Supergiant Games’ Hades 2 has been quite the triumph, as was all but inevitable. The original’s full release arrived in 2020, and has since cemented its place in history as one of the greatest roguelike/roguelite titles ever made.
That’s certainly a wide field to distinguish yourself in, but Zagreus succeeded in flamboyant style and then his sister Melinoe followed in his footsteps. Any conversation about the genre will inevitably turn to the Hades series, but there were genre superstars before that. One of the most notable would have to be Dead Cells.
Motion Twin’s effort arrived two years before Hades, and though it didn’t boast the charismatic cast of characters and involved story that series would, it would establish a rock-solid set of gameplay mechanics. The color-based upgrade system, whereby the player could choose which stats/combination of stats to focus their build around, tied together the responsive controls and satisfying, varied combat of Dead Cells. A sequel would surely have been a smash, but the team decided against taking that route.
In an interview with PCGamesN, Motion Twin designer and co-creative director Yannick Berthier declared that the fans have long been clamoring for a full follow-up:...
