Top 7 mobile games like Dead Cells

We can’t very well have a list of games ‘similar to…’ when it comes to Metroidvanias without mentioning one of the originators. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night broke the mould when it came to Konami’s vampire-slaying franchise by not only changing the focus from the Belmont dynasty to Dracula’s son, Alucard but also vastly altering the formula of previous games in the series.

Before Symphony of the Night, each Castlevania game followed a familiar, side-scrolling monster-battling structure. Players, as one of the Belmont family of vampire hunters who arose to battle Dracula when he returned, would journey across the land to reach the vampire count’s castle or begin there directly. You’d move through the levels collecting power-ups and battling bosses, all while dodging traps, enemies and Medusa Heads.

The Castlevania series was unashamedly linear, which is why it’s no surprise that - even more so than standouts such as the Lords of Shadow Series - Symphony of the Night is considered so unique, and genre-defining. Alongside Metroid it codified the pseudo-RPG nature of gathering new equipment, abilities and upgrades to progress through the map, as well as introducing interactive merchants, developing stats and more.

But, you’ve already heard all this before. Writing about why Symphony of the Night was so transformative for Castlevania and why it’s such a landmark of the industry might as well be a rite of passage for writing about video games. But what about the mobile version?

Developed once more by Konami, Castlevania: SotN is functionally the same as you’ll find most versions of it to be. Given that the original was created for the PlayStation gamepad, you won’t need to worry about a myriad of controls, simply the gamepad and four buttons.

Admittedly, the more compressed picture - a necessity when on mobile - means you miss out on some of that gorgeous pixel artwork, and it lacks features such as scanline simulation available on other ports. But if you adore Dead Cells and want to experience the originator, you can do a lot worse than this mobile port.

As of the time of writing, Castlevania: SotN is available for £2.99 on Google Play and the App Store.

A game jump-started by Koji Igarashi, one of the team - and assistant director - behind Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Bloodstained was intended to evoke the feeling of the original Metroidvanias. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night captures the feel of the original Castlevania: Symphony of the Night title, with the benefit of many years of development and modern design sensibilities.

You play as Miriam, a magic-user called a Shardbinder cursed to slowly turn into living crystal (or..not so much ‘living’, but you probably understand the distinction). To save herself and humankind she must battle through the requisite haunted castle, a staple of Metroidvanias, and slowly accrue powerful new weapons and upgrades to further her adventure.

Bloodstained offers full 3D graphics, and a slightly flashier, animesque visual aesthetic combined with smooth and simple side-scrolling gameplay. In simple terms, it’s a refinement of what SotN offers players, and an equal peer and contender to games such as Dead Cells. Igarashi was a producer on many of the later Castlevania games, like Aria of Sorrow, which developed and drew from the standard set by Symphony of the Night.

Bloodstained is a game that was well-received by fans, and its presence on mobile means that it’s well worth checking out if this is your platform of choice. But, you should bear in mind that this is not the definitive way to play it. Unfortunately, certain DLC is missing and the game has gone a few years without having much in the way of touch-ups.

But what Bloodstained does offer is a fantastic way to experience the Metroidvania format on mobile, and if you’re craving something that offers a more refined take on it after experiencing Dead Cells, this is the game for you!

Bloodstained: RotN is currently available on Google Play for £8.99.

No, this is not a joke, and no we’re not going to apologise. Yes, Terraria is somewhat of a departure from the other Metroidvanias on this list. But if the myriad of craftable weapons, armour and items inspired by Castlevania are any indication, Terraria also owes a huge debt to the same games which inspired Dead Cells. And if you’re looking for an experience that’s similar, but different to, Dead Cells then Terraria may provide the spicing up of a familiar formula that you want.

Terraria is an open-world crafting game in the vein of Minecraft. However, unlike Minecraft players are given a huge variety of weapons, armour and useful items to aid them in the fight against a massive roster of enemies. As you progress through the game and slay bosses, you’ll unlock new resources and further, more difficult enemies to face. A core part of the game is the continuing upgrades unlocking the ability to explore new areas of the map, and when you defeat a certain boss - we won’t spoil which - the entire game changes to “Hardmode”, making it drastically more difficult.

Completionists will also find plenty to work with here, as there are dozens of bosses, unique enemies and random events that can introduce new challenges for players to overcome. This includes not only a Blood Moon (which, as you might expect, dramatically increases the damage and health of enemies) but also more unique events like a Pirate Invasion or Halloween-themed enemies to the mix.

Helping you along the way will be a wide variety of weapons and items that make running, leaping, flying and grappling across the landscape all the more fun. After a few hours, you’ll be having the same kind of fast-paced fun you’ve already experienced, just in a much different package. If you decide to give it a go, you can use some of the Terraria mods that we have gathered.

Sure, it may not be linear necessarily, and the addition of crafting mechanics, mining and all those other hallmarks of the genre may turn away purists, but scratch the surface and the similarities will begin to compound.

Terraria is available, as of the time of writing, from Google Play and the App Store for £4.59 and £4.99, respectively.

Well now, we’re getting somewhat out of the wheelhouse of Metroidvanias. But any discussion of retro vampire-hunting games would be remiss without including the latest hit mobile port, Vampire Survivors. Although deceptively titled (there are no vampires that appear, spoiler alert), it presents an exciting and original take on the survivors genre - and is arguably responsible for its latest popularity.

Vampire Survivors is also dramatically different, as you play from an isometric perspective, moving your character around as they automatically send out spells or use their weapons to take on massive hordes of enemies. As you go you’ll slowly unlock newer weapons and upgrades in each round, aiming to defeat enough enemies and survive long enough to uncover new levels and secrets.

And it’s the latter that we think qualifies it to be said in the same breath as Dead Cells. Once you scratch the surface you find there’s some Metroidvania influence beneath the fast-paced, time-killing horde-slaying of Vampire