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Dead Cells

Dead Cells fuses breakneck motion with an emphasis on risk-and-reward for an incredibly engaging action-platformer.
Dead Cells Game Cover
89%Game Brain Score
gameplay, graphics
stability, grinding
88% User Score Based on 7,248 reviews
Critic Score 91%Based on 9 reviews

Platforms

Nintendo SwitchAndroidPlaystation 5Playstation 4XboxiPhonePlayStationLinuxPCTabletXbox Game PassCloudMac OSPhoneXbox OneiPadMobile Platform
Dead Cells Game Cover

About

Dead Cells is a single player casual hack and slash game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Evil Empire and was released on September 5, 2019. It received very positive reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

Dead Cells is a hack and slash game with an intriguing story, wonderful mechanics, and fantastic graphics and music. With its tagline "Kill. Die. Learn. Repeat," the game offers lots of grinding and is very replayable, with plenty of humor throughout. However, it does have its share of bugs. Overall, it's a great choice for fans of the action-packed genre.

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88%
Audience ScoreBased on 7,248 reviews
gameplay230 positive mentions
stability89 negative mentions

  • Incredible gameplay with high replayability and a variety of weapons and abilities.
  • Great graphics and sound design, creating an immersive experience.
  • Excellent port from PC with responsive controls, especially when using a controller.
  • Frequent crashes and errors, particularly during loading screens and transitions between levels.
  • Touch controls can be clunky and difficult to manage, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
  • Some users report issues with controller support, including unresponsive buttons and mapping problems.
  • gameplay
    375 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay is widely praised for its intuitive mechanics, smooth controls, and engaging challenge, making it both accessible and rewarding for players. Many reviews highlight the game's addictive nature, with a strong emphasis on replayability due to its procedural generation and diverse combat options. However, some users note issues with touch controls and occasional performance glitches, suggesting that using a controller enhances the overall experience.

    • “The gameplay is intuitive and simple, yet challenging and exciting each run!”
    • “The game is a great blend of simple rules and complex game mechanics.”
    • “The gameplay is fantastic and well tuned.”
    • “The most frustrating thing is the gameplay.”
    • “First hours with this game are enjoyable but once you wear the wonder out you are left with repetitive, grindy gameplay and an easy yet frustrating combat system.”
    • “Big issue with the game freezing up; before it was just freezing during gameplay, now it's freezing during loading, I can't even get into the game now due to it freezing during the load.”
  • graphics
    242 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their beautiful pixel art style, smooth animations, and attention to detail, making it visually appealing on both mobile and PC platforms. Players appreciate the vibrant visuals and the game's ability to maintain performance without significant lag, even during intense gameplay. While some users noted minor graphical issues and a desire for more customization options, the overall consensus is that the graphics significantly enhance the gaming experience.

    • “Awesome action, beautiful pixel graphics and controls that are optimized for touchscreen.”
    • “The graphics are amazing, smooth, lots of details on everything, each weapon has several different animations when they're used which change constantly.”
    • “Beautiful graphics, light-hearted moments, intense and always different (if you want) combat.”
    • “Graphics are - understandably - less crisp; and the touch controls are horrendously difficult.”
    • “Its hard for me to deal with this game on mobile, because of the graphical glitches.”
    • “Please fix the pixelated graphics on the mobile version.”
  • replayability
    115 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is widely praised for its exceptional replayability, with many users highlighting features such as randomly generated levels, a vast array of weapons and items, and a rewarding roguelike structure that encourages repeated playthroughs. Reviewers note that the game offers near-infinite replay value, making it a standout title in the mobile gaming space, with engaging gameplay that remains fresh and challenging over time. Overall, players find the replayability to be one of the game's strongest aspects, contributing to its long-term enjoyment and value.

