Dead Cells creators Motion Twin reveal cute and gory new roguelike Windblown

Dead Cells developers Motion Twin and publisher Kepler Ghost have announced Windblown, a wholesome yet bloodthirsty new roguelike action game in which heavily-armed cartoon animals set out from a floating village to brave the horrors of the Vortex. It’s due in early access on PC in 2024, and we’ve got the first trailer for you below.

According to its Steam page, Windblown promises to “bring a whole new level of speed to the action roguelike genre”. You’ll be dashing between and around “vast, ever-changing islands in the sky”, pitting sword and magic attacks against a selection of funky ghostly mechas. As a “Leaper”, you can absorb the memories of dead warriors and master their fighting styles while collecting ever-stronger weapons.

The game is billed as pretty punishing, with an emphasis on memorising enemy attack patterns and “learning from your countless deaths” – not a big surprise, if you’ve played Dead Cells. There’s the option of online co-op if you’re struggling.

Thoughts on this one? I rated Dead Cells and I’m enjoying the blend of My Little Pony aesthetics and uber-violence here. Motion Twin are worth looking into, too: they’re one of the games industry’s few workers cooperatives.

Can’t get enough of Geoff’s annual advert hype machine? Find all the announcements and more on our Game Awards 2023 hub page, and why not pop into our liveblog while you’re here?