Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania Review (Zexyz)
Having just completed my 1000th Hour in Dead Cells, I can say with confidence that this is a DLC. It is DLC. For me, that's enough.
DLC for Dead Cells is kind of a mixed bag. On the one hand, they feel kinda lacking adding only a handful levels and a boss or two. Yet, the game feels incomplete without them in a very literal way. This kind of makes sense because Dead Cells is a game of wanting more. More unlocks, more levels, more challenges and DC:RTC has that in spades. The new areas feel a little "skinned" with not so much new enemies as new graphics, but the addition of slopes and new level designs feels REALLY fresh. Motion Twin clearly took a step back and realized they needed new geometry to really make this feel like something special. and for the most part they did it.
I say for the most part... First of all, the more cinematic elements of the DLC (meeting Richter and Maria) will only happen once, and it's fleeting. So if this is what you were looking forward to, you WILL be disappointed. This is a Dead Cells expansion, not a new Castlevania. A seasoned player will burn through these fun little moments in mere minutes; and a seasoned player also knows to copy their saved game so they can revisit them later ;)
There's riches of glitches as the slopes don't quite work 100% yet. Maybe they needed more time to play-test, but if you're a Dead Cells fan, you know they'll keep patching, keep working. Keep refining. And if you're a game design nerd like me, you'll love whatever comes next.
And by all means, pull this one before they Nerf the Cross and Maria's Cat ;)