I very much want to like this game but in it's current state it feels very half baked even for early access. It is absolutely no way worth $20 when there are many games going into EA for much much less than that and are absolutely well fleshed out with a clear vision from the get go. I guess we'll see how this one turns out but I'm not too sure atm.

I really like the look of this game but losing all levels and basicly resetting to zero every time you die is a joke. ruined would could be a good game.

Feels more like mobile game, cannot move the camera. Really clumsy, maybe i will come back, but for now it's a refund

Interesting idea and nice artwork but the game feels unfinished.

Pros: -It has a great look and feel to the game e.g. like Castlevania. Cons: -Die and respawn with nothing and start over. So your progression through the game is just trial and error. Refunded.

First impressions video cut from a few hours of streaming the game: https://youtu.be/wxFiunEJ24E FULL SHORT (6min) REVIEW here: https://youtu.be/wqiapI--kVw First of all the trailer make it seem it's something like blasphemous or last faith, it's not. It's diablo with it's camera flipped and jump and dodge buttons added. Diablo itemization, the skilltrees are copied from d4 even aesthetically. The game looks dynamic but encourages standing in place and spamming attacks like you would in an arpg. The controls feel a bit clunky because it's lacking animation cancels after most actions making attacks delayed, being stuck in a dodge and very sluggish air time.

zero controller support? can remap keys? lul this game boss's are ASS THEY STUN LOCK YOU ON EVER FUCKING HIT HOLY FUCN no achievments whoimp whomp MASTER VOLUME SLIDER IS BROKEN AND CANT BE CHANGED / OTHER VOLUMES

Weird 60fps lock or something. Hurts my eyes and gives me a headache to move around. Game's mid. Keep the Jesters coming, boys. Sorry your eyes are used to smear filters and low fps slop. Game needs 2025 settings for it's 1.0 release.

This game for the time been plays more like Dead cells. I just hope that it gives up ways to go back to stages to grind rather of dying and restarting from the very start in which it makes it annoying for some players. I hope the devs add a save feature when it is launch.

I haven't played the game much, yet I feel the very strong need to leave my opinion on it. Which I rarely do. The game has several horrible problems that are a deal-breaker for me. I hope that many if not all of them are fixed by release otherwise I would definitely will have to refund this. Let's start: THE BAD - The HUD This game includes platforming. You know what I like to see? What's below me. Sure, it was very Diablo inspired but that works for a game such as Diablo not a game where suddenly the enemies decide to hide behind the HUD or you cant see if below you theres a pit or enemies or solid floor since THE HUD IS ON THE WAY. Please place it elsewhere. - The dialogues and writing I know this is an early access game but the writing looks... iffy. As if it was written in some other language and then just translated into English. Mind you this is okay for some stuff but some expressions don't translate well to English and just feel odd or incomplete or out of place. Maybe try and get a localizer to make it work. Transliteration (and not translation) rarely does a good job make. The worldbuilding and story exposition sucks in the beginning. You're given NO reason to care or do anything. "Hey merc, go do merc-stuff because uh yeah! Things are bad because reasons!" Way to make me interested in investing my time in the game... Maybe it being a roguelite doesnt help as much at stortytelling? Who knows, it gives me no reason to care for the game to find out. - The sound effects When enemies drop loot, it is straight ripped off from Diablo. Please please please get your own freaking sfx other than that the sound-music design along with the environment feels all too bland and uninspiring. It feels way too boring. - The Gameplay It is somehow trying to be quite epic but ends up being both ridiculous and clunky. You can do ridiculous stuff like jump, midjump-air dash, double jump and dash again. Looks cool right? Same as the fire-sword thingy but then again, it is also bland and clunky. It looks good and flashy but deals little damage while the enemies deal too much damage (at least comparatively) One skelly can wreak havoc with 3 arrows and his attacks are less flashier than anything you can do at that very same moment. I get it, its low level but at least scale it so you don't look like a flashy fool. THE UGLY (but expected) - Buggy. When talking to a character the "Press X to talk" wont go away and it will draw over. - The UI looks like its placeholder (please be it like so) - Little to no indicator of what to do or who to talk to. Takes away from the User Experience, you'll eventually figure it out but... you still have to give the player a reason to play. THE GOOD - Art style! In fact this is what drew me in and made me buy it. It looks very Blasphemous/Souls like. Quite interesting. Some stuff that I cant really categorize: Didn't read it was a roguelite something I don't really enjoy that much unless the rogue-like elements are incorporated into the storyline (much like Hades) in a way it makes sense and isn't just a poor excuse like "It's a dream world! its a cursed dungeon that changes every time you visit! It was an illusion devised by Satan!" The game looks good, I like the sorta-kinda half baked premise but so far, it gives the player no real reason to care lore-wise. If it, in fact, does it later, then I can just say this game isn't for me. I really dislike games where the hook of the game comes much later. If you're going to do that, give the player some reason to want to stay playing that's not "grind to become stronger and maybe learn more about this bland world we're giving you." I honestly hope they fix it because it's a shame such a good artwork and interesting characters (like the talking tree) are wasted like that. Give us more info on the characters, about the world. I don't really care about a character just because it looks weird and you expect me to like them. The giant and the other guy just felt like they were in the way the first time I met them, and their writing is sooo bad. What about the tree thingy? Why should I go slay and help his friend? Because he just asked me to? "Oh merc, go from point A to point B where you'll get tasked to go to point C without giving you any real reason to do so other than "merc gets paid". Talk to Tree thing and kill other tree possibly evil thing." That's exactly how the game feels right now. Also whats the reason you get 2 chests after each level? Because it's a roguelite of course, but things need to make sense in the world they are in. Give us more lore. Give us better writing. Fix the HUD so it isn't in the way. And care less about looking cool and more about BEING cool. Focus on the now and not on the later. We don't need everything explained right out of the bat but we do need a reason to explore, to want to learn to want to do stuff inside your world to pique the curiosity. You have nice art, nice world and potentially good ideas. Don't let poor execution kill it!