    • “Endless replayability, and it's extremely fun too!”
    • “A plethora of weapons and items to choose from, infinite replayability due to randomly generated levels and hundreds of item combinations to try.”
    • “This is one of the very few, high quality ports to mobile, with many hours of content, secrets, and near endless replayability.”
    • “The difficulty curve is just right, the amount of usable weapons and items is huge and its replay value is immense.”
    • “Endless replayability of the game with sometimes very frustrating, but always fun and rewarding gameplay.”
    • “It's a challenging, yet rewarding game, and the replay value is pretty much infinite.”
  • stability
    108 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The stability of the game on mobile platforms has received mixed reviews, with many users reporting frequent freezes and crashes, particularly during loading screens and transitions between biomes. While some players have experienced smooth gameplay without issues, a significant number have encountered bugs and glitches, especially after recent updates, leading to frustration and loss of progress. Overall, the game's stability appears to be inconsistent, with ongoing issues affecting the experience for many users.

    • “No glitches, bugs, or anything of the like.”
    • “Game looks great, runs great, sounds great.”
    • “Great game, great experience, runs great on Android.”
    • “But this Android version has a lot of glitches and errors, especially with the new DLC, and does not sync with Google Play; the icon is red and when I generate, I don't get the Google Play trophies.”
    • “I'm currently unable to play, as every time I resume or restart my save, the game freezes up on the loading screen.”
    • “The game freezes after each loading screen in transition between worlds!”
  • optimization
    96 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's optimization on mobile devices is a mixed bag. While many players report smooth performance and good graphics, several users experience significant frame rate drops, especially in busy scenes or on lower-end devices, indicating a need for further optimization. Additionally, control schemes and responsiveness are often criticized, suggesting that improvements in these areas could enhance the overall experience.

    • “Awesome action, beautiful pixel graphics, and controls that are optimized for touchscreen.”
    • “Gameplay is smooth, graphics are gorgeous, and very well optimized for mobile.”
    • “The game is high quality, runs smoothly, and after 10 hours of gameplay, I've yet to encounter a single bug, let alone any game-breaking glitches.”
    • “The download time compared to overall performance on a mobile device is, for a lack of better words, unbelievable.”
    • “It would be nice if there was a way to adjust the graphical quality to help improve a few performance issues (such as the frame rate bottoming out whenever 5 or more enemies group up), but honestly it might be more the fault of a lack of processing power.”
    • “Great PC game but kinda poorly optimized on this version, with no settings other than 'set the resolution so that you can barely read anything'.”
  • music
    69 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is widely praised for its uniqueness and ability to enhance the overall experience, with many reviewers highlighting the exceptional soundtrack that complements the diverse levels and gameplay. Players appreciate the atmospheric quality of the music, which not only fits the game's aesthetic but also contributes to the immersive feel of exploration and combat. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature, with some even noting its availability on platforms like Spotify for continued enjoyment.

    • “I like the pixel graphics and the beautiful, fitting, and unique music for every stage.”
    • “The music is amazing and memorable, contributes well to the fun factor of the game.”
    • “The music isn't on FF7 level, but good enough to maintain the ambience.”
    • “The soundtrack of each biome is unique and so beautiful that one would want to immerse in this world of Dead Cells.”
    • “The music is one of two games I got the OST because this one is Shpongle-esque psybient at times.”
  • story
    56 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story is generally well-received, with many players appreciating its engaging narrative and subtle world-building that unfolds through gameplay rather than lengthy cutscenes. While some reviews note that the story could be more developed, it is often described as interesting and complemented by humor, collectibles, and lore that enhance the overall experience. Overall, the combination of a compelling storyline and challenging gameplay makes it a standout title in its genre.

    • “The gameplay and story are highly engaging; it keeps you coming back for more.”
    • “The story is interesting and is told through the background and small bits of information left around the maps.”
    • “On top of that, both the storytelling and subtle world-building combined with fun combat make this game a must-play, whether on PC, console, or mobile.”
    • “The story could've been a little better, but everything else is straight amazing!”
    • “If you like 2D action games, this is pretty much the holy grail; the only problem I have is there's not really a storyline, but that's okay, most mobile games don't even have one.”
    • “Perfect mobile game ever, even though the story is very short; I've finished it already, really looking forward to updates.”
  • monetization
    43 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization model of the game is highly praised, with users appreciating the absence of ads and microtransactions, which are common in many mobile games. Instead, players enjoy a one-time purchase that grants full access to the game, along with optional, reasonably priced DLCs that enhance the experience without being necessary. Overall, the game is seen as a refreshing departure from predatory monetization practices, offering a complete and polished experience.

