Superb action-platformer Dead Cells is poised to get a massive slab of free DLC soon, nine months in the making, and developer Motion Twin has offered a glimpse of its innards in a newly released video.
Known as Rise of the Giant, the new DLC is already available to PC players, albeit in opt-in beta form. As such, the footage found in Motion Twin’s new chat with Red Bull (be wary of spoilers from here on in) won’t be new to everyone. However, the video offers those players unwilling or unable to join the beta, a glimpse at Dead Cells’ new final area, known as the Cavern and unlocked after beating the game for the first time, and its towering, skeletal boss.
As Motion Twin’s recent beta patch notes reveal, Dead Cells’ Rise of the Giant DLC update really is a big ‘un. Alongside the aforementioned new area and boss, there’s a second new (secret) area and boss, neither of which are accessible until reaching Boss-Cells 5 – essentially the highest difficulty tier, requiring players to defeat the final boss five times.
There are also ten new enemies, some exclusive to the new locations and some appearing throughout the game on higher difficulty settings, plus a new Skinning system, introducing over 50 character outfits that can be obtained by collecting dropped blueprints. And if that’s still not enough, there are three new skills (one of which is a flying pet), and ten new weapons – including the Giant Killer and Bo Axe.
Those are the headline features, but you’ll find a whole lot more in the patch notes, although things are liable to change as beta players continue to scrutinise the update and offer feedback.
Although the core Dead Cells experience is now considered “complete”, Motion Twin says it wanted to add an “extra layer of quality”, and the upcoming DLC is all about offering a “proper conclusion to the story and to explain things a little big more”.
There’s no release date for the Rise of the Giant update just yet, but it’ll be completely free to Dead Cells owners and will hopefully arrive on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch soon.
