I’ve been away for a few weeks – NOT THAT YOU NOTICED – and my poison of choice during that time was the release version of Dead Cells. This Metroidvania/roguelike hybrid ticks pretty much every box I’ve got going, leaving my former flames The Binding of Isaac, Hollow Knight and Slay The Spire suddenly abandoned.
Like all the best ‘vanias, Dead Cells doesn’t tell you much, content instead to let you dash yourself against its rocks time and again until realisation – or reflex – takes hold. I’ve learned a lot by now (and I’ve got even more left to learn), and my runs are very different to my early, faltering ones. Because of the way unlocks work in Dead Cells, there’s a few particular things I wish I knew from the off – to the point that I’m even toying with a total restart.