DEAD CELLS Still Very Much Alive With Update 15
I always love it when a game lives well past the launch date. So often we see a game crawl through the Early Access gate, trudge along the track of inconsistent updates and unresponsive developers, lurch itself over the finish line into full release, then immediately expire as the devs move onto new and sexier horses. But not Dead Cells. The developers Motion Twin seem to really like their game. Which is good, because so do their fans.
This love comes in the form of constant updates, the most recent of which just dropped for the PC version of Dead Cells (console patches to come soon). As you see in the trailer above, Update 15 is known as the “Corrupted Update.” With it is a new biome, a new Rune, some new Mutations, and a host of balance updates. Most importantly, the update also brings a new mechanic called the Recycling Tubes, which serves as a new way to set your starting loadout. Here are some more details from the announcement:
New challenge, optional, biome:
The Corrupted Confinement, which mirrors the Prison Depths. You can access it from the Toxic Sewers, and it will lead to either the Ancient Sewers or the Ramparts (BC1 door). This biome is very short compared to the others, and has a guaranteed cursed chest at the beginning. Prison Depths structure has also been updated to be similar. Beware of the blue birds, they ain’t kidding around.
New Meta upgrade:
Given as a reward for beating the Hand of the King in BC1, the Recycling Tubes replaces the random starting gear. Instead, you will get the choice in-between 4 sets of 5 items (Melee weapon, Range Weapon, Shield and 2 skills). Choose wisely.
New Rune:
Explorer Instinct reveals the point of interests on the map once you’ve explored the majority of the level. It will help you if you’re like us and can’t stand to let a tiny bit of a platform unexplored, and regularly waste time backtracking only to find… nothing.
3 new Tactic Mutations:
Crow’s foot allows you to let caltrops behind you when you roll, slowing and damaging the enemies. Tactical Retreat slows all enemies around you on a perfect dodge. They also won’t be able to inflict you Malaise during a few seconds. Finally, Networking make all the mobs with projectiles stuck in them share damage.
If you want to check out the list of balance changes, you can find the update notes in their Steam announcement. I really love to see updates like this, which focus not only on bringing new endgame content. So often games focus on bringing more biggerer and baderer bosses with even shinier loot. This extends the experience for veteran players but does nothing to address core game issues or draw in new players. With this update, we not only see some major quality of life improvements but content that is appreciated by both new and returning players. Keep on truckin’, Motion Twin. May your Cells never die.