Dead Cells
Dead Cells screenshot 1Dead Cells screenshot 2
ActionAdventureIndieRoguelikeMetroidvaniaAction RoguelikePixel Graphics2D

2,878 playing

Peak in the last 24 hours: 4,769

Peak in the last 7 days: 5,244

Dead Cells Steam store

Game description

Dead Cells is a roguelite, metroidvania inspired, action-platformer. You'll explore a sprawling, ever-changing castle... assuming you’re able to fight your way past its keepers in 2D souls-lite combat. No checkpoints. Kill, die, learn, repeat.

Basic info

DeveloperMotion Twin
PublisherMotion Twin
PlatformsWindows · macOS · Linux
Steam DeckVerified
Release dateAug 6, 2018
Price

Prices by IsThereAnyDeal

Minimum specs

OSWindows 7+
ProcessorIntel i5+
Memory2 GB
GraphicsNvidia 450 GTS / Radeon HD 5750 or better
Storage500 MB
steamyze

Review Analysis Score

Based on 420 reviews from the past 1 year

91.0/ 100
Top 10%

Steam rating: Overwhelmingly Positive (97%)

Metacritic: 89 /100

Review analysis summary (Reviewed Oct 20, 2026)

Fast combat and runs that never play the same keep Dead Cells at 91.0, top 10% of the games we analyzed.

👍 Strengths

146 reviews say they love it, some returning to it years later and others calling the loop deeply rewarding. 55 praise how the combat feels, describing sharp, responsive controls and satisfying weapons. Gameplay ranks 171st of 1396. 45 praise its replay value, saying each run feels different with new weapons, paths and builds. Content Volume ranks 43rd of 1351, and Visuals & Sound ranks 105th of 1249.

👎 Where it falls short

17 regret that the developers have stopped updating it, and a few see it as left behind for a newer project. 12 say too much sits behind paid DLC, making the full game costly. 10 find the loop repetitive after repeated runs, with the same enemies appearing too often. Pricing & Fairness ranks 585th of 1399, Story & World 692nd of 1096, and Tech & Support 360th of 1399.

Representative reviews Original reviews ↗

“nostalgic childhood game, emotional connection, worth repurchasing” · 146 reviews
“combat feels amazing and exploration is addictive” · 55 reviews
“roguelike with replayability that keeps pulling you back” · 45 reviews

How it holds up

−50+5

Controls, difficulty, progression and depth
Mentioned in 73% of reviews · Top 20% of the games we've analyzed

Controls & feel +3.87 · Responsiveness, precision, and how the menus handle
Positive “combat feels amazing and exploration is addictive” · 55 reviews
Negative “combat feels floaty, movement and jump feel off, everything feels a tiny bit wrong” · 8 reviews

Progression 21% · Difficulty 47% · Onboarding 9% · Freedom 4% · Strategy 27%

Plot, characters and the world
Mentioned in 17% of reviews · Bottom 40% of the games we've analyzed

World +3.18 · Lore, atmosphere, and how immersive the setting is
Positive “Castlevania section has incredible atmosphere, memorable character Alucard” · 4 reviews

Story 10% · Characters 3%

How much there is to do, variety and replay value
Mentioned in 51% of reviews · Top 5% of the games we've analyzed

Replayability +4.08 · Reasons to play again — runs, randomness, New Game+
Positive “roguelike with replayability that keeps pulling you back” · 45 reviews
Negative “надоедает после определённого времени” · 2 reviews

Volume 16% · Variety 21%

Graphics, art style, music and sound
Mentioned in 24% of reviews · Top 10% of the games we've analyzed

Visuals +4.08 · Graphics, art style, and animation
Positive “good graphics, very good gameplay, worth the price” · 36 reviews

Audio 12%

Playing with others, the community and servers

Not enough data — only 1% of reviews mention this.

Playing together +3.50 · Fun of playing with friends, teammates, or rivals

Community 0% · Servers & Connection 0%

Pricing, cheaters, balance and matchmaking
Mentioned in 11% of reviews · Top 50% of the games we've analyzed

Balance -0.07 · Whether classes, weapons, and builds are evenly matched
Negative “60-70% of weapons boring or unplayable, meta builds dominate, weak ones garbage” · 10 reviews

Anti-cheat 0% · Pricing 8% · Matchmaking 0%

Bugs, performance and developer support
Mentioned in 13% of reviews · Top 30% of the games we've analyzed

Developer support -0.04 · Updates, patches, and how devs respond to players
Negative “developer abandoned updates to promote new game instead” · 17 reviews
Positive “excellent accessibility features and customization options” · 3 reviews

Stability 2% · Performance 3%

Grey means too few reviews mention it to trust. — means almost no reviews mention it.

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🎲 Fans of this game often get the title Veteran Sword Master. Which one is yours?