I actually just uninstalled Cryptark, but at no fault of Dead Cells. Cryptark is great for various reasons, but it’s just not what I want from that type of game at all. It’s too slow and methodical. If I wanted that type of experience, I would play a turn-based game and not a procgen, realtime, roguelike.
I thoroughly enjoy Dead Cells. But I’m starting to think it’s being a bit overhyped by a lot of people. It is fantastic, it’s smooth, it’s a solid experience. But I don’t see it as being this revitalizing an experience as many people say it is. Sure, I sort of felt that way at the beginning, but the shine wore off and now it’s just another great game. Not anything more than any other great game.
For example, I still personally think Enter the Gungeon is superior. They’re completely different styles of games, but they have a common goal. They evoke the same sort of feelings of tension and fast paced, frantic action. And of the two, I find that Gungeon does it better.
The biggest thing keeping me leaning towards Gungeon are unlockables. Dead Cells has, by far, some of the least rewarding unlockable items I have ever seen in a game. Half of it feels worthless to me. I have 5-6 different items that I want to find. The rest I will either ignore or just pick up until I find better. Sure, a lot of stuff in Gungeon can be fairly weak, but even some of the crappiest items can be fun to use, or have synergies that make them much better.
Dead Cells still has plenty of time to improve on that before launch. And even with unlocks being the weakest aspect (and really, the only weak aspect), the game is still incredible. I’m just starting to feel a lot less bedazzled by it as my time played goes up.
On to the subject of what I’m playing: Grim Dawn as a Demo/Occultist (forget the class name). Aiming for a dual wield gunslinger. The build I found is called “the Brimstone Gunslinger”, which is obviously pretty awesome and the reason I chose this build. It is far and away superior in every way to the Demo/Soldier (Commando) builds I have tried in the past. I don’t think I’ll ever play a Commando again after this. But now it does have me curious about other classes, since I’ve not branched out much. I’m level 16, so not quite done with Burrwicht yet. I’m not quite able to dual wield yet. I’m guessing I’ll get the blueprint I need for the relic around level 30 or so.
I’ve also started sidetracking in Prey. I was headed towards the final quest but decided I wanted to do all the side quests I had saved up. Which, I’ll admit, is completely uncharacteristic of me. I don’t generally go for any side quests that take me out of the way of the main objective but… I don’t want it to be over yet. I want more neuromods for more skills. I want to finish off the exact build I had in mind before I finish. It helps that I absolutely love Talos I, every section I’ve been to (all of them now), the gameplay is on point, and the overall atmosphere is just incredible.
Also installed The Age of Decadence but that’s as far as I’ve gone there.