Dead Cells

Motion Twin's 2018 roguelike moves like a fighting game. Runs are fast side-scrolling sweeps through a branching castle, and the whole design is tuned around not stopping: rolling through enemies, dropping through floors, and doors that seal behind timers so hesitating costs you the reward. Weapons come in scaling colours tied to three stats, so a build is really a decision about which two you commit to, and pairings matter more than raw numbers - a freeze grenade plus a critical-on-frozen blade is a different game to a bleed-and-run setup. Death sends you back to the start with your cells spent on permanent unlocks, so the pool of possible weapons grows across dozens of runs. The route itself is a choice: harder biomes hold better gear. Five boss stem cells raise the difficulty ceiling well past what most players finish. It stayed in active development for years past release with substantial free updates plus paid DLC, and it remains the best-feeling 2D combat in the genre.