Motion Twin’s stylish dungeon-crawler Dead Cells entered Early Access on PC last May, and the developer teamed up with publisher Merge for the full release of its debut title. The two announced today that physical versions of the game will be out for PC, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch on August 17 in Europe and August 21 in the U.S., with no word yet on when it will be available digitally.
Dead Cells stars a tiny clump of green cells that possesses a skeletal warrior — as many times as necessary. Like other roguelikes, it’s all about getting as far as you can in the dungeon before dying and starting over again. In each run, players might pick up blueprints for new weapons and gold, which they can only retain if they manage to survive boss fights and other hostile creatures and make it to a checkpoint.
Since its Early Access launch, Dead Cells has sold over 700,000 copies. For newcomers, the full release will have plenty of new content — the developer has said that only about 40 percent of the final title’s content is available in Early Access. This lightweight version of the game boasts five different areas, each with gothic-flavored names like The Promenade of the Condemned and The Forgotten Sepulcher. Despite these gloomy names, Motion Twins has opted for a colorful pixel-art aesthetic, which glows with eerie fog and lamplight.
To take advantage of Dead Cell’s visual flair, publisher Merge is releasing 2,000 limited-edition boxsets of the game that will include an art book. These signature editions of the game will also come with the soundtrack on CDs.