![]() ![]() The teams have shown that they are capable of making slick 2D action games, and that fresh perspective would be an excellent way to reinvent and modernize the aging series. ![]() Evil Empire even noted that Konami was surprisingly very open with this DLC, giving the team an impressive amount of freedom. Konami has a few outside teams making Silent Hill games, so giving Motion Twin and Evil Empire the keys to the castle doesn’t seem as implausible as it did five years ago. It’s not exact one-to-one replication of Dead Cells - Richter’s jump arc is locked, his signature back flip takes the place of the double jump, he can’t carry health flasks, and his weapons are limited to his usual kit - but it’s a tantalizing tease of what a more traditional Castlevania would look like with a Dead Cells-level of fluidity. Its Richter Mode, a callback to similar modes in other installments, goes one step further by locking players to a self-contained level with Richter’s more traditional move set that has to be unlocked over time. Dead Cells’ impeccably smooth controls would translate perfectly to a Castlevania game, and that’s even more obvious when slaying Dead Cells‘ version of Dracula as the nimblest version of Alucard. While Dead Cells made it easy to imagine how a new Castlevania would play, these additions are a visual trick that make that feeling more concrete, even if these skins are only cosmetic. Return to Castlevania is a reference-heavy expansion, but it’s also a Trojan Horse for a new Castlevania game since it gives players the chance to play as Alucard and Richter Belmont (among many other familiar faces) through a variety of costumes. Inputting the Konami Code isn’t a new Easter egg, but it has more weight here because it complements every other detail and is in a homegrown Konami franchise. Evil Empire even goes a bit further by implementing a few dastardly secrets that are clever references in and of themselves. It’s a loving collage of Castlevania that works so well here because of the team’s remarkable attention to detail and ability to create gorgeous retro visuals and soundtracks. There are Rondo of Blood-esque title cards that introduce the levels, killer remixes of classic Castlevania tunes, characters from games like Order of Ecclesia, infamous dialogue lines, recreations of famous cutscenes, and small level design touches that all evoke a decent variety of Castlevania titles, although it is heavily skewed toward the most popular ones. And they’re mostly silly goofs that are in line with Dead Cells’ surprisingly solid humor.īut it’s not a takedown and only done out of reverence because of all the other references elsewhere. The Beheaded pokes fun at some more famous moments of the series like the flesh ball boss fight in Symphony of the Night and the crashed carriage at the beginning of Rondo of Blood. Not every callback has such a direct impact on the gameplay, but it’s all there to more thoroughly douse the game in the series’ signature blood. The references inherent to the lineup of new tools is a nice touch that adds flavor, but their effectiveness in combat and utility means there’s all sorts of new ways to experiment with Dead Cells’ expansive and ever-evolving arsenal. Maria’s cat also seems like a funny joke at first, but the ferocious feline can both passively swipe at foes and also be actively summoned for more direct damage. That legendary whip is a mid-range beast since it crits if foes connect with the very end of it, while Death’s scythe turns the souls of the slain into temporary allies. Its new lineup of weapons recall Castlevania staples like the boomerang-like cross and the Belmont clan’s whip, all of which add something new to The Beheaded’s combat repertoire. Return to Castlevania improves Dead Cells because it is fan service with tangible benefits. And while already an excellent roguelite at the genre’s pinnacle, this DLC not only makes Dead Cells better, but is also a great way to kick off Castlevania’s oft-reported revival. Its roguelite, Dead Cells, felt like a modern reinvention of the series, something that was made even more clear with its Return to Castlevania expansion. Since then, it has been up to other developers like Motion Twin to fill that void with games that were heavily influenced by Konami’s Gothic series. It even went out on a sour note, too, as 2014’s Lords of Shadow 2 was plagued by inconsistent combat, level design, and storytelling, as well as frustrating stealth segments that had no business being in a Castlevania title. For being a series about immortal vampires, Castlevania sure has been dead in the gaming space for a long time.
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