Dead Cells is arguably one of the greatest roguelikes ever made, with the only real downside being the lack of any co-op mode. Thankfully developer Motion Twin’s next game Windblown, rectifies that oversight. While it’s not quite as slick as Dead Cells (at least not yet, it is currently in an Early Access state) it has a lot of the same general flow, including dual-weapon and great movement systems, set in a more isometric world with some amazing synergies and build options.
In Windblown you – and up to two friends – must protect your peaceful village, The Ark, from the emissaries of the Vortex, the deadly force around which you orbit. How? Well with some incredibly well-designed combat that essentially sees you fighting off a huge range of monsters, including old robots and a Rat who’s been watching too much One Piece and can wield a sword in its mouth alongside one in each hand. As you can probably tell from that description alone, the enemy designs are wonderful but it’s the combat – and its co-op-friendly nature – that truly shines.
Staying with the combat, as well as your two weapons, each of which can have unique damage and effect modifiers, you can also combine special attacks from each weapon to create some truly powerful combinations. For example, if you’re using a sword and a crossbow and have been shooting at enemies from afar, you can use your special attack, if you get the timing right, to unleash an absurd combo from the sword before switching back to the crossbow. It not only looks as cool as it sounds, it is also seamless.
That’s not all, however, throw in some really cool upgrades, even with this being the first iteration of the game’s Early Access state, and you’ve got an action roguelike that feels amazing to play. There are plenty of different builds, challenges to face, and things to unlock too. Long story short: Windblown is everything I want it to be so far, and I can’t wait to see it grow.