love this game

I am writing after having gotten to the end of story content that was available. What the early access offers is really promising, a platformer heavily inspired by Diablo. Each of the 2 characters has multiple different skills per break point that they can spec into, with legendary equipment that alters or improves how said skills can perform. These skills can be changed once during a run, and are entirely reset at the end of a run. Gear obtained during a run is carried over between runs, and can be either used, sold, or stored at home base. Artifacts can be obtained during a run and offer stat bonuses, with larger bonuses being offered if artifacts share affinities

Pros

- Combat is simple but engaging - Combat is broken up into multiple small zones within a larger area, giving you time to breath after an encounter - The skill trees offer a lot of versatility when paired with the artifact system - Character and enemy design is immaculate

Cons

- Various small glitches and issues throughout, nothing game breaking, but the occasional audio or visual glitch can be jarring - Later enemies have true combos, and it can feel unfair to have to deal with them when there are multiple enemies on screen - Plot dumps begin early, and happen often. At a certain point I was mashing to get through them without reading because of the sheer amount of lore that gets dropped all at once as opposed to being bled out over multiple interactions or areas - I can't find a way to report bugs or balance issues I come across

Conclusion

This game is 100% worth the price tag currently, and I can't wait to see what it will become with improvements. Edit on November 1, 2024: Removed one of the cons, as a patch removed the issue

Can't change resolution, and as petty as it is, it's enough of an issue for a negative review.

Liked the concept, HATE the terrible keyboard controls. The game will allow some remapping, but cant use the mouse at all. Its clunky and not intuitive. Refunded.

game is fucking baller love the design and gameplay really brings out the gamer in yah

I will update this review upon further early access updates and at full release however in its current state I cannot recommend this game despite WANTING to like it.

Gameplay:

There are a LOT of bugs some of which I go over in other sections but some are game breaking like a dodge bug in which your dodge simply fails to go off, with the game saying it’s on cool-down. Well you can’t beat the game without dodging so GG. You can get stun locked by some spells in which you can’t even dodge out of after the first attack lands be it via a boss multi-hit attack or multiple enemy attacks coming in staggered Movement feels a bit off due to spell interactions and how dash is handled via the characters direction vs input direction.

Items:

There are only a handful of items in the game, and within that handful only a few make an impact. Yes you can “enchant” items but it’s not worth it.

