New Roguelite From Dead Cells Devs Looks Frenetic As Hell

Windblown, the next game from Dead Cells developer Motion Twin, has given players a first look at its high-speed gameplay. The action roguelite was first announced at the 2023 Game Awards with a stylish reveal trailer, but didn’t show much of what it would actually be like to play. The latest trailer gets right to the action, and it looks promising.

At first, Windblown‘s two-minute gameplay trailer makes it look a lot like titles we’ve seen in the action roguelite genre. With a colourful isometric style and lightning-fast action that sees the player characters zoom around the screen, it’s hard not to think of Hades, the award-winning 2020 game that has become the de facto ideal of the genre. We see the player-character wield multiple weapons, including swords, spears, and guns, which should allow players to try out different styles of combat—also reminiscent of Hades and other roguelites. And based on this first look at gameplay, combat should be tight and satisfying, just like Dead Cells. Talking to PC Gamer, Motion Twin also mentioned Devil May Cry and Bayonetta as major influences.

There is also a lot of dashing going on in the trailer, with the protagonist zipping back and forth across combat arenas with a flash of blue light. The tagline for Windblown is “dash, die, and repeat,” so it seems dashing will be one of the more important maneuvers players will have to master. Dashing looks like it will make the game feel fast— like really fast. It looks like Windblown will place emphasis on speed and mobility, which should add a layer of fun, frenetic energy to its combat.

But Windblown has more to offer than just being another action roguelite. One of the game’s biggest draws is that it has three player co-op to let you tackle its ever-changing challenges with friends. The feature feels reminiscent of summoning aid from other players to tackle tough enemies in Souls games. It’s a neat twist on the genre that could help Windblown stand out. The gameplay trailer didn’t announce an official release date but it did affirm that the game will be entering early access on Steam sometime this year.