Quick Look: Dead Cells

Best game.

Sighhh. Gotta wait 3ish more weeks for the physical edition

I avoided all the early access stuff in anticipation of a full version on the Switch. And my faith has been rewarded.

As an added bonus, every time I see the title I'm reminded of:

I got this game in December and played it a lot, then took a break because I didn't want to burn out on it. They patched it a few months later and added some bosses. I played it for a little bit, but again, decided to hold off until it was done. Looking forward to playing the final release! Unfortunately, it's coming out just as I have to move.

That being said, I've put over 40 hours into the Early Access version of the game. It was really good then. I look forward to seeing it in its final state.

Jason doesn't have the pixel text on and that's a shame.

I put about a hundred hours into the early access. Cant fucking wait for the switch version to come out!!

@unastrike You got the release date wrong on Salt and Sanctuary, it came out August 2nd on Switch, maybe October is for a physical release ?

The early-access version is among the best games I've ever played. This game is a total gem.

This is definitely a Quick Look for people who complain that GB is bad at games. Jason putting on a frigging clinic.

So tempted to pre-order this on Xbone for the $5 off.

Never bothered with the early access version but right now I'm really excited to finally get into this on my PS4.

Jason is really good at this, fun exception to the QL norm.

This game ruled in EA, I'm sure it's even better now. This game is amazing.

SOLD

I like the game, but my big issue with it is it lacks variety. It's not that it doesn't HAVE variety, but there's really only a few useful combinations of items, and you'll avoid all the rest. Ice bombs? Check. Jason then got a cluster bomb, proceeded to show it off because it was "cool," but then, unsurprisingly, went right back to the ice bombs. Also, slower weapons are just objectively worse in a game that demands fast, constant dodging. I found zero use for them. There's myriad other items and weapons that are effectively useless, as well, but I can't go into every item.

I was hoping they'd flesh out the loadouts and make things more useful come final release, but judging from all previous updates and this video, I don't see that. It's still a fun game, but it really lacks variety for me. It's beautiful, controls really well, and has tight combat, but it's really just a railroaded combat gauntlet that doesn't leave much room for experimentation or funky builds. There's also not much to "explore." Almost everything you unlock is just along a fairly linear path that you'll run into sooner or later.

I hit a big wall with this game in EA after the finally beating the first boss and immediately dying in the next area a few times. It feels like progress really slows down as your trying to plug away at upgrades you might not even get to use.

Has this game got any easier? I remember back in early access the big complaints were the difficulty and having to grind endlessly to really get anywhere and that doesn't sound fun but despite Jason playing this nearly every few months on UPF it looks a bit better. I just wish it wasn't always in the same biomes always because it gets boring to watch people play it so I imagine playing it isn't much more fun if you don't like trudging through the same mines every death.

@steveurkel: It's still very difficult, though I feel like the progression ramp is better paced now. Being able to upgrade weapons to "+" status (and later "++" and "S") helps a lot, and over time you continually increase the % chance for dropped items to be + items.

The addition of legendary items has also been a pretty big boon. These are very powerful and scale with any color. You're guaranteed to get one from every boss you kill, and have a small chance to get them as random drops. These can often be build-defining items, and they really encourage you to try out weapons you may not have tried much, or maybe weren't too fond of. They can be incredibly fun to mess with.

As you progress through the game you also get a lot more options for what path to take through the dungeon. Different paths will chain to different biomes, and certain paths bring you to a different first boss and subsequent levels. The game moves quick enough that even though you play that first stage every single playthrough, you're typically through it in less than 2 minutes. Once you get the movement down you start to really cruise through stages, especially early ones.

Anyone know if this will be running at 60fps on Switch?

So excited to play this on Switch finally.

I’m always surprised at how much praise this is getting. I played 6 hours of it in EA and burned down on it very hard. At the time it seemed more efficient to play the boring way and explore every area thoroughly to get upgrades, but that meant a loooot of repetition and playing multiple times through the first few levels. The game just seemed so repetitive and all runs mostly felt the same, even though you can take different paths.

I’ll try it again now, maybe I’m just playing it wrong or maybe it got a lot better, if not I’m baffled by how much people love it.

It DOES feel super great though.

I feel like Jason has been dreaming about this day for months!!! xD So happy he finally gets to do this quick look. Now let's hope the 2017 early access release doesn't bite it in the butt when it comes to GOTY recognition time...

