Dead Cells, developer Motion Twin’s smashy, stompy action-platform rogue-like, is great. What’s also great is the continued support it’s received since leaving early access last year. And here we are again, with Dead Cells’ 14th free update, the snappily titled Who’s the Boss, now available on PC, with console versions to follow.
Who’s the Boss exists, according to Motion Twin’s latest dev video below, to fix a problem: the absolute, game-ending pummelling that players often receive on encountering one of Dead Cells’ gargantuan bosses for the first time.
The issue, essentially, is that little in the game familiarises players with bosses’ deadliest moves prior to a showdown, meaning that death can come within seconds – a frustrating proposition if you’ve just slogged an hour to get there, in classic rogue-like fashion.
To combat this, Who’s the Boss introduces six new enemies, each modelled after existing in-game bosses, and each appearing in the stage immediately preceding that boss.
Vlog 6: “Who’s the boss?” update is live! Watch on YouTube
The new additions all come equipped with a variation of their bigger sibling’s most devastating attack, hopefully helping players figure out an appropriate response, and giving them a fighting chance when the full-sized version finally rears its head. The new Automaton, for instance, pops out of thin air and lunges at players, replicating the Time Keeper’s devastating dash.