Artifacts:

This is where the game gets most of the things right but I think they need better interactions and or more impactful ones. No rare/hidden synergies just WYSIWYG.

Attacks/Skills:

YOU CAN’T USE ANY ATTACKS OR SPELLS IN THE AIR. WTF! This needs changed immediately, it feels terrible and they even nerf the jump attack but don’t allow you to use anything else in the air but dodge… Skills need heavily re-balanced and buffed. While you want to try a variety of builds and spells/skills due to how bad some are be it because of animations, lack of synergy or just bad numbers. Also often times skills just "vanish" based on actions or movements when cast.

Enemies:

Enemy reactions are very inconsistent, sometimes they don’t know you are there, other times they unpredictably face the opposite direction and attack. Enemy animations don’t match up with hitboxes. Enemy variety is VERY low right now and if often feels like a trudge to go from 1 area boss to another and the only time you have to think is when a huge wave spawns and you’re in the middle of it.

Bosses:

For the most part they feel alright, some need some difficulty increased or perhaps more abilities… but they are pretty forgettable right now.

I wish there was a maybe. All I can say is it feels like every other rogue like. its fun enough but the whole after death strength gain is SLOW so if you love rogue likes with long long grinds you will enjoy this. Its slow for my taste. you may get a weapon you can keep with +1 attack from last run you might not. until then keep replying the same few clears over and over. I prefer more gunfire/hades type rogue likes. but if you love the sort of dark souls super grindy feel. this might be for you.

Game looks neat. Immediately returned due to the inability to remap the controls. It's a lazy design choice to begin with, but given the game's interface is basically diablo, the need for the ability to remap controls really should have been implied. Having to write an AHK script to replace an entire control scheme is is beyond obnoxious.

Seems like those bad reviews dont understand what rogue like game is lmao

Edit to my previous review: It has cooked a bit and received a few updates, but it hasn't improved to the point where I could recommend it. It now has more animations for different weapons, but that's about it. If you're looking for a Metroidvania with rogue-lite features, then this isn't the game for you. It may look similar to Castlevania, but that's where the similarities end. Atm it feels VERY uninspired and bad, sadly. In this state, I can't recommend the game. It's not that it's bad, but it wasn't ready for EA. The combat NEEDS more fluidity. The fact that there is a 1 to 2 second delay after most actions makes most situations more tedious than fun. The bosses are not really fun either. The first boss could've been more fun with a bit less health and maybe 1 or 2 more attacks. If you have 3 heads and only 3 attacks, then give each head its own attack. OR give the boss 1 more attack to make the rng nature of it make sense. The 2nd boss has a similar issue. Items and skills are also very underwhelming for the fact that they are supposed to make every run feel different. When I equip different weapon types, I'd like them to at least FEEL different if you can't give them different animations. Equipping a sword, dagger or mace has you swinging a sword in the same way every time. As soon as those things are fixed or at least touched on, then I'll come back and check it out. Maybe even change the recommendation status. The game has potential, so I'll keep following it for sure.

What can I say about Dragon is Dead after 1,5 hrs? Well, it has potential to be good if not great, but there's a lot of things missing or must be improved. There's a pretty sprawling skill tree, the artifacts mechanic is really cool and you can feel the impact of it in combat, the loot system is similar to Diablo games. The art style is good, but the overall look of the game is a mess, it's not finished and not polished without distinct look and cohesion in terms of art, level design, characters etc. The movement is not good, stiff and clunky, combat is basic and there's no distinct animations for various weapon types. The dialogues are not voiced so you need to read a lot of text. The music is good and reminds me of Diablo II, but there's really nothing else to create the atmosphere. I'm not sure if I like losing all the upgrades and skills after death, there must be at least some kind of checkpoint between different biomes which will save all the skills you acquired. Unfortunately, I can't recommend the game at its current state. Maybe wait 5-6 months to see if anything I've mentioned was improved / added or not.

The better Diablo 4 is here!

Early impressions are positive. Dead Cells gameplay with D3/D4 loot/gear itemization. The meta progression systems are engaging and the combat is fun. Other than some annoying visual clutter in combat and some bugs I have few concerns and look forward to what they have in store.