Windblown preview: Dead Cells meets Hades in confident new roguelite

There are so many elements to factor in when considering what makes a truly great roguelite.

Is there enough enemy variety? Is the core gameplay loop rewarding enough to keep you coming back after every death? Are there hidden paths to find and plenty of new weapons to uncover with each run?

All vital, and I’m delighted to say Windblown ticks each and every one of these boxes. But for my money, the most important aspect of any great roguelike is how a character moves. How they feel as you guide them through the world, maan.

Games like Hades and Dead Cells are a symphony of forward momentum and carefully controlled chaos, gradually ramping up the challenge until you’re dodging and weaving through a relentless sea of enemies and obstacles. No matter how many times you meet a sticky end, diving right back in and immediately gliding through the same old starting area manages to feel fresh again.

It should come as no surprise that Windblown manages to capture this vibe perfectly, given that it’s being developed by Dead Cells creators Motion Twin.

The DNA of the acclaimed 2018 roguelike is all over Windblown, from its towering bosses to its wonderfully creative arsenal of weapons and upgrades. But it also has more than enough of its own new ideas to ensure this game is absolutely one for fans of the genre to watch.

Windblown boasts a vibrant and beautifully stylised cel-shaded world that’s a million miles away from the tombs and tunnels of Dead Cells. I only explored a handful of biomes as part of my time with a preview build of the game, but the isometric perspective allows players to drink in surreal landscapes way above the clouds, darting between ruins and islets in search of secret areas and upgrades on your way to the boss that stands between you and the exit.

Playing as one of a handful of anthropomorphic critters (I went with the bat), it’s your job to dive headfirst into a swirling vortex of crumbling islands and get to the centre of it to see if it can be stopped before your home is swallowed up in the calamity.

There’s a hub area where loot gained from previous runs can be used to gradually upgrade things like health potion capacity and unlock new weapons, as well as chat to various NPCs and complete quests for them. It’s a lot less of an isolated experience than Dead Cells in this way, but the real meat of the game is of course exploring inside the cyclone.

The various biomes all have their own distinct enemies and challenges, with a combat system that feels like a remarkable blend of Dead Cells and Hades. Players can pick up two weapons and two special abilities, in a system that anyone who played Motion Twin’s previous work will be immediately familiar with.

Abilities range from standard fare like grenades and gooey bombs, all the way through to spinning vortexes of death that shred up anything in their path. Much like in Dead Cells, abilities operate via a generous cooldown system that encourages you to use every madcap tool in your arsenal as often as possible.

Players are able to carry two different weapons at any given time that can be used in tandem with one another as part of an excellent new mechanic in Windblown that allows for extra-powerful combo attacks. Whether you leap into battle with kunai in one hand before sweeping in with a heavy sword for a spin attack, or utilise a rhythm based bow and arrow and stealthy dagger, different weapons work together in very different ways for bonus effects and devastating blows.

Another element that sets Windblown apart is the speed of the thing. The likes of Dead Cells and Hades aren’t exactly slow games, but thanks to one of the most satisfying dash mechanics I’ve ever seen in any game ever, runs in Windblown can quickly turn into lightning-fast battles of might in which your character rarely stops to touch the ground.

As if this sense of speed wasn’t enough, Motion Twin have gleefully added to the chaos by introducing multiplayer. You can grab up to two mates and drag them through the world with you in what quickly becomes screen-filling non-stop carnage that is an absolute adrenaline-fueled blast. I didn’t get to play as much multiplayer as I might have liked during my preview, but I have a strong feeling this is going to develop a huge multiplayer following.

All of which to say: Windblown is a game that looks, plays, and feels phenomenal. It’s a roguelite made by people who spent years building and improving one of the very best the genre has ever produced, and has already managed to come out of the gate swinging with big new ideas and an unrivalled sense of pace. You’re going to want to watch this one very closely.