This review has light spoilers for the original main game release of Dead Cells, so fair warning if you haven’t played it yet. I did a review in 2021 of the base game which you can find located here that is spoiler-free.
Dead Cells has seen an incredible twenty-seven official updates since version 1.0 launched back in May of 2017. Twenty-four of them were free and The Queen & the Sea caps off the trilogy of paid story expansions that started with The Bad Seed & Fatal Falls. Created by Evil Empire in tandem with the main game’s developer Motion Twin the first two DLC’s were solid setups for this final piece. This review will focus on the third but know that it really is the end of a trilogy, and it’s an excellent one.
The Deep Malaise
The story of Dead Cells has slowly been built up through the game’s many (and mostly free) updates. Originally a game with little story, and only hints to the greater narrative, Motion Twin slowly built up the story of Dead Cells and how everything comes down to The Malaise. This rot destroys the minds of anyone it inhabits and it has turned this island kingdom into a hell on Earth. Rise of the Giant introduced a new ending that added greatly to the overall story along with new areas, items, & enemies. The Queen & The Sea does the same here adding in three new late-game biomes featuring a plethora of crazy new weaponry, difficult enemies, a ton of new outfits, and a “true ending” to the game tied to its excellent boss fight.
The new biomes are titled the Infested Shipwreck and the Lighthouse, and the final area is where you’ll cap off (for now?) the main story of this game. It is fitting that this third DLC in the expansion trilogy focuses on the endgame after the previous two added so much to the early and middle parts of the game. The biggest highlight for this final DLC to me is the new weaponry. There are 10 in total, and they add excellent variety to what was already a massive collection.
It is difficult to say much without spoiling things, and these new areas, weapons, enemies, and stories deserve to be experienced with fresh eyes. The final boss wasn’t too difficult, but I was on a fresh save and had not unlocked any Boss Cells yet. I can see their move set being truly vicious on the higher difficulties.
In Conclusion
All three DLC’s are available for $5 each and I believe a package with all three may be available as the review code provided to me by the publisher’s PR company contained the main game and all three paid DLCs. This DLC is 100% worth it for anyone who has played the first two, and if you haven’t played any of them (or the main game for that matter) give Dead Cells a go on Game Pass. If it hooks you as it did me then this trilogy of DLC is a no-brainer. It adds further excellence to what was already an incredible foundation with some of the best DLC content I have played in a very long time.
| Reviewed on | Xbox Series X & Microsoft Windows |
| Available on | Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Playstation 4&5, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, iOS, & Android |
| Release Date | January 6th, 2022 |
| Developer | Evil Empire |
| Publisher | Motion Twin |
| Rated | T for Teen |
Dead Cells: The Queen & The Sea
$4.99 US
Pros
- Satisfying Conclusion to Dead Cells DLC Trilogy
- Great New Weapons
- Diverse and Mechanically Excellent New Biomes
- Excellent Value
Cons
- May Be A Bit Obtuse To Access Without A Guide