    • “No microtransactions, no pay to win.”
    • “The DLC content is also not required and there are no in-app purchases besides the DLC, and no ads.”
    • “There are no annoying monetization practices that plague so many Android games and the game itself feels so very polished and complete.”
    • “I love it so much but the in-game purchase while you have paid 9€ for the game...”
    • “With so many games on the market, it's difficult to find a casual one with quality graphics, sound, and without predatory microtransactions.”
    • “Not just a platform to show you ads or get at your wallet.”
  • humor
    32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in this game is widely praised, with players highlighting its clever dialogue, dark humor, and the amusing body language of the characters. The blend of challenging gameplay and light-hearted interactions keeps the experience entertaining, making it a standout feature that enhances the overall enjoyment. Many reviewers appreciate the game's ability to balance humor with its serious themes, contributing to its replayability and charm.

    • “This is a fantastic 2D souls-like rogue-like Castlevania-like indie game with a good sense of humor and nice pixel art.”
    • “So far the dialogue is really funny, eclipsed only by the main character's hilarious body language.”
    • “Great and fun game, has a lot of content and is endlessly replayable, has a lot of funny dialogue and easter eggs to boot, a definite must buy.”
  • grinding
    18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, players have mixed feelings about the grinding aspect of the game. While many find the grinding enjoyable and rewarding, especially with the absence of microtransactions and the opportunity to experiment with different builds, others express frustration with the repetitive nature of the gameplay and the lack of save points, which can lead to significant setbacks. Despite these criticisms, the game is generally praised for its fun mechanics and engaging content.

    • “Runs are enjoyable, not too grindy.”
    • “Personally, I like the game, but it is a fun game to play and there's a lot to do in it, especially when it comes to collecting items and beating the game. However, I had a freeze on me and wouldn't go past the main screen. Then I tried reinstalling the app, and when I did so, it deleted my main save. Now I cannot access or retrieve that save, and it won't give it back to me. I spent hours grinding everything on there for nothing. I am very upset.”
    • “The most frustrating part is there's no save points, so when you die, you go back to the start, making it very repetitive and tedious.”
    • “First hours with this game are enjoyable, but once you wear the wonder out, you're left with repetitive, grindy gameplay and an easy yet frustrating combat system.”
  • atmosphere
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its stunning art style, combining dark, beautiful graphics with atmospheric music that enhances the experience. Reviewers highlight the engaging enemy designs, varied locations, and a compelling narrative that together create a unique and immersive environment. Overall, the atmosphere is described as charming, entertaining, and effectively balancing challenge with enjoyment.

    • “The atmosphere this game exudes is absolutely amazing given the art style.”
    • “From the scary atmosphere to the great ambience along with amazing visuals and a story to tell, it just gets to me all the way.”
    • “Great music, graphics, and all around atmosphere.”
  • emotional
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players express a strong emotional connection to the game, highlighting its ability to evoke tears and deep feelings. However, technical issues, such as controller malfunctions, detract from the overall experience, leaving some users frustrated despite the game's emotional impact.

    • “This game has made me cry so many times”
    • “Emotional”
  • character development
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    While the game excels in graphics, character design, and gameplay variety, it lacks significant depth in character development, leaving players wanting more in terms of narrative and emotional engagement.

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109h Median play time
213h Average play time
14h Main story
90h Completionist
10-500h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 5 analyzed playthroughs
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Skip FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Dead Cells is a casual hack and slash game with fantasy theme.

Dead Cells is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, iPhone and others.

The main story can be completed in around 14 hours, while the entire game is estimated to take about 90 hours to finish. On average players spend around 213 hours playing Dead Cells.

Dead Cells was released on September 5, 2019.

Dead Cells was developed by Evil Empire.

Dead Cells has received positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its stability.

Dead Cells is a single player game.

Similar games include Grimvalor, Sparklite, Dead Cells, Quadropus Rampage, Titan Quest and others.