Notes on "Dead Cells"
2024-10-26
"Dead Cells" were on discount, so I took 'em. Controls with a gamepad are definitely better. I like the rudimentary plot, which is a carryover from my Doom background. Give me environmental storytelling which is not crucial to the gameplay, then I can play it on and off for years.
I heard a lot of harsh words about the difficulty, but after "Narita Boy," "Blasphemous," "Metroid Dread," "Ori 1," and "Blasphemous 2," it's pretty manageable. I die a lot, but that's the trade.
2024-10-29
I found it cheap to smash "buy the DLC to access this area" in my face in "Dead Cells," but on the other hand, it worked. Probably due to the price, but I bought all. I even managed to get to the Castlevania section, despite having the least interest in it (I'm more of a Medroid kind of guy).
2024-10-30
I found a baseball bat from "Hotline Miami," but I died early in the run and lost it. And earlier, I found the sword and the gun from "Hyper Light Drifter."
2024-11-21
Of the seemingly infinite amounts of weapons in this game, I am impressed the most with giant sewing scissors which I got from the tailor. It all must be coming from huge imagination.
2024-12-01
Where "Dead Cells" excel is restoring the old-time flow. And I don't mean visually. In the old games, you see, when your character died, that was it. Game over. No save games, no checkpoints, you'd have to start anew.
"Dead Cells" have permadeath, so when you die, you die. Well, almost. There is a limited number of improvements that you can carry over. So the next time, you can actually have a tiny bit stronger character. On top of actually getting better at it.
I'm not a fan of "Dragon Ball," but I like designs of some of the characters, one of them being Piccolo. Now, I unlocked an outfit in "Dead Cells" which gives me Piccolo's look. Nice.
2024-12-12
After a week or so of heightened difficulty level in "Dead Cells," I downgraded it to normal. I wasn't hoping to get far on the higher difficulty, but it was pretty manageable. Yesterday, however, I was tired and went with an easier mode. And I went through levels like a storm. It's okay to go easier. It's just a game.
2024-12-16
Feel like I'm close to dropping the game. It's been nothing but fun, but it won't be soon. And that's okay. I got plenty of value for my money.
2024-12-17
And just then! I started using bows, sometimes two at the time, and "Dead Cells" became a different game. I also caved in and googled with DuckDuckGo how to unlock "Blasphemous" outfit.
2024-12-19
The main character, the story, and constantly getting reborn ingrained into the story--all this reminds me of "Planescape: Torment." Also, something in the world itself. As a long-time fan of Unnamed, I am pleased with it.
2024-12-20
I've been distributing stats wrong! :D You're supposed to go for one strength, while I was balancing them evenly to have more health. This could be indicated better inside the game, but that's also a part of an old appeal where you had to read the manual (or tips in a game magazine if you didn't have a manual for some reason 🏴☠️).
At this point I switched to "Hollow Knight"