Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania Review

ign.com:

Whenever I’m asked what my favorite roguelike is, my answer is confidently and unabashedly Dead Cells. That’s been true across five years of superb content updates, and it’s even more true with the arrival of its latest paid DLC, Return to Castlevania. This sizable expansion expertly remixes the base game and Konami’s classic action-platformer series – one of Dead Cells’ biggest inspirations – into something that feels wonderfully and wholeheartedly its own. Its more traditional story structure is less mysterious than the connect-the-dots style we’ve seen in the past, and it's immediately clear how much work has gone into bringing Castlevania's iconic characters, weapons, music, and locations into Dead Cells’ world. It puts the castle itself center stage and makes it feel alive, and that reverence really helps sell the crossover fantasy. Return to Castlevania is a masterful mashup that brings together the best parts of both games, with the same challenging and engaging Dead Cells action that might leave you in bloody tears of frustration or joy by the end.

While the story traditionally hasn’t been the reason you’d play Dead Cells in the first place, Return to Castlevania does an amusing job setting up why you’re satisfyingly smashing your way toward Dracula’s notorious throne room this time rather than simply trying to escape your island prison like in runs of yore. By the end of its story I’d not only taken on the Count in an epic final battle, I’d also faced Medusa and even Death itself in fierce showdowns. It almost felt like a new, more streamlined version of a classic Castlevania adventure, all while still staying true to the Dead Cells name.

Dead Cells is rewarding in its flexibility in a way few games are. Each