Dead Cells Checkpoints Debate Flares After Guillermo del Toro Request

Image: IGDB

Store links: Dead Cells on Steam, Dead Cells: Fatal Falls on Steam

Motion Twin’s answer is simple: the checkpoint option already exists

Dead Cells developer Motion Twin has responded to Guillermo del Toro’s plea for a version of the roguelite with less punishing respawns by pointing him toward a feature already in the game: Assist Mode. In a statement shared with IGN, the studio said it was “surprised and truly honored” to learn that del Toro plays Dead Cells, then explained that Assist Mode can let players resurrect at the start of the current biome or the closest checkpoint rather than restarting the whole run.

That response turns a celebrity quote into a sharper design argument. Del Toro, speaking with IGN as part of its IGN30 Icon Series, praised Dead Cells as “really interesting” and called out its world and design, but said he “hate[s] respawning” because a run can send players back to the beginning after deep progress. His request was playful, framed “for the older, for the elderly players,” but it landed on one of Dead Cells’ most sensitive pressure points: the restart is part of the genre’s identity, while the ability to soften that restart is already part of Dead Cells accessibility design.

There is no new Dead Cells mode announced in Motion Twin’s response. The confirmed news is narrower and more useful for players: Motion Twin says the game already contains tools that address the exact frustration del Toro described.

What del Toro asked for, and why Dead Cells is the perfect flashpoint

According to IGN, del Toro said he liked Dead Cells’ world and design, but wanted a version “without respawning.” Kotaku, covering the same IGN interview clip, quoted him saying that after getting “35 levels in,” the game can send you back to the start, even if repeated attempts make you faster. The number is part of his off-the-cuff description rather than a technical breakdown of the game’s structure, but the feeling will be familiar to anyone who has watched a confident Dead Cells run collapse after one ugly room.

Dead Cells is a particularly potent game for this complaint because its combat is readable, responsive, and inviting in the way the best action-platformers are, while its run structure belongs to roguelite design. IGN describes it as one of the better known roguelite games and says its 2018 release helped popularize the roguelite-metroidvania blend. Kotaku similarly identifies it as Motion Twin’s 2018 Metroidvania roguelike. The labels differ slightly, but both point to the same tension: this is a game about getting better through repeated failure, yet it also has the tactile appeal of a handcrafted action game players may want to simply continue exploring.

That is why “Dead Cells checkpoints” has become a loaded phrase. For one player, a checkpoint is an accessibility feature that keeps fatigue, age, disability, or limited free time from ending a session. For another, it risks sanding down the exact consequence loop that gives every cursed chest, elite enemy, and low-health push its bite.

Assist Mode is not hypothetical, and it is broader than checkpoints

Motion Twin’s statement to IGN specifically directs del Toro to Assist Mode, saying it can allow resurrection at the current biome or closest checkpoint instead of a full-run restart. IGN adds that Assist Mode was introduced in version 2.9 and lets players customize difficulty-related settings, including resurrecting from the last save point rather than restarting an entire run. Kotaku dates the addition to 2022 and says the update included a “Continue Mode” that lets players respawn from the last save point.

The wording across the reports is slightly different. Motion Twin’s quoted statement emphasizes the start of the current biome or closest checkpoint. IGN’s surrounding explanation and Kotaku’s report refer to the last save point. The shared point is clear: Dead Cells already provides a way to reduce the penalty for death, even if players may not know it is there or may not think of it as the mode del Toro requested.

IGN also reports several other Assist Mode options. Players can slow trap activation, lengthen parry timing windows, and use an auto-hit mode. Those details matter because the Dead Cells difficulty conversation is often flattened into a single question about whether failure should reset progress. In practice, the game’s accessibility settings touch timing, execution, repetition, and run preservation. Those are different kinds of friction, and players can struggle with one without wanting the entire combat model rewritten.

The identity question: when does forgiveness change a roguelite?

The strongest argument against easier Dead Cells checkpoints is also the reason the game works so well. A Dead Cells run is built on compression. Every mistake follows you. Health flasks, scroll choices, weapon rolls, biome routing, enemy knowledge, and panic decisions accumulate until the run either sharpens into mastery or falls apart. If death loses too much force, some players worry the game becomes a different kind of action-platformer.

That concern should not be dismissed as gatekeeping by default. Roguelite friction is craft. Dead Cells asks players to learn enemy arcs, animation timing, cooldown rhythm, and biome hazards under pressure because pressure makes those lessons sticky. The restart is a teacher, sometimes a rude one. It is also the reason a clean late-game room can feel electric.

The counterargument is equally grounded in design. Optional assists do not erase the standard rules for players who want them. They create a wider set of entry points into the same combat system. Dead Cells’ Assist Mode, as described by Motion Twin and IGN, is not a blanket replacement for the base game. It is a menu of modifiers, which means the player can preserve the parts of the game they value while reducing the parts that make play impractical. For an older player, a player with slower reaction timing, or someone who simply has one hour after work, keeping a run alive from a checkpoint can be the difference between engaging with Dead Cells and bouncing off it entirely.

Accessibility has become part of Dead Cells’ long tail

This exchange lands differently because Dead Cells is no longer a fragile new release trying to define itself. IGN notes that the game launched in 2018, earned a 9.5 out of 10 from the outlet, and has continued to receive updates, crossovers, and content years later. That long support window has turned Dead Cells into a living indie success story, and Assist Mode is part of that history rather than a reaction to del Toro’s interview.

Kotaku places del Toro’s comments inside a wider and recurring games conversation about optional difficulty settings, the kind that often reappears around Soulslikes. The outlet also points to Yacht Club Games’ Mina the Hollower as a recent example that reignited debate because it includes many optional modifiers that can make the game easier or harder. Dead Cells sits comfortably in that modern design space: a demanding game that lets players adjust certain demands without pretending the adjustments are invisible.

That distinction is important. Accessibility is often discussed as if it only serves players who cannot meet a game’s default challenge. In action games, it can also help players isolate the kind of challenge they enjoy. Some Dead Cells players want boss mastery but dislike losing an entire run to a trap sequence. Some want exploration and build experimentation without the mental tax of a full reset. Some want the default rules forever. A well-labeled assist suite can serve those groups without making them share the same save file philosophy.

The practical read: no new update, but check your settings before quitting

For players who saw the Guillermo del Toro Dead Cells clip and thought Motion Twin might be teasing a new version, the available reporting does not support that. IGN’s story says Motion Twin responded by highlighting the existing Assist Mode. Neither IGN nor Kotaku reports a newly announced update, release date, platform change, or paid add-on tied to del Toro’s request.

The useful takeaway is immediate. If Dead Cells difficulty has kept you away, or if repeated full resets are the specific point of pain, look for Assist Mode in the current game before deciding it is not for you. Based on Motion Twin’s statement to IGN, the mode can reduce the restart penalty by reviving you within the current biome or near a checkpoint. Based on IGN’s additional description, it can also alter timing-heavy elements such as traps and parries, along with auto-hit support.

For purists, nothing in the reports indicates the standard Dead Cells experience is being replaced. For everyone else, del Toro’s plea is a good reminder that even famously sharp games can hide the tools that make them playable for a broader audience. Dead Cells remains Dead Cells because its movement, weapon feel, enemy design, and escalating risk are so carefully tuned. Letting more players decide how much punishment they want to attach to that craft does not have to weaken it. Used thoughtfully, it can make the game’s best ideas easier to reach.