Dead Cells lead developer Sébastien Benard, who also has credits on well-received titles like The Rogue Prince of Persia and the recent Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, is coming out with a new game called Tenjutsu. Rather than the cartoonish fantasy of Dead Cells, Tenjustu seems to be adopting a slick urban aesthetic, reminiscent of the likes of Hotline Miami and The Hong Kong Massacre in its style and vibe.
At the same time, you can definitely see some of Dead Cells' DNA in Tenjutsu. The 2D beat-em-up is, surprise-surprise, a roguelike, adopting the same run-based structure as Benard's previous work. Tenjutsu also showcases the same vibrant, colorful pixel-art visual philosophy that Dead Cells follows, combining explosive visual effects with cleverly designed 3D sprites made to appear 2D. The result is an incredibly smooth and striking aesthetic package, one that stands out against a sea of other "retro-inspired" titles. Tenjustu's gameplay is a little bit harder to judge at-a-glance, but if it's anything like Dead Cells', then audiences could be in for a treat indeed.
Soulslike games still find ways to challenge the established formula, and these titles took some of the boldest swings yet.
The widely discussed phenomenon of roguelike fatigue isn't lost on me. As someone who loves all game genres, and who has a generally high tolerance for roguelikes (two of my all-time favorite games are Slay the Spire and Hades ), even I can admit that the template has gotten a bit stale in recent years.
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