Dead Cells’ New DLC Launches Today

More than three years after Dead Cells emerged from the sludge of early access, the roguelike’s third piece of DLC has launched on all platforms. The new expansion, The Queen and the Sea, adds two biomes, new enemies, and a new boss. The new DLC has a very pretty animated trailer which you can view below.

Both new biomes are inviting players to take part in some nautical nonsense. The Infested Shipwreck will take players through a spooky ghost ship which is haunted, per the press release, by “unforgiving eldritch horrors.” The Lighthouse, the second biome, introduces a time-trial element where players will attempt to ascend to safety as fires rise below them and enemies attempt to slow their progress. These new levels run parallel to the High Peak Castle and Throne Room levels and culminate in a challenging new final boss, The Queen. In addition to the new biomes and boss, The Queen and the Sea adds a new pet, the Leghugger. This creature can be summoned in to help with tough battles and evolves over time.

The DLC also includes a variety of new weapons. Per the press release, those include “a new Hand Hook that throws enemies into walls, The Abyssal Trident, which is a hidden treasure in the depth of the shipwreck attainable by a secret side quest, and The Queen’s Rapier: a powerful weapon that slices through reality.”

The Queen and the Sea concludes the story told in Dead Cells’ previous DLC installments, The Bad Seed and Fatal Falls. But, just because it’s the conclusion of that storyline, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the end of Dead Cells. In 2019, original developer Motion Twin handed the ongoing development of new content for the game over to Evil Empire, a new studio founded by former members of the Motion Twin team. Motion Twin remains involved in stewarding Dead Cells, while Evil Empire handles the bulk of development.