Update - November 9: To commemorate a new Dead Cells update which adds heaps of indie-inspired items to the action roguelike, five of the best indie games of the past decade have joined hands for a powerhouse Steam bundle.
The aptly titled "Everyone is here... again" bundle gets you Dead Cells, Katana Zero, Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope, Risk of Rain 2, and Slay the Spire with a solid discount. Shovel Knight, the oldest on the list as a 2014 release, is at full price individually, but the other four games have an additional 40% to 66% off on top of the bundle discount. All of these games are now technically part of Dead Cells, and all of them are also great, so this is an easy recommendation.
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The timeless action roguelike Dead Cells has added weapons and heroes from yet more great indie games to its near-bottomless collection.
Developer Motion Twin released a lovely trailer for the game's latest update – part two of the Everyone is Here saga – yesterday. The new lineup includes weapons, skills, and skins from Terraria, Risk of Rain, Hotline Miami, Shovel Knight, Katana Zero, and Slay the Spire – all some of the best games in their respective genres, if not genre-defining works themselves. The update is out now on PC, and "coming soon" to consoles.
The previous Everyone is Here update featured Hollow Knight, Blasphemous, Hyper Light Drifter, Guacamelee, Skul, and Curse of the Dead Gods. Nobody can dispute that Motion Twin has great taste. There's even a fun little book of references in Dead Cells' hub area, right before the hall that leads to the first zone.
I actually just got back into Dead Cells (it's still amazing) so I speak from experience when I say the previous round of indie-inspired weapons adds a lot to the game. From the looks of it, the new batch might be even better. The Guide from Terraria uses the Starfury wand to smite monsters with the wrath of the heavens. Slay the Spire's Ironclad wields the elements in a storm of AoE. Risk of Rain's magma worm boss appears alongside a Commando skin. Katana Zero's lead is a perfect match for Hattori's Katana, a rare weapon which absolutely slaps. Shovel Knight's iconic shovel is primed for bouncing off enemy heads. And, uh, the Hotline Miami guy is really swinging that bat.
Dead Cells continue to exemplify and platform the best of indie development, and Motion Twin says 2023 will be "by far" the game's biggest year since launch. It also recently added some accessibility options to help the game reach more people.
Dead Cells is sometimes called a Souls-like, but when we spoke to co-developer Evil Empire and other devs about what the Souls-like genre really is, opinions were divided.
