action – Golden Age Gamers

Author: Nathan Doverspike

Dead Cells is a game that successfully mashes numerous characteristics together, and it has the potential to reach players who normally might not give it a shot because of that. It’s a game with beautiful 3D turned 2D graphics boasting roguelite elements, responsive action, satisfyingly quick platforming, and rewarding exploration all tied into an affordable yet deep game. This is one I can see myself picking up years from now and still admiring the art style and game-play as much as the day I bought it. Because of how great it is, and the fact that the game can be very challenging at times, I’m here to provide you with some tips to get started.

Dead Cells_20180816182459 — Legendary weapons are definite game-changers.

Play To Your Strengths

As you can see from the image above, I had a wide variety of weapons equipped that particular run (I made it to the final area on that run, only to be obliterated within the first couple rooms). What saved my bacon the most is the mutation that lets you revive once in the even that you die. This is so handy during boss fights or areas where enemies get the jump on you. Also, being able to regain health from defeating enemies (you’ll be doing that quite a lot once you get to a certain point in a run) is invaluable in staying alive. However, there are plenty of other mutations and weapons other than the ones I have pictured that may work better for your play style. There are mutations that allow you to do a massive amount more damage if you are near a trap, and one that reduces the time to deploy your traps. Those combined also can be a lethal combination. Finding the right weapons, mutations, and traps is crucial in progressing in Dead Cells.

Dead Cells_20180815121732 — Just keep swimming, just keep swimming!

Exploration Is Your Friend

Some of the most satisfying moments I’ve had in Dead Cells involve pushing deeper and deeper into areas, knowing that in an instant my run could be over with one mistake, and bathe in rewards from a newly discovered chest that spits out a legendary weapon. This is just another aspect that this game nails: exploration is rewarding and can be crucial to extending runs. Chests provide rewards that can help you unlock new upgrades, give you a weapon that you desperately need, or even curse you until you complete a specified task to list that curse. You can also find more power scrolls the deeper you delve into areas, so always being on the lookout and checking the map will also help keep you alive longer.

Persistence Will Pay Off

There were certainly times while playing Dead Cells that it feels like I’m getting nowhere. Then I complete an area and am able to dump the cells I earned into unlocking a new mutation, or the ability to get a random starting weapon on subsequent runs, and I remember that this game demands persistence . It even gives you not-so-subtle hints that you will be doing the same run over and over for eternity. Once I accepted that I will be seeing the prison and toxic sewers quite a bit, I focused more on learning how each weapon functions, and how the levels are semi-randomly built on each run. Persistence has been paying large dividends, and I am reaching the final and next to last area quite often, meaning my runs are lasting one to two hours instead of fifteen or twenty minutes. If you reach the point where you feel you aren’t making much progress, keep pushing forward and you’ll realize like I did that eventually you’ll beat down that virtual brick wall with enough punches.

Dead Cells_20180815122101 — The art in this game is so beautiful, it makes the repeated areas wear less on players.

When In Doubt, Switch Your Route

There isn’t a singular path to the end of Dead Cells. The branching paths mean that you could potentially beat the game in an earlier run without ever seeing whole areas of the game. That also means that you have the freedom to take a path and avoid certain areas that may prove more difficult than others. For example, earlier on in my time with Dead Cells I was having difficulty beating the Black Bridge. So, with the new ability to use teleportation coffins, I chose to go through the Ossuary. Granted, that run ended quite abruptly and I eventually went back to the Black Bridge and beat it on the following run, but it just serves as a good example of how you can change the way you reach the final area to suite your personal gaming strengths.

Dead Cells_20180815181348 — Finding the best path is challenging but oh so satisfying.

Mutations Are A Game-Changer

Finding the perfect combination of mutations for your runs can do wonders for helping you push farther and farther each run. Personally, I found getting the mutation that allows you to revive once after dying a great pickup as your first mutation, followed by necromancy (you gain health each time you kill an enemy), and finish it with the 30% health boost. This all allows me to tank bosses, while letting me come back from death once if I make a huge mistake or get mauled by an elite enemy encounter. The other abilities I recommend trying are the ones that give you extra damage for being near a trap and the one that reduces your trap cool-down.