@hobozero: Haha. To be fair, he did put 100+ hours into the game. I'd be quite concerned if he wasn't good with that amount of dedication...

Yo this game has Bayonetta's dodge offset combo thing? I did not know. That's hype as all hell :D

Thanks Jason!

P.S. Why would it auto correct "dodge" to be capitalized? I've never written anything about a car in my life.

@subscryber: I've found uses for them as secondaries. Hit an enemy with your fast primary weapon to stun them and then follow up with the slow, powerful secondary weapon. But in general, I agree with your statement about the slow weapons. Personally, I have never been able to use the shields so those are effectively worthless for me

Wait this game is OUT OUT???!!

clocked 180hours into the game already and still loving it. recently finally beaten the hardest difficulty.

Thanks Jason! I could really just keep watching him play!

I bought it a few months ago, but once the release date was announced I decided to wait. I'm excited!

Alright, I'm sold. I heard so many good things about the early access build but I wanted to wait for the final release.

Game looks very, very slick. But it seems a bit depressing. I want some funny, upbeat characters to break up the monotony and dreariness like in Hollow Knight. Basically, I want every game to be like Hollow Knight.

Already got it bought on switch! I'm bummed that hollow knight didn't click with Jason. Or really any of the duders. Besides maybe Rorie. I think of these two hollow knight in general is the better game. Though this will have more replayability. I'm excited to jump back in. I put a few hours on PC and really liked it.

this game is straight up incredible.

also the devs are an anarcho-syndicalist collective which is incredibly rad.

Fantastic quicklook, thanks Jason, definitely picking this up now!

This game is soo good! One of the best playing games i've ever tried. Put in around 45 hours into the PC version during early access. Now it's time for the PS4 to get some Dead Cells love <3

Thanks a lot for this Quick Look! I said in another post that Rogue Legacy was going to be my jumping point into the rogue-lite/like genre, but I've changed my mind...this looks SUPER good! Can't wait to get this on PS4 next week!

I like Ben. I think Ben is a very funny person and the way he and Jeff play off each other is always very special

But between Ben's like of graphical filters in retro games and his bewildered response to anyone wanting to use a d-pad, I can no longer sanction his buffoonery

Jason's enthusiasm for this game is infectious. He has convinced me to try it.

I know every Quick Look can't be this way – and it's basically the antithesis of the format – but it's so nice to have someone who really knows a game doing the demo and showing it off at its best.

@pudge: I actually reaaaaaaaally like the new fonts for whatever reason. They're so sharp looking!

@fear_the_booboo: It's actually the opposite. The scaling curve is super fucked up. You're better off leveling a single stat to 5, otherwise enemies inflict disgusting amounts of damage relative to your health pool. Also, boss damage is capped at 5% total no matter the actual damage of your weapon, so heavy hitters are effectively useless. The build variety is pretty small and it doesn't reward thorough play, but even still its a good time.

What's with all the animal hate from Jason and Ben lately? It's equal parts funny and strange.

@the_nubster: Ah thanks for the info! Though this doesn't sound much better if the build variety is pretty small :(

Friendly correction Jason: FYI Salt n Sanctuary is out now for the Switch and not in October. Great quick look! I rarely watch a quick look through to the end and I'm on my third watch through for this one. Needless to say, I can't wait for the the 7th to get here.

@vicious17: It really is a blast to play. It sucked me in despite me bouncing off of countless other games of similar genre (despite my best attempts). The biggest thing that's kept me from going back as of late is just the fear that I will suck again...I used to be so damn good at this game, er, six months ago.

@fear_the_booboo: The build variety is really only an issue when you get into the post-game stuff. I still haven't beaten it but I'm not using the recommended builds or limiting my upgrades and I'm still making progress. Like a lot of games like this, it sounds like the long game is a bit hamstrung but with about 30 hours in it so far, I've had a great time. I don't mean to sound too down on it.

This game is hella dope.

I still can't see the appeal of this game. It just looks supremely boring to play. Maybe it feels better to actually put hands on?

The Xbox d-pad sucks, Ben? Tell that to my 100% Celeste file!

This game moves. Feel like there's no need to be in awe at the amount of bottles in the start. I'm sure there are plenty of roguelikes with 100+ unlocks.

Played about 20 hours of the early access version then decided to stop and wait til the full release comes out, and boy am I ready.

I am very excited for this one, I even won't watch this video until I'm good couple of hours in myself, just to see everything with fresh eyes.