Dead Cells has a board game adaptation in the works! A rather successful Kickstarter campaign is already in progress, spearheaded by Scorpion Masque in collaboration with Motion Twin.
Dead Cells Board Game Kickstarter is a Resounding Success
Motion Twin’s Dead Cells is a very charming little Metroidvania/Roguelite mix. They’ve been providing fans with tons of free content like the Panchaku update, Breaking Barriers, or the Boss Rush Mode. We’ve seen crossovers with other indie titles and even heavy hitters like Castlevania. The sky’s the limit when it comes to our little Beheaded.
Now he’ll be jumping out of our screens and into the real world. Tabletop game veteran Scorpion Masque has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund their newest project: the Dead Cells Board Game.
Live, Die, Repeat
The Rogue-lite Boardgame can be played by 1 to 4 players in total. There will now be four unique Beheaded characters this time around, instead of Dead Cells’ usual one lonesome. Each of these will have something special to bring to the board, so they won’t all feel totally the same.
The Poisoned will have abilities that deal poison damage, as expected. We also have a tanky one, named The Flayed, who can protect his allies. Long-ranged lovers will appreciate The Quartered which specializes in bombs and other projectiles. Last is The Immolated, who really, really likes burning things.
As expected of the adaptation, the Dead Cells Board Game will have different biomes with randomized rooms. Each room will be represented by a tile that is randomly drawn each game, making sure that you never know what you get. An area can be filled with shining treasure, a few traps, or even an enemy lying in wait. Just like Dead Cells itself, the areas you explore will have some alternative passageways that are locked behind permanent unlocks, such as the vine rune and teleportation rune, among others.
Fight Like a Beheaded
What happens when you eventually run into an enemy? We fight, of course! Battles will involve all players present, versus a slew of monsters. Foes are all your favorite creepy crawlies from the game, such as the simple Zombies, and yucky Disgusting Worms. The Dead Cells Board Game can even go as wild as they included the annoying Inquisitors or even more frustrating Catchers. There are also three boss battles added into the mix, each of them having their own combat mechanics.
Players do actual damage by making use of Combat and Equipment that they’ve collected through their journey. Each of the players plays one of the cards in their hand, and that will determine what actions they will take. Sometimes you will try and take out your foes, or maybe even attempt to support yourself. Other times you might just be greedy and attempt to take the loot that’s been ever-so-tantalizing as it lies on the floor, ripe for the taking.
The players take their actions first, and then the monsters. This loop will repeat two more times before an encounter is automatically resolved. Players might not be able to defeat all of their foes, but that’s OK. Sometimes it’s better to survive and not take too much damage in the process.
If for some reason one player lets go of their mortal coil and succumbs to death, the entire group loses. But just like Dead Cells, death is definitely not the end. Cells are a permanent currency that you can use to unlock new cards that will be shuffled into the deck in succeeding runs. Upgrade Runes are also persistent and will never disappear once unlocked.
The Dead Cells Board Game Kickstarter Success Story
On May 17th, 2023, a Kickstarter page for the Dead Cells Board Game suddenly came to life. The asking price was a meager CA$ 50,000 (about US$37,000). It was fully funded in just over 13 minutes. How have they fared less than a week later? A total of CA$ 791,636 or US$586,000 has been raised. And we still have 11 days to go.
You still have time to pledge if you’re interested! Backers who want the game can expect to spend US$65 for the Standard Edition or US$85 for the Collector’s Edition. The more expensive package includes a plastic statuette of the 4 Beheaded, card boxes to keep things organized, acrylic tokens (instead of cardboard in the standard ed), and more. There are also add-ons like an 8-inch Beheaded statue and special card sleeves.
Other successful Kickstarter tabletop adaptations of video games include Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher, Monster Hunter World, and Darkest Dungeon.
In other news, check out Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Reaches 10 Million Copies Milestone in Just Three Days and Wizard of Legend 2 Announced, Led by the Developers of Children of Morta.
