Dead Cells should not be be taking up as much of my time as it has.
It is a mashup of trendy gaming conventions with few original contributions.
Even the title is so deathly soulless I'm constantly checking myself to make sure I'm
correctly naming Death Ce...dammit.
It is impossible to describe this game without sounding like a Fantasy Valley Girl.
Dead Cells is a roguelike, Castlevania-like, Dark Souls-like, y'know, whatever.
If none of those references mean anything to you, firstly watch more Simpsons.
Secondly, Dead Cells is Souls-like in that enemy attack patterns are fixed and exploitable.
Castlevania-like with its art style and emphasis on exploration.
...Oh, and there is also there's a whip.
And Rogue-like because levels are semi-randomly generated and because death is permanent.
The only things that persist between lives are the upgrades you can purchase, such as
damage boosts and the amount of times you can use your health flask.
These can be purchased with the glowing blue orbs that drop from fallen enemies called
Souls -- I mean Cells.
Dead Cells doesn't just wear its source material on its sleeve; it skins its source
material and wears it in a suit like Buffalo Bill.
So why am I still talking about and playing this highly derivative game?
Because it executes on its mish-mash of mechanics so well.
It's patched these disparate mechanics into a cohesive whole
that keeps you wanting to progress further and further.
With every run, not only does your character get stronger, but you as a player get better
at learning the environments and the enemies.
Dead Cells is about mastering the game's mechanics and going for that one perfect run
and it is deeply satisfying.
It also can't be understated how tight the controls are
how good the moment-to-moment combat feels.
Which makes the moments when the controls don't work as expected even more infuriating.
The game is still in early access, so by the time Dead Cells gets its full release
I expect to see animation priorities tightened up so that my character doesn't have a fixation
on climbing chains.
I also want to see balance improvements.
Bows and shields are all but useless here, and as much as I love the Electric Whip and
Horizontal Turret, these are way too overpowered at the moment.
But even in its current state, Dead Cells is an easy game to recommend.
Much like its inspirations, it is easy to get into the game's flow and once you're
in, all you want to do is go for one more run.
Dead Cells may not be an original composition, far from it, but it is a damn fine cover version.
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét