The Ultimate Collaboration: Dead Cells' Exciting Crossovers with Beloved Games like Hollow Knight
Evil Empire's COO discusses Dead Cells' unique approach to crossovers with indie games, emphasizing the importance of unity while steering clear of becoming another Fortnite
Highlights
Dead Cells' success is partly attributed to its crossovers with other indie games, allowing it to reach wider audiences and introduce unexpected gameplay twists.
The developer, Evil Empire, proactively reaches out to fellow indie game developers via email, asking to incorporate their characters and weapons into Dead Cells as part of exciting collaborations.
Although crossovers provide enjoyment, Dead Cells aims to go beyond that and not solely rely on them. The primary emphasis is on the game's original universe, compelling story, and captivating characters. Future updates will primarily focus on enhancing gameplay and introducing a fresh perspective to the game.
Dead Cells has become a widely recognized name in the roguelike genre, selling over 10 million copies and captivating players since its early access days in 2017. While the game's success is undoubtedly due to its exceptional quality and unique take on the roguelike formula, its collaborations and references with other indie games have also played a significant role in spreading the game's popularity.
Evil Empire COO Benjamin Laulan recently discussed Dead Cells' numerous crossovers and references in an interview with Game Rant. These crossovers have incorporated content from popular indie games such as Hollow Knight, Hyper Light Drifter, and Risk of Rain, among others. Laulan emphasized the importance of indie games collaborating with each other to compete with larger AAA releases. However, he made it clear that Dead Cells does not aim to become a "crossover game" like Fortnite or Dead by Daylight.
Indie Games Like Dead Cells Have to Stick Together
Indie game developers prioritize building strong communities, both with their audiences and fellow developers. They often exchange advice, offer feedback on works in progress, and engage in exciting collaborations between their games. According to Laulan, featuring other games in Dead Cells is often as simple as reaching out to a friend working on another indie game via email. Through crossovers with games like Hollow Knight, these studios can expand their reach to wider audiences, while also introducing unexpected gameplay elements.
At some point, I realized that we have many friends in the indie game industry whom we deeply admire and respect. So, I thought, why not do something special for our audience? Initially, I planned to surprise them with Christmas presents. Hence, I started contacting my acquaintances and expressed my admiration for their games. I explained that we were working on Dead Cells and proposed the idea of including their characters and weapons in an indie friends update. We sincerely wanted to showcase their creations alongside ours.
The experience was incredible. It was always a dream of mine to incorporate Hollow Knight and Hotline Miami into the game. We had the idea and thought, "Why not ask? Just send an email and see what they say." Sometimes, it's that simple.
Laulan also mentioned that Castlevania: Symphony of the Night played a significant role in inspiring Dead Cells. Therefore, the Dead Cells Castlevania DLC was a perfect way to come full circle and introduce content from a game that has been the cornerstone of metroidvanias, roguelikes, and other action-packed side-scrolling games.
Dead Cells Doesn't Want to Be Fortnite
On the contrary, Laulan emphasized that Dead Cells does not aim to center its identity around crossovers. Unlike Fortnite, which heavily relies on crossovers to attract players with a wide range of skins from popular franchises, Dead Cells has a different focus.
While we have enjoyed participating in several crossovers and appreciated the experience, our intention is not to become solely known for that aspect of the game.
We are distinct from Fortnite, with our own world, narrative, and unique characters that we deeply cherish and intend to explore further. Our goal extends beyond just collaborations. While there are certainly remarkable games that we admire and may consider incorporating into Dead Cells, our current focus lies in experimenting with diverse gameplay styles. We are committed to allowing adequate time for development, potentially leading to a longer process, in order to craft a fresh and innovative perspective for Dead Cells.
While crossovers may not be completely ruled out for Dead Cells, upcoming updates will primarily concentrate on expanding the original universe and story, along with general gameplay enhancements, rather than introducing more cameos. With 35 major updates already released since its launch, Dead Cells shows no signs of slowing down. You can currently enjoy Dead Cells on Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
