The latest update to Dead Cells has been released, adding a boss rush mode that lives up to its name. This mode offers players four stages:

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There is a new area in the Prisoner's Quarters, where it will not be hard to find a door with a big red boss head next to it. After passing through this door, there are four more stages. Each boss within each stage is progressively tougher than the previous one, and by "enhanced" we mean "more limbs, more resilient, easier to get killed by your friends, and so on... good stuff!" meaning, "I'm more powerful, I'm more resilient, I'm easier to kill by my friends, etc.

One of Dead Cell's usual upgrades is given between each stage, but this mode comes with amulets and additional build choices. In addition, between each battle, there are stores, items, weapon upgrades/rerolls, mutation rerolls, and replenishment of stamina.

The new mode of course has new goodies, which are unlocked based on the difficulty level achieved. One of these is a new weapon, the Glyph of Peril, which has a 7-hit combo, with the third hit being a critical hit, but the full combo is only unleashed if you take damage. There is also a new taunt that drives enemies crazy and increases melee damage by 75%.

Other additions include new mutations, eight new skins, and, oddly enough, a statue of yourself (!) that you can upgrade as you progress through the boss rush stages. etc. There are also all the usual balance tweaks, which you can read about here (opens in a new tab): I enjoyed the money shooter weapon tweaks." Pay-to-win": if you kill a target, the cost of the shot is paid back; can be triggered multiple times if you kill multiple enemies with one shot."

"Dead Cells" is a model of how to support a successful indie game, and the pace of updates has yet to slow. In fact, developer Motion Twin says that 2023 will be "by far the biggest year."