Dead Cells

Rating: 4.8	Downloads: 1,000,000+
Category: Action	Offer by: Playdigious

Dead Cells is a 2D action-adventure roguelike video game developed by Motion Castle and published by Devolver Digital, where players take control of a “cell” forced to explore a decaying hospital to survive the mysterious illness that killed them. This fast-paced, permadeath game blends elements of metroidvania exploration with top-down combat, offering non-linear level design where every floor is procedurally generated with unique challenges. The game’s appeal lies in its addictive progression loop, vibrant cel-shaded visuals, co-op mechanics, and constant discovery as players uncover secrets scattered throughout the hospital.

The gameplay centers around surviving as long as possible while navigating through procedurally different floors filled with deadly enemies, collectible items, and upgradeable equipment. Players can choose to focus on story progression or tackle endless non-campaign challenges, with satisfying combat animations and physics that make every swing and dodge feel impactful. The game’s colorful art style contrasts with its grim narrative, creating a unique visual appeal that keeps players engaged as they unravel the hospital’s mysteries while competing for survival.

Gameplay and Features

• [Core Gameplay Loop]: As a cell in a dying body, players navigate procedurally different hospital floors to survive waves of enemies, collecting cells (upgrades) to enhance weapons and abilities while avoiding death through skillful combat and dodges. Each death restarts the floor but retains accumulated progress, items, and upgrades, encouraging replayability.
• [Visuals or Art Style]: The game features vibrant, cel-shaded cel-shaded graphics with a dark, gothic-hospital aesthetic. Rooms are packed with colorful enemies, weapons, and power-ups against a desaturated backdrop, creating striking contrast between organic and industrial elements.
• [Modes or Levels]: Players can tackle single-player campaign levels, co-op multiplayer with up to 4 friends, or infinite non-campaign challenges. Each floor contains unique layouts, enemies, and secrets, while permanent upgrades carry over between runs, increasing difficulty with accumulated experience.
• [Controls or Interface]: The intuitive controls use arrow keys/wasd + mouse for aiming, with a context-sensitive dash that can be used for movement or defensive maneuvers. Short, precise combos and skill button placement make combat accessible even to beginners.
• [Customization or Power-ups]: Players can upgrade weapons with collected cells, purchase health potions in a shop, or use cells to permanently upgrade abilities. Progression comes through finding cells to spend, collecting currency, and experimenting with weapon combinations to create unique builds.
• [Any Special Systems]: The game features a crafting system that combines found materials with cells for powerful gear upgrades. Special mechanics include the “Blood Orb” challenge system for difficult floors, timed events, and a comprehensive workshop for managing inventory and customizing the player cell.

How to Play

Beginner’s Guide:

• Step 1: Start a new game and explore the tutorial floor. Learn basic movement (WASD), aiming (mouse), and combat fundamentals (attacking, dodging, parrying). Collect your first health upgrade.
• Step 2: Move to the second floor, experiment with different weapon types, and practice using your dash ability for evasion. Try completing floors without dying.
• Step 3: Purchase upgrades at the end-of-floor shop, use collected cells to improve weapons, and save your progress. Try completing the story campaign or challenge yourself with non-campaign floors.

Pro Tips:

• Master the dash timing: Perfectly time your dashes to dodge multiple enemy attacks simultaneously or interrupt boss patterns.
• Combine weapon types strategically: Mix melee weapons for damage with ranged weapons for distance control and use cells to create hybrid builds like a shotgun with a dash weapon.
• Learn enemy patterns: Watch enemy movement trajectories and attack animations to predict their behavior and position yourself for optimal damage or defense.

Similar Games

Game Title	Why It’s Similar
Dead Cells	This title shares the core gameplay loop of Dead Cells.
Hollow Knight	Offers comparable exploration, challenging combat, and a similar cel-shaded art style.
Mother’s Courage	Features similar permadeath mechanics, weapon crafting, and stylish action gameplay.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do I upgrade weapons faster?
A: The fastest upgrade path involves collecting cells (blue items) to upgrade existing weapons or purchase new ones. Aim for Cell Spheres for major upgrades and Cell Capsules for stat improvements, then use cells earned from enemies at the end of floors to spend in the shop.

Q: What’s the maximum health I can achieve?
A: With dedicated playthroughs, players can theoretically achieve hundreds of health points, though practical limits come from gameplay style. A balanced approach focusing on survival might cap around 150-200 health points, while extremely risk-tolerant players could reach higher.

Q: How do the co-op mechanics work?
A: Up to 4 players can join through Steam’s voice chat system. Each player maintains their own character progression, but shared items appear as duplicates that can be merged. Co-op floors are automatically synced, allowing players to tackle challenging content together.

Q: Are there any secrets or hidden areas?
A: Absolutely! Every floor contains at least one hidden secret room with valuable cells, upgrades, or cosmetic items. Look for unusual door combinations, unusual enemy patterns, or environmental anomalies like floating objects or strange markings.

Screenshots