What is Dead Cells: Return To Castlevania?

What is Dead Cells: Return To Castlevania?

Considering that all we have seen about the upcoming Q1 2023 DLC was an animated trailer at The Game Awards in early December, it’s understandable why some people are unsure about just what exactly is Dead Cells: Return To Castlevania.

Dead Cells: Return To Castlevania is just like all of the other DLC’s that the game has received since its launch. It’s Dead Cells with a Castlevania skin and not Castlevania with a Dead Cells Skin. If you are not of fan of the indie rogue lite, you are likely not going to enjoy Return To Castlevania.

The good news is that Evil Empire and Motion Twin are some of the best in the industry about taking elements from other games and incorporating them into Dead Cells. The laundry list goes on but the nail from Hollow Knight works in the exact way that you think it would. Hitting people with the nail returns health and downward strikes cause you to bounce. There is also the machete and gun from Curse of The Dead Gods that take two swipes with the close range machete and then deal a critical pistol shot. There is even Gordon Freeman’s crowbar from Half Life that does critical damage for substantial time after smashing down a door.

The expectation is that the elements that Dead Cells is bringing into the game from the Castlevania are going to be spot on, whether that be the Vampire Killer (Whip), Throwing Axe, Holy Water or anything else coming along for the ride.

Road To Dracula

What began as a pitch to Konami following the format of their previous DLC’s of two biomes, a boss, new enemies and weapons has “exploded along the way” according to Benjamin Laulan, COO of Evil Empire. You are also going to be able to team up with iconic Castlevania characters along the way and fight monsters that have been transplanted into the Dead Cells universe. On top of this, there will also be 51 original Castlevania tunes along with 12 that have been reimagined by the team at Evil Empire.

The only major question is will it be easy or hard to get to the new biomes, which has varied in the previous DLC’s. The assumption is that it will be easier than the other DLC’s because Return to Castlevania will likely be a gateway into Dead Cells for many.