Connect with us

News

‘Dead Cells’ Brings Pixelated-Permadeath To Action-Platforming

Published

on

Dead Cells

Some of us have an insatiable love for things that hurt, like deadly hot sauces conjured from the belly of hell or rom com films. The same area of the brain that causes people to receive enjoyment from torture, happens to be the same brain space that makes folks love the permadeath aspect of Dark Souls games. Well, we all need to give thanks to the Ashen One, cause Dark Cells is here to give us more of those fun frustration pangs that we love from our painfully fun experiences with Souls.

Dead Cells is an action-platformer with a cool Dark Souls twist, a dash of Metroid action  with a splash of classic Castlevania play-style.

In Dead Cells, you play as a character that when killed, is respawned all over again… by means of a ball of green goo. This puts you in the position of having to fight through ever changing levels, leveling up over time, and learning your enemy’s tactics and figuring out what weapon combos work best. Most of all it allows you to keep your learned skills in order to become a tough mo’fo over the course of splendiferous amount of death.

You are going to die. Die a lot. Much like in Dark Souls, dying is part of the whole thing, the blaringly big difference here is that each time you play through a level its laid out entirely differently.

That makes the would-be frustration of having to start over and over and over again, a learning experience, where you are able to level up, create mutations and figure out what makes your enemies fall the fastest.

Slotted weapons allow for a melee item, a ranged item and two sentinel or grenade type items. The combination of these items are up to your preference and finding the one that works best for you might take a few worthwhile deaths.

I know, what you are thinking, all this sounds super familiar. Well hey, it’s something the creators at the devs are acutely aware of, down to the title basically being a play-off of Dark Souls. It’s a labor of homage and love for the permadeath gaming subgenre that actually does a great job of breaking a mold, while still working in the same shop in which that mold that created.

Controls are well-done and exude the feeling of later Castlevania games along the lines of Symphony of Night. Throwing in a variety of weapons and furthering that with tiers on those individual weapons, simply increases playability and doesn’t allow things to become stale as easily. And with a game that’s focus is putting you through the same grind again and again, this mix works like gangbusters.

Enemies come with their distinctive approaches to combat, some yield more annoying results than others depending on the combo of weapons that you have in your arsenal at that moment. Using your full collection of moves, especially the god’s gift that is dodging, are essential to get learn early, cause later levels (if you can make it) are freakin’ tough.

Dead Cells is a really special game that kicks a special amount of pixelated butt. It is in on the joke and remains playful about it, if the title isn’t proof of that the main character and his comedic pantomime expressions sure are. The action, challenge and the rewarding punishment Dead Cells gives you are worth the price of entry, and are essential for Souls and Castlevania fans alike.

Dead Cells is out now on PC, PS4, Xbox One, Mac and Nintendo Switch for $24.99.

 

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

News

Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role

Published

on

Brad Dourif has been doing movies for nearly 50 years. Now it seems he is walking away from the industry at 74 to enjoy his golden years. Except, there is a caveat.

Recently, digital entertainment publication JoBlo’s Tyler Nichols talked to some of the Chucky television series cast members. During the interview, Dourif made an announcement.

“Dourif said that he’s retired from acting,” says Nichols. “The only reason he came back for the show was because of his daughter Fiona and he considers Chucky creator Don Mancini to be family. But for non-Chucky stuff, he considers himself retired.”

Dourif has voiced the possessed doll since 1988 (minus the 2019 reboot). The original movie “Child’s Play” has become such a cult classic it’s at the top of some people’s best chillers of all time. Chucky himself is ingrained in pop culture history much like Frankenstein or Jason Voorhees.

While Dourif may be known for his famous voiceover, he is also an Oscar-nominated actor for his part in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Another famous horror role is The Gemini Killer in William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist III. And who can forget Betazoid Lon Suder in Star Trek: Voyager?

The good news is that Don Mancini is already pitching a concept for season four of Chucky which might also include a feature-length movie with a series tie-in. So, Although Dourif says he is retiring from the industry, ironically he is Chucky’s friend till the end.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

Published

on

The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.

The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.

We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.

Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?

Scream Live (2023)

Scream Live

Ghostface (2021)

Ghostface

Ghost Face (2023)

Ghost Face

Don’t Scream (2022)

Don’t Scream

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

Scream: A Fan Film

The Scream (2023)

The Scream

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

A Scream Fan Film
Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

Movies

Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

Published

on

Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading