One of the first reviews I ever put up on this blog was for a rogue-like 2-D game by the name of Dead Cells by Motion Twin. At the time it was in early access and, while half complete, felt like a full title. Back then the game was good to me and with the release of 1.0 I wanted to give the game a quick revisit to see how time has treated it.
It's Still Really Good
When I loaded up the 1.0 patch the game said it recommend I start fresh as I would miss the new lore with my previous save. For some reason, I decided to delete my old save rather than just use a different save slot. I might have later regretted that decision but there is nothing to about it now. 
The game still just controls so well. Every jump, ever strike, every role just feels good. The first boss has a tendency to lay a ground AOE down that you have to jump over and then near the end will accompany that with a jump to slash at you. The jump can be avoided with the roll and the fact the developers allow you to both jump and roll in the air is just a little bit of detail that tells you everything in this game was so well thought out. It's just one of the many examples of how much control you feel you have.
Weapons and skills all feel right. When you release a trap or a spell it lands where it should and does the damage you expect. The slower stronger weapons aren't unwieldy, they just require timing. The skills are useful and everything just feels good and appropriate for what they are. There is just so much right about this title and in this time have it's been fine-tuned.
One of the pitfalls of these games is random level generation can lead to dead ends or unpassable spots. None of that happens in this game. Every level feels handcrafted and the designs make sense. Even going off to dead ends results in some time of reward making it so you never feel like too disappointed. If you are going for time gates then it can suck that you are running out of time, but you can always make up for it on your next run.
On top of excellent gameplay is very well made 2-D pixel art. The backgrounds are all alive and beautifully rendered. The levels are interesting, full of detail, and hold many mysteries only those who continue to work through the game get to unlock. The soundtrack is good as well and takes a while before it feels repetitive. The new levels and bosses all fit within the existing architect and make for a good time and what I would consider a fair challenge.
I want to spend all night heaping praise on this game but what Motion Twin has done is pretty amazing. It's a fun and addictive rogue-like that rewards you for time and skill. It's absolutely worth the purchase and while I have not played it on the Switch yet, I can't see why it's not worth buying.
TL;DR:
Dead Cells was and still is one of the tightest controlled and well-made 2-D rogue-likes I have played to date. There is a strong temptation for me to get it on the Switch as I still have found so much enjoyment doing run after run. It's a must own unless you really hate 2-D games.
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