Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania will chain-whip you with nostalgia

Published March 6, 2023 6:00 AM, by Nick Tan

With Dead Cells slowly approaching its fifth anniversary, you wouldn’t be wrong to think that any DLC for the game would most likely be for players who are already fans of this award-winning Metroid-vania roguelike. Dead Cells has been discounted numerous times in bundles and sales across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox storefronts, so if you haven’t purchased it by now, the ship might have sailed for you at this point. But the new Return to Castlevania DLC, through the sheer power of nostalgia, might actually change your mind.

Back from the dead

As the name suggests, this add-on is developer Motion Twin’s love letter to the Castlevania series, adding biomes, enemies, weapons, outfits, and wonderfully remixed tunes that will make you want to slay vampires all over again. While Return to Castlevania works similar to other Dead Cells DLC by folding in new areas that The Prisoner can choose to explore as he ascends to the throne room, there’s a bit more meat to the bone here when it comes to the story. Near the beginning of a run, you can meet Richter Belmont and Alucard, who both ask for your aid (and who would really say no to them?) in defeating Dracula and all his minions littered about his castle.

That might sound like a tall order, especially for new players to the game (like myself). Fortunately, Return to Castlevania takes a few runthroughs to complete, so there’s plenty of time to get accustomed to the Metroid-vania combat and to hand over some energy cells to The Collector for permanent upgrades. It’s somewhat complicated to unlock each part of the DLC, since it’s broken into pieces instead of one continuous experience. But it’s not too difficult finding your way through the Castle’s Outskirts before finding Dracula’s Castle.

Blood-sucking shenanigans

Veteran players, on the other hand, will likely breeze through most of the content, slaying harpies, bone throwers, werewolves, and haunted suits of armor with relative ease. If you already have all of the perks and upgrades from the main game, and completed it on higher difficulties, you shouldn’t have much trouble tearing through the majority of Dracula’s keep.

That said, the new mini-bosses Death and Medusa are no pushovers, and Dracula will spawn every once in a while to throw projectiles in your direction and even curse you by flipping the screen upside down for a few moments. The final boss fight with Dracula doesn’t disappoint either and is more epic than any other boss fight in Dead Cells so far. Figuring out his attack pattern in his final form is particularly tricky.

Back when Konami still made great games

At the same time, Return to Castlevania doesn’t hold back on nostalgia. Just the ascent up the stairs to Dracula’s throne room, with the blue candles on the wall lighting up with every step, hits perfectly. Adding more to the package, the DLC adds iconic gear like the Vampire Killer, Cross projectile, Bible, Alucard’s sword and shield, and numerous others. As an honorable mention, composer Yoann Laulan should be praised for his reinterpretation of classic Castlevania tracks.

Better yet, finding a secret room in Dracula’s Castle several times will unlock Richter Mode, a special level where you get to play as Richter and chain whip the undead. The level doesn’t last very long and I wished that the whole game could be played as Richter (and Alucard) just for kicks, but it’s a fun flash in the pan nonetheless.

Reasonably priced at only $9.99, Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania is well worth the trip down memory lane. Any Metroid-vania fan will appreciate Motion Twin’s playful appreciation of the genre’s history. And for new players, it’s a great opportunity to jump in and play one of the best roguelikes in recent memory.

These impressions were based on a PC (Steam) code provided by the publisher. Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania releases on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch on March 6, 2023.