Looking at Dead Cells, you immediately recognize that it has Pixel Art deeply embedded in its DNA. Contrary to the rough feel of classic pixel art, the artwork in Dead Cells is smooth and lush, giving it a modern, yet retro feel to its look and gameplay. Think Metroid or Castlevania, which Dead Cells pays deep homage to, along with The Binding of Isaac serving as the kernel of inspiration.
Dead Cells is currently in early access but that doesn’t mean it’s limited in scope. The world of Dead Cells resides within a massive castle which, by the developer’s estimate, consists of approximately 16-20 hours of play time for you to explore, kill, and be killed. Indeed, there is plenty of blood and gore here and thanks to the 3D tech used to produce the artwork, the effect is bright and splashy, which retaining the physics one would expect from exploding pixels. Also, Dead Cells doesn’t rely on checkpoints and when you die, you won’t lose any of your collected bounty. The description on the Steam page sums up what Dead Cells is about in a nutshell: “Kill, die, learn, repeat.”
For more on what Dead Cells is about including some in depth conversation on its development, check out the game play/interview video with Steve Filby from Motion Twin from PAX East 2017:
Developer: Motion Twin
Get it on Steam for Windows