Bonus Tip: Freeze Weapons Are Killer

Just a quick tip for making the most out of your runs: have a weapon that freezes enemies. This can be a bow (freeze bows are awesome) or the freeze grenades. As long as you have a way to slow down quick enemies like the Clocktower boss and any elite enemies that can teleport once you take half their health, you’ll have a much easier time pushing forward and finding new permanent abilities.

Super Duper Bonus Tip! My Favorite Weapon and Skill Combinations

The war spear, infantry crossbow, repeater crossbow, and frantic blades are my favorite weapons and the ones that I reached the final boss using. If combined with a mutation that powers your melee power when damaged or drink a health potion, you become a literal tank late in runs. The crusher, ice grenade, and any trap that fires projectiles combined with the trap cooldown mutation or one that boosts your damage near a trap are also very helpful.

Hope these hints help you along the way. Knowing which weapons, mutations, and abilities work best for you will undoubtedly be the difference between making a long run and returning as a corpse five minutes in. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to farm some more dead cells and end the cycle.

Author: Nathan Doverspike

As someone who loves shows where people battle giant monsters, really gory action scenes, and has a deep appreciation for a good apocalypse story, Attack on Titan show delivers to the fullest extent on all those fronts. The video game, surprisingly, does the show and manga justice, providing players with the same visceral combat illustrated in the show with fantastic controls and really gory combat. After playing it for countless more hours this week, finishing up getting an S rank on all the available missions, I can’t recommend this game enough. Here are just a few reasons why it’s worth revisiting since its release in 2016.

Attack on Titan_20180622211414 — As you can see, the game is just a gory as the show.

The Combat

Besides the giant naked humanoid creatures eating people, the other initial observation when I saw the show is how awesome the gear they use is. Two gas powered grapple hooks, one on each side, and blades that can break away at certain intervals along the blade and also replaced by ejecting it and attaching a new one to take its place. These seemingly ancient weapons and gear are all that stand between humanity and extinction.

Speaking of awesome, using the gear to grapple your way through the different environments is just as cool as it is in the show. You can catapult yourself across most maps (the outdoors maps switch it up with few areas to swing but give you a horse to ride), sometimes without ever touching the ground, and take out the limbs of the terrifying titans along the way in mid-air style. You’ll need to be cautious when surrounded though, since they are relentless in their quest to snack on humans. Plan your attacks with precision, and revel on the brutal combat that feels oh so good. In this game, it’s a titan eat human world!

The Art Style

What appears to be a mix between cel shaded and hand drawn graphics, this game just oozes style with its substance. The environments are beautifully detailed; the enemies are horrifyingly gorgeous with their big dumb smiles and giant rear ends. Each piece of gear and weapon has a very distinct look to go along with individual stats and eventually branching upgrade paths for many of them. Everything in this game shares these beautiful design choices, and makes it one of a kind for a fan of the series and action games in general.

Each Character Is A Unique Experience

I always appreciate a game that allows you to play as each of your favorite characters, and AoT is no exception. Unlike other games though, each character has different stats and abilities based on their characters from the show. For example, Mikasa is probably the best at combat (Levi is a close second), while Armen focuses on more strategic abilities and doesn’t have as much health or attack power. Use them enough, and they’ll earn enough experience to level up and unlock a new skill that usually ends up being a big boon to combat. Thankfully, the balance between characters is fair and playing as each is a blast.

Nothing Quite Like It

With all those features mentioned above, in addition to a full length campaign (12-14 hours) and an additional mode after you beat that, this is one heck of a game that I wish more people recognized as being a great action game on current gen platforms. It’s combat is unlike any other game I’ve played, and the art style is equally fitting. It’s a great game, with a good story, one-of-a-kind combat, and is absolutely worth revisiting. So what are you waiting for?

Tag: action

Tips and Hints For Dead Cells