I beloved Lifeless Cells, but it surely by no means struck me as significantly Castlevania-like. The acclaimed motion roguelike from Movement Twin definitely had some passing resemblance in a few of its fight mechanics, however not a lot that I ever made any affiliation to Konami’s vampire-hunting franchise. So when the studio introduced it was making an growth modeled after Castlevania, I used to be definitely intrigued, but in addition stunned. How would that work, precisely? Fairly nicely, it seems, as Lifeless Cells: Return to Castlevania is a intelligent fusion of Castlevania homages and Lifeless Cells’ construction, and helps as an instance how Castlevania DNA has been part of Lifeless Cells all alongside.
The similarities between the 2 are reduce into stark reduction by their variations. Castlevania, and particularly the Symphony of the Night time sub-genre that serves as the idea for many of this growth, is an exploration-based motion recreation, with a citadel stuffed with tightly-knit secrets and techniques and clockwork-like precision to its development gating. Lifeless Cells very a lot is not that, as its roguelike biomes combine and match completely different items like Lego bricks. You will acknowledge sure items after you have performed it sufficient, however it can at all times be inconceivable to attract a constant map or to inform a buddy precisely the place to discover a secret key. On this regard, they could not be extra completely different.
So the mixing in Return to Castlevania can finest be described as Lifeless Cells doing its finest Castlevania impression. The Castlevania biomes are nonetheless randomized within the roguelike fashion, however the items do really feel extra oriented round puzzle-solving and secrets and techniques than in the principle Lifeless Cells recreation. In actual fact, that is certainly one of Return to Castlevania’s most spectacular tricks–it’s nonetheless constructed round interlocking items, however the extra secret-solving elements do not feel contained to small, particular person components. It is virtually as if the sport is constructing a recent, albeit comparatively small, Castlevania map each time you respawn.
Probably the most recognizable homages, although, come within the type of new enemies and weapons. These enemies vary from the lowly Fish Man to hulking armored knights and, naturally, a confrontation with Dracula himself. You will virtually instantly discover famend sub-weapons just like the Cross and Holy Water whereas making your method by the citadel, and as soon as you have unlocked them, they will be accessible for upgrading with modifiers, like every other piece of apparatus in Lifeless Cells. Seeing fight towards acquainted enemies with recognizable weapons actually drives dwelling how Lifeless Cells’ remarkably satisfying fight has at all times felt like the perfect moments of Castlevania.
The story is slight, consisting principally of characters like Richter or Alucard displaying up for a fast chat about the place to seek out Dracula, but it surely’s serviceable and helps level you in the fitting course. The spirit is playful, with the Prisoner shrugging and thumbs-upping his method by this wild new journey stuffed with online game royalty. Just a few story moments reward you with highly effective new main weapons or skins modeled after Castlevania heroes, and sporting these skins even results in sure characters recognizing and speaking to you as in the event you have been, say, Simon Belmont.
A few of the finest cinematic moments aren’t story-related in any respect, however relatively while you come upon some hyper-specific Easter egg referencing a second in Castlevania historical past. At one level I sat and watched the ghostly dancers twirl across the display screen for minutes, hypnotized, earlier than finally realizing the scene would go on without end if I let it.
This being Lifeless Cells, it is also remarkably robust. Lifeless Cells was already recognized for its problem, and Return to Castlevania felt barely harder than the principle marketing campaign. Which means it is ideally suited to skilled Prisoners searching for a brand new problem, but it surely would not have to be relegated to endgame content material. That is as a result of the Castlevania content material itself offers you such a gentle stream of highly effective new gear that you do not essentially want to attend for the celebs to align with a run that provides you construct.
The recent batch of weapons can be ingenious in new ways in which each match throughout the Lifeless Cells milieu whereas additionally feeling iconically Castlevania. The weapon you get for defeating Dying, for instance, creates an electrifying rush to fight, encouraging you to select off weaker enemies to empower you towards stronger enemies.
All of this makes Return to Castlevania a superb little style of Castlevania throughout the framework of Lifeless Cells, but it surely’s solely a style. That is an growth, in any case, so it provides a number of new biomes that, all put collectively, would make up solely a fraction of the map area of a typical Castlevania recreation. It is also principally simple, relatively than requiring the standard backtracking to open new paths with extra powers. The expansive scope of a sprawling surroundings is a part of Castlevania’s core identification, so its absence is a reminder that that is nonetheless Lifeless Cells with a Castlevania taste. Relying in your luck and ability stage, it can take a number of hours to discover the content material and attain Dracula, and possibly a pair extra to seek out and unlock all the new gear.
![It wouldn't be a Castlevania without facing down Death](https://www.gamespot.com/a/uploads/scale_super/1585/15855271/4107645-c239cef72d69b33db295022d8f2002af4bbd546c.jpg)
It is also a Lifeless Cells growth in that there aren’t any simple shortcuts. This can be a roguelike, in any case, so even as soon as the key to discovering Dracula’s interior sanctum, it can take little bit of legwork to get there. In the event you die–for instance, towards the difficult closing battle with Dracula–you’ll have to do all of it once more.
These qualities are half and parcel of this being an growth to Lifeless Cells. It retains its personal core identification, so the smaller randomized biomes and lack of shortcuts are simply a part of its nature. These do not feel particularly harking back to Castlevania, however the entire growth is imbued with Castlevania taste. Lifeless Cells: Return to Castlevania is a great, frenetic fusion of a contemporary action-roguelike and traditional gaming royalty.