Norman Caruso, the creator of the beloved Gaming Historian documentary series on YouTube, has announced that he is 'permanently' stepping back from full-time content creation on the site. This news may come as a surprise to many fans of Caruso's long-running YouTube channel, and this is only the latest in a string of high-profile departures from the social media platform.
Dead Cells follow-up Windblown takes some surprising cues from Nier: Automata
03.04.2024 - 13:21 / digitaltrends.com / Giovanni Colantonio
How do you follow up something like Dead Cells?
Developer Motion Twin’s hit roguelike became an instant genre staple when it launched into early access in 2017 and it’s only gotten better since then. After seven years of long-tailed support and high-profile collaborations, Dead Cells has become a foundational indie game that’s hard to top. It would be safe for Motion Twin to follow that up with a sequel, just as Supergiant Games is doing with Hades 2. Instead, we’re getting Windblown — and you should be thrilled about that.
Windblown tosses away the dark pixels and 2D dread of Dead Cells for a much brighter 3D world. It’s still an action-based roguelike that has players snagging upgrades and slashing enemies during a 30 to 40-minute run through biomes, but its sunnier art style is sure to catch Dead Cells fans off guard. There’s no need to worry, though; based on the deep look I got at this year’s Game Developers Conference, Windblown looks more than worthy enough to follow one of the roguelike genre’s greats.
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Switching it up
In my hands-off demo, developers from Motion Twin would walk me through a few (unsuccessful) runs. What immediately stands out is Windblown’s art. It’s a remarkably vibrant game that looks even better in motion. During the demo, I’d watch the developers hop around bright sky islands as an adorable axolotl. It’s all quite whimsical, though Motion Twin teases that the underlying story – told in a manner similar toDark Souls — gets surprisingly dark.
The second thing that catches my eye is just how lightning fast the actual gameplay is. That’s apparent right away when I seeWindblown’s signature traversal mechanic, which has the aquatic hero quickly zipping over small islands in the blink of an eye. Once it hops into a larger land mass, it finds itself locked in an arena battle as enemies spawn in. Combat is quick too, with lots of fast slashes and some hectic evasion to get away from bullet hell projectile patterns and devastating swipes from towering sub-bosses. Motion Twin cites some surprising influences for that pace. It namedrops Nier: Automata several times during the demo, citing its movement as a north star.
Monster Hunter also comes up during our conversation, though more to describe how the studio built the game to work equally well solo or in three-player co-op. Multiplayer is so seamless that players can drop out from a crew at any time and the difficulty will automatically scale down to match (a decision inspired by Diablo 3). Other decisions to account for
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gamesradar.com
19.04.2024 / 12:54
Hades 2 devs ask fans not to share datamined content so that roguelike fans still have some surprises in store for early access
Hades 2's technical test is here, and even though only a select number of players are being allowed in, social media timelines everywhere are already flooded with excited fans enthusiastically sharing screenshots of the roguelike sequel and its beloved Greek gods.
digitaltrends.com
18.04.2024 / 14:35
The Nintendo Switch just got 2 surprise games — and they’re both worth grabbing
If you were unable to catch this week’s Nintendo IndieWorld showcase, then you missed a surprisingly loaded show. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes got a May release date, WayForward showed off its Yars’ Revenge revival, and Steamworld Heist 2 got an exciting reveal. In the midst of all those headlines, two smaller games were surprise released on the platform: Stitch and Sticky Business. Don’t sleep on either of them, as they’re both worth a purchase.
gamerant.com
14.04.2024 / 22:57
Red Dead Redemption 2 Fan Spots Awesome Parallel Between Arthur and John
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thesixthaxis.com
12.04.2024 / 17:09
Dead Cells co-devs reveal The Rogue Prince of Persia roguelike – alpha sign ups now live with Early Access in May
Dead Cells co-developer Evil Empire has revealed The Rogue Prince of Persia, a new roguelike take on the resurgent platforming adventure series. The Rogue Prince of Persia will head into Steam Early Access on 14th May.
gamingbolt.com
11.04.2024 / 11:49
Risk of Rain 2 is Getting a Dead Cells-Inspired Costume, New Map in Devotion Update
Gearbox Publishing and Hopoo Games have announced a collaboration between roguelite third-person action game Risk of Rain 2 and sidescroller Dead Cells. As part of the collaboration, Risk of Rain 2 will be getting the latter’s The Prisoner as a free alt skin for the Mercenary.
digitaltrends.com
10.04.2024 / 22:35
Prince of Persia is getting a Dead Cells-style roguelike next month
The Prince of Persia series’ renaissance is continuing, and I couldn’t be happier.
videogameschronicle.com
10.04.2024 / 19:35
A Prince of Persia roguelite from Dead Cells studio Evil Empire has been announced
A Prince of Persia roguelite from Dead Cells developer Evil Empire has been revealed.
engadget.com
10.04.2024 / 18:47
A new Prince of Persia game is coming from the studio behind Dead Cells
Prince of Persia fans are really feasting this year. We've already seen the release of the well-received Metroidvania Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, but Ubisoft just announced another game in the franchise. The Rogue Prince of Persia is a team-up with Evil Empire, the developers behind the iconic roguelite Dead Cells. It comes to Steam early access on May 14.
polygon.com
10.04.2024 / 18:13
Dead Cells team’s new roguelike is ... Prince of Persia, actually
We thought we were done with the Prince of Persia franchise in 2024, but we were wrong. Evil Empire, one of the studios behind indie hit Dead Cells, is launching The Rogue Prince of Persia next month in Steam Early Access.
ign.com
10.04.2024 / 18:01
The Rogue Prince of Persia is Bringing Dead Cells Back to Life
The Prince of Persia has gone rogue! No, I don’t mean that he’s married a Hollywood actress, moved to California, and spilled the royal tea in a tell-all interview with Oprah. I mean he’s starring in his first 2D roguelite. Hot off the heels of the series’ excellent return to form in January’s The Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, his sword-swinging highness is stepping away from the Metroidvania structure and into the procedurally generated, live, die, repeat mold of Dead Cells, in The Rogue Prince of Persia. While I’ve only had a very short amount of hands-on time with the upcoming adventure, the early signs suggest that this could well be the second dazzling jewel added to the Prince’s crown in less than the space of a year.
pushsquare.com
05.04.2024 / 09:17
Rumour: Prince of Persia Roguelite in Development at Dead Cells Studio | Push Square
Despite Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown releasing just a few months ago, there's apparently another spinoff Prince of Persia title currently in development, and it's heading to early access through Steam later this year. According to Insider Gaming, this next game is a roguelite adventure, suitably titled 'The Rogue Prince of Persia' — which we think is a rather clever name.