![]() There’s something deeply fitting and “right” about this crossover. Newcomers will find some of the best in-game music ever composed, while those familiar with the original franchise will find new versions of old favourites lovingly reimagined for the present day. Motion Twin have recreated more than 50 classic Castlevania tracks that relentlessly play on those nostalgia strings. But it’s the music that really sets the tone here. There are 20 skins to unlock in total, including Richter and Trevor Belmont skins, and over a dozen weapons to add to your pile of random drops. New weapons and outfits add to the flavour and variety. Once you complete the first boss, you’ll be set back on the course through Dead Cells’ usual biomes, and will be approached by Alucard during the next run to embark on the following phase. You can’t complete the entire DLC in one run, either. I won’t spoil who they are, but it’s suffice to say that fans of Castlevania will lap up the encounters. The broad strokes of gameplay don’t change much, of course, and the handful of new bosses are as challenging as you’d hope for. It’s a little strange when you begin to realise just how much Dead Cells was inspired by Konami’s seminal, genre-defining series in the first place. ![]() It remains quintessentially “Dead Cells”, but the new biomes lean heavily into the Gothic aesthetic of Castlevania. You could never stand still in Dead Cells for long, but in Return to Castlevania you’ll also contend with new traps, crumbling or turning platforms, and a host of new enemies. It drips with atmosphere, from the spectacular music to the enemy design, peppering in themed weapons like Holy Water bombs and the Vampire Killer whip, and upping the pace of gameplay to match. Without a doubt, this expansion is built for Castlevania fans. Alucard then gives you his Shield, a powerful new weapon, and sets you the task of meeting him deeper in the castle. In standard fashion, the Beheaded wakes him up by hammering on his coffin in the clueless, bumbling way we’ve come to expect. The first time you fight through the new area, you’ll meet Alucard, protagonist of Symphony of the Night. But the Castlevania portion handles things a little bit differently. If you’ve ever slain the Hand of the King and finished the initial campaign, you’ll know it’s all just a cruel and bizarre cycle anyway. Or even question the potential life-ending danger of what lies ahead. Your Beheaded Prisoner is hardly one to shy away from a challenge. Here you’ll also meet legendary vampire hunter Richter Belmont, who will ask for your help to vanquish a great evil. You don’t select this campaign from the menu or a special door in the Sewers, instead you will come across the entry to this strange alternate world via a set of familiar stone steps early on. Which is not to say it’s not integrated just the same. But for the first time, Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania truly feels like something extra that exists alongside the standard game. ![]() Once integrated into Dead Cells’ labyrinthine structure, they feel as though they’ve always been there – and the superb Assist Mode allows you to tailor the difficulty across the board. It often adds new levels, bosses, weapons, outfits, but none of them are unique experiences. Historically, Dead Cells DLC has been difficult to properly review in a vacuum. ![]()
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