity to modify my controls, but it made matters worse. I ignored this game’s existence on my phone for days at a time, bemoaning the harsh reality that I would eventually have to pick it up again. Even if you have been playing side-scrollers forever, this will drive you a little insane. Is it something that can be overlooked? I say yes…with hesitation. If you have really been itching to play DEAD CELLS on iOS because you have mastered it on a bigger platform, you may have what it takes to stick it out. If Castlevania and the like were your jam, then you will figure it out. You just want to fight monsters in a castle on your phone? Save yourself the aneurysm.

I am in no way trying to take away from what these guys did. Putting this epic battle adventure onto such a small screen is indeed something to be proud of, but the mechanics aren’t quite there for me.

Check Out the Dead Cells Video:

Dead Cells is now available for iPhone and iPad via the App Store. The game will come later on Android devices.