Dead Cells, released in 2018, is one of the best roguelikes ever—"a stellar action platformer with gorgeous presentation and excellent combat," we said in our 90% review, a reputation that only grew over seven years of further development, 35 updates, and a whole spin-off studio. You might think that Dead Cells 2 would inevitably follow, but no: Developer Motion Twin instead opted to go for an entirely new game called Windblown.
The reason, co-creative director and game designer Yannick Berthier recently told PCGamesN, is simple: Motion Twin is a nine-person team, nearly all of them are partners in the studio, and they aren't beholden to anyone else. "We are driven by what we want to make," Berthier said.
