Dead Cells review – lightning combat with a fatal attraction

Plunge into ingenious shifting labyrinths to battle lethal beasts, in the knowledge that every gory failure makes you stronger

Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC/Mac, Xbox One; Motion Twin

Though superficially another imitator of the peerless Dark Souls (rapidly mutter "Dead Cells Dark Souls Dead Cells Dark Souls" and see how fast your tongue ties), this fluid, beautiful game has a vibrant life of its own. It's a challenging, side-scrolling combat and jumping game, evoking the likes of Castlevania and Ghosts and Goblins for anyone who was around for the 1990s, but with the art amped up to animation quality and level layouts that fiendishly remix themselves each time you play.