Video Games
‘Dead Cells’ Sales Top Three Million; Latest Update Available Now on PC
Developers Motion Twin and Evil Empire have announced via Twitter that their 2018 roguelike action platformer Dead Cells has managed to sell three million copies across PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC. On top of that, the game’s latest update, dubbed “Update of Plenty,” is available today for PC with the console versions to follow over the next few weeks.
The update brings plenty of smaller changes to the game, notably changes to the weapons and items. For example, crossbows are now two-handed weapons and ‘Survival’ only, allowing players two separate attacks and a “generous health pool”. Players also now have a backpack that lets you hold a weapon while you wield a two-handed weapon.
The in-game economy and merchants have also been reworked, with the removal of gold-scaling (gear price will now go up with item level), pricing changes on items, and “various changes to refining and affix rerolling costs”. Shop categories are also now color-based instead of being based on equipment type, and you now get a shop reroll for free. However, it makes items on sale pricier if you do so.
There are several more changes, which you can read about in the patch notes on the official site.
We’re very happy to announce our 19th major update to Dead Cells, the Update of Plenty out now on PC. Oh and we’ve also gone past 3M copies sold of the game, which is surreal… Hope you like the changes: https://t.co/DrbD4RACp5 #gamedev #gaming #indiegame #Steam
— Motion Twin (@motiontwin) July 1, 2020
Video Games
Bloody Body Horror Revealed in ‘Stellar Blade: Blood Rain’, Currently in Development [Trailer]
Shift Up has shifted things dramatically from 2024’s action-adventure game Stellar Blade, offering up a body horror bonanza in the newly announced sequel, Stellar Blade: Blood Rain. The sequel is currently early in development, but if the trailer is any indication, players will be in for plenty of body horror.
Continuing the story from the original Stellar Blade, Blood Rain will star a new protagonist named Eve. Earth has been abandoned, and what is left of humanity has fled to a Colony in outer space.
Shift Up had mentioned during a Q&A following its latest earnings presentation last month that development on Blood Rain (which was still unannounced at the time) was progressing smoothly, and was on track to meet their targeted quality standards.
Shift Up stated that with this new title it would be transitioning to a first-party service model, effectively moving away from the restrictions the game experienced with original publisher Sony, which had the game under an exclusivity agreement for the PlayStation 5. “This will allow us to lead marketing strategies that fully reflect the distinctive identity of the Stellar Blade IP, and we expect to communicate the unique appeal of its universe to players more directly and effectively.”
Whether this means that Xbox Players will finally be able to play the original game (or its sequel) is still not clear. Meanwhile, Stellar Blade is reportedly being ported to the Nintendo Switch 2, but no official confirmation has been made.