It's been a little over a year since Dead Cells, "the old school Castlevania gone roguelike" as Shaun described it, debuted on Steam Early Access. It's come a long way since then, with a new biome and monsters, daily challenges and abilities, and a new level and boss, and today developer Motion Twin announced that it will finally leave its pre-release state behind and go into full release on August 7.
"We’re super stoked to see people play Dead Cells 1.0," the devs said. "However, the journey doesn’t end there as we’re still working on Dead Cells to bring you new content, as promised before, and are dedicated to improve mod support."
There's also a little note that while the release date is definitive, it is not valid "in case of fire, flood, or zombie invasion." Talk about hedging your bets.
Shaun took Dead Cells for a spin shortly after it hit Early Access last year, and even at that stage he found it impressive. "While there was little in Dead Cells that surprised me, there was a lot that compelled me to keep playing it," he wrote. "It’s as moreish and punishing as the sub-genre demands, but the small evidences of polish and inspiration are what sets it apart from the rest of the pack."
The standard digital edition of Dead Cells goes for $25/£21/€25, on Steam, GOG, and the Humble Store, and there's also be a boxed edition available, with a concept art book and soundtrack, for preorder for $35 or your regional equivalent.