Dead Cells leaves Early Access on August 7, so let's have a look at the new trailer

It's been a little over a year since Dead Cells, "the old school Castlevania gone roguelike" as Shaun described it, debuted on Steam Early Access. It's come a long way since then, with a new biome and monsters, daily challenges and abilities, and a new level and boss, and today developer Motion Twin announced that it will finally leave its pre-release state behind and go into full release on August 7. 

"We’re super stoked to see people play Dead Cells 1.0," the devs said. "However, the journey doesn’t end there as we’re still working on Dead Cells to bring you new content, as promised before, and are dedicated to improve mod support." 

There's also a little note that while the release date is definitive, it is not valid "in case of fire, flood, or zombie invasion." Talk about hedging your bets.

Shaun took Dead Cells for a spin shortly after it hit Early Access last year, and even at that stage he found it impressive. "While there was little in Dead Cells that surprised me, there was a lot that compelled me to keep playing it," he wrote. "It’s as moreish and punishing as the sub-genre demands, but the small evidences of polish and inspiration are what sets it apart from the rest of the pack." 

The standard digital edition of Dead Cells goes for $25/£21/€25, on Steam, GOG, and the Humble Store, and there's also be a boxed edition available, with a concept art book and soundtrack, for preorder for $35 or your regional equivalent.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.