Huge Dead Cells Update Highlighted in New Patch Notes

The newest update has gone live on PC for Dead Cells, the popular roguelike Metroidvania developed and published by Motion Twin. The Wack-a-Mole update for Dead Cells gives players new weapons, an altered difficulty curve, quality of life improvements, and much more.

2017's Dead Cells recently hit a massive sales milestone, as the roguelike has now sold over 5 million copies. For any game that is impressive, but that is especially eye-popping for an indie-developed title. Perhaps part of the reason for the success is ongoing support by way of updates and content, and the Wack-a-Mole update is the latest example.

The highlight of the update is three heavy weapons: the Oven Axe, Toothpick, and Tombstone. There are also three new damage-focused mutations. That list includes the Execution, Barbed Tips, and Point Blank. The altered difficulty curve is also a key feature of the update, as is plenty of balancing adjustments, UI updates, bug fixes, and balancing work for the Fatal Falls DLC for Dead Cells.

Last December, the developer added a Holiday-themed update to Dead Cells as well, filled with new features, holiday-inspired outfits. and more. Developer Motion Twin is wise to keep Dead Cells alive with ongoing free updates and paid DLC. As far as the Wack-a-Mole update, it seems quite substantial. Much of the content is simply nice to have, while other changes and additions are quality of life improvements and things that fans have been asking for.

2020 was quite the year for better or worse, but the gaming industry was able to rise to new heights, as many companies experienced record sales. Many big name titles were released last year, but there were just as many amazing indie games in 2020 that kept gamers happy. Over the years, many indie games have become superstar hits among gamers, like Minecraft, Undertale, or Cuphead. Games like these often provide players with a unique experience that they haven't been getting in more mainstream titles, which helps boost these games' popularity.

Plus, several of these games that independent developers are creating have been able to garner incredible recognition in the industry. Hades, which many gamers might consider the best indie game of 2020, was nominated for several different awards with different organizations. The title even won Game of the Year at The Gayming Awards and The New York Game Awards. Indie games have long been developed by studios on their own, but as the gaming industry grows, many indie developers have been able to partner with game publishers to help games reach brand new audiences. It may end up being indie games that help push gamers through 2021.

Gamers have become very familiar with hearing about delays over the last year or so. Delays might be nothing new, but it seems that a majority a game studios have been affected in some way due to the COVID-19 pandemic that expanded in 2020. As the days go by, more and more games that were originally supposed to come out this year look to be pushed back. While Nintendo fans will get news for the Breath of the Wild sequel later this year, there is a very real possibility that the game will not come out until 2022.