Dead Cells: Fatal Falls — Is it worth it?

Just when you thought Dead Cells couldn’t get any bigger, it, uh, did anyway. Again. Following up on the heels of the game’s Bad Seed expansion, which added two new early-game levels and a boss, the new Fatal Falls expansion does the same, but with mid-game levels. The game already had a ton of variety with a lot of great biomes so a couple more are always welcome. But you’re likely wondering if the new levels feel like overly familiar permutations or are more unique than that. Therefore, the question stands: is it worth it?

Fatal Falls’ new levels can only be accessed via defeating the Concierge or Mama Tick. As such, if you beat Conjunctivius, you won’t have access to Fractured Shrines, which is the first of the two new biomes. To put it simply, there is no Dead Cells biome quite like this one. The entirety of it is floating in the sky and it has some new things going on. For one, you’ll find larger areas connected by thin pathways floating over the abyss. It seems that this expansion gets its name from the fact that you’re going to be at greater risk of falling while on these pathways. The biome is not only interesting to explore, but lovely to look at.

Just watch out! There are pressure plates that swing a hammer that can knock you to your doom. Yes, yes, Fatal Falls indeed. Another interesting addition is a giant, initially inanimate guardian that comes to life once you get close to it. The big lug is easy enough to deal with since he only stomps, which isn’t hard to avoid. That being said, he does a fair amount of damage. Once you beat him, you can raid his stores, which have lots of treasure and a bit of lore. You can even find a new pickup in the form of a talking, summonable sword. Neat!

Knee deep in the dead

Once you get through Fractured Shrines by either possessing the body of a cultist or returning later with the cultist outfit, you’ll be granted access to Undying Shores, the second new biome. This is another unique one, as it places you in a creepy laboratory that’s been built into a sort of mountain. While you move your way down the outside in the pounding rain, you’ll have to contend with large summoners that, while not all that threatening on their own, can summon allies (duh). One of these is an archer that can decimate your life bar. This area is undoubtedly interesting and also contains new bits of lore and an interactable spot that requires you to place a scroll.

After you’re out of Undying Shores, the new content in Fatal Falls comes to a conclusion with an all-new boss battle against the Scarecrow. As they’re a mid-game boss, don’t expect them to go down as easy as Mama Tick. This guy absolutely wrecked me the first time I fought him, as his attacks are fast and extremely dangerous. Plus, he’s got explosive mushrooms on his side. This DLC is the exact same quality as the rest of Dead Cells, so it’s easily worth it for anyone who wants to add even more variety to their runs.