Dead Cells (Early Access Review & Playthrough)

So I recently played a pretty good game that goes by the name Dead Cells. It's a roguelike action-platformer and it kinda reminds me of Castlevania. For those unfamiliar with roguelike games, here's the definition in Wikipedia:-

A subgenre of role-playing video games that are characterized by a dungeon crawl through procedurally generated game levels, turn-based gameplay, tile-based graphics, and permanent death of the player-character.

No single playthrough is ever the same with its procedurally generated levels and random item drops / powerups / item modifiers. Dead Cells is definitely a fun game with lots of replayability - which is surprisingly good for an early access game. Alpha or beta stage, I'm not so sure. But it feels quite complete! I really have nothing negative to say about this little gem here.

The main character is ninja-like: you really have to check out the fluid player controls and feedback. One thing I like to do in this game is to be in motion all the time, going for quick destruction while rolling around to avoid attacks. So I tend to stay away from using heavy weaponry and will usually opt for the lighter stuff. A ninja who doesn't strike first isn't a ninja, in my opinion. To add to the character's badassery, we also have the classic double jump. It's truly a joy navigating around the stages, slaying pixelated monsters like a boss. Well, at least, until something bad happens, like good ol' floorspikes and careless mistakes!

A game-over will put your character back into the very beginning of the grind. The only thing that stays are the weapons you've unlocked and some of the gold you've accumulated throughout your previous runs. Your character skills and stats will be reset. Every playthrough is always a different experience and you have choose your cards wisely.

Bought this for about $7.99 on Steam. But it could be at $16.99 too, depending on your region. Still good for a lite-version of Dark Souls, if you ask me. In any case, support indie game developers! Here's my 20-minute playthrough with a keyboard. Warning: contains fantasy gore and violence.