After hundreds of years, the coffin lid instantly shifts. Mud cascades and pachinko balls scatter, the lord of vampires Dracula emerges, and a bunch of startled Konami workers look over at submitting cupboard C. Wasn’t that dude in a recreation as soon as?!?
Final weeks noticed the discharge of Dead Cells’ Return to Castlevania DLC (opens in new tab), a whip-cracking sprint by a long time of Castlevania historical past that each showcases developer Movement Twin’s really feel for the collection and, frankly, makes you a bit unhappy Konami hasn’t carried out something notable with the collection in practically a decade (outdoors of the superb Netflix anime).
Konami’s Tsutomu Taniguchi was the supervisor of the Return to Castlevania venture, and refers to it as isekai: A fantasy sub-genre the place a personality instantly finds themselves transported into a brand new world or setting.
“Is ‘isekai’ a buzzword? As a result of that is how I’d outline this storyline,” Taniguchi said in a new interview with IGN. “Let’s simply say that Dracula’s Citadel teleported on the Beheaded’s Island and what occurred on the island stays on the island.”
The collaboration obtained its begin at 2019’s BitSummit convention in Kyoto, which Movement Twin and writer Evil Empire attended hoping to discover a accomplice to promote the sport in Japan, earlier than taking the possibility to pitch Konami the extra full-on collaboration. “Since Useless Cells had ‘respectfully stolen’ so many parts from the collection already, equivalent to: the whip, the important thing artwork with the citadel, the meals hidden in partitions… […] the pitch shortly become a full DLC proposition,” stated Evil Empire’s Benjamin Laulan.
“When Evil Empire and Movement Twin got here again with their full-DLC proposition as a substitute of simply this brief that includes [initially plans were less ambitious] we weren’t actually stunned and we had been hoping for that to be sincere,” stated Konami’s Taniguchi. “And we simply thought we needed to allow them to go full circle, as a result of we knew they might use each ounce of their expertise to honor the franchise. And likewise, I personally admit I simply actually needed to see what a struggle in opposition to Dracula in Useless Cells would seem like!”
As for the plain query, Taniguchi dances round it a bit of, referring to the Castlevania Anniversary Assortment and the Castlevania Advance Assortment of older titles, in addition to numerous cell and console re-releases. However come on. “We all know that our followers at all times need extra, and we do too, so this chance to have this wonderful crossover with Useless Cells was not possible to go up on,” stated Taniguchi, alongside referencing the “pleasure and enthusiasm of the followers on-line” being “actually motivating for [Konami].”
OK and… and…?!? I am not going to say Taniguchi become a bat and flew out of the window, however he might as properly have. Every part must be taken in context nevertheless and Konami, one senses, is slowly feeling its method again into the assorted collection it is left alone for too lengthy. The writer did just lately shock with its renewed dedication to Silent Hill (a Silent Hill 2 remake (opens in new tab), a new title set in 1960s Japan (opens in new tab), and Silent Hill Townfall (opens in new tab) from NoCode), whereas rumours of Steel Gear remasters have now been floating round for years.
Castlevania stays beloved, and the success of video games like Useless Cells and Vampire Survivors reveals the urge for food for modern twists on its mechanics and stylings. “Followers at all times need extra, and we do too,” stated Taniguchi. Effectively yeah Konami. However you lot are those who can do one thing about it.
