Dead Cells is finally dead, or to be less dramatic about it, it’s finished. Released in early access in 2017, the iconic indie roguelike has been receiving major content updates for the past seven years, but that ends today. The final Dead Cells update, titled The End is Near, is out now, adding some challenging new options to keep things fresh for long-time players.
The highlight of the new update is a host of new ways to get cursed, which is more fun than it probably sounds. Dead Cells’ curse mechanic is a status effect that eliminates your character if they take even a single point of damage, which can be removed by defeating enough enemies. It’s usually inflicted as a trade-off for opening special chests that award particularly good gear, meaning it’s often worth the risk. The End is Near adds new enemies that can curse you with their attacks as well as a cursed healing flask that never runs dry but curses you every time you take a sip.
There’s also plenty being added for players who don’t like to gamble with their lives quite as much. The game’s map will now include more connections between biomes, making it possible to see more regions in a single playthrough, including those added with the game’s Castlevania crossover. More options to customize your character’s look through swappable heads are also being added, along with a heap of new upgrades to score during runs. Dead Cells is also getting new accessibility options, including control remapping and tweaks to make text and other interface elements more visible.
Though The End is Near is the final major update for Dead Cells, developer Motion Twin will continue squashing bugs through smaller hotfixes as needed. It’s been an incredible run for the game, which sold nearly 1 million copies before even leaving early access and reached 10 million sales last year. There’s no shortage of roguelike action games with a similar structure to Dead Cells, but the seven-year-old game remains one of the best examples of its subgenre all these years later.
In the years since Dead Cells’ release, its developer split in two. Some members of Motion Twin moved to the newly formed Evil Empire to continue updating Dead Cells while Motion Twin itself moved on to other projects. With Dead Cells development wrapping up, Evil Empire is continuing to work on The Rogue Prince of Persia, another roguelike action game that launched in early access this year. Announced during the Triple-i Initiative showcase, The Rogue Prince of Persia takes some clear cues from Dead Cells in its structure, but with major changes in how it approaches systems like character upgrades and a greater emphasis on unfolding its story by interacting with NPCs over multiple runs.
Meanwhile, Motion Twin has turned its attention to Windblown, which trades Dead Cells’ 2D platforming for an isometric view while retaining its roguelike structure. Windblown also sets itself apart from Dead Cells by featuring online co-op for up to three players. While it doesn’t have a set release date yet, Windblown is also going the early access route, and it’s expected to launch sometime in 2024. From what we’ve seen so far, it looks like it could be even faster-paced than Dead Cells, with bosses borrowing from the bullet hell subgenre with their screen-filling attacks.
While Dead Cells is wrapping up development, its influence will still likely be felt for years to come. It’s far from the first roguelike platformer to become a hit in the indie space, but its massive success exceeds what most of its competitors can even dream of, and it’s undoubtedly influenced plenty of games that have replicated its formula after release. On top of that, not many games can claim they’ve been successful enough to launch an entirely new studio. As a roguelike, Dead Cells remains just as replayable as it’s ever been even with no more updates on the way, and both The Rogue Prince of Persia and Windblown could offer fans worthy follow-ups to the indie hit by the time they’re finished.
