After being initially launched back in 2021 in Mainland China courtesy of publisher BiliBili, the roguelite action giant Dead Cells has surpassed over 5 million copies sold in total. While a hefty amount of this success can be accounted towards being published by one of the largest media companies within China, the other half of it can be attributed to the fact that Dead Cells is simply one of the largest indie darlings ever created, and has stood the test of time despite being a good bit old by now.
For the unfamiliar, Dead Cells is one of the biggest indie releases of the past decade or so, rivalling the likes of legends like Bastion or Hollow Knight, and has maintained a large fanbase due to a pretty constant influx of new players. The Metroidvania roguelite takes players on a quirky and comical quest where they must investigate a large island’s castle and defeat various bosses along the way, uncovering bits of hidden lore as they go.
It’s tough to put into one article, but Dead Cells is one of those indie games that just mastered the art on the first go-round. There’s a huge variety of builds and weapons to utilize, and it’s notoriously difficult, making for a very engaging loop of testing out which builds click with you and get you the furthest, but also adapting when those weapons don’t drop and forcing you to try new stuff out here and there. Plus, the amount of content on offer here is staggering.
The large amount of content comes from the various pieces of DLC the game has on offer, including one for the legendary Metroidvania series Castlevania! To sum it all up, it’s hardly a shock to see Dead Cells succeed so much, but it is still quite impressive to reach such a massive milestone.
If you’re convinced by the numbers alone, or if you’re just interested in playing one of the biggest indie hits out there, you can check out Dead Cells at either of the links below right now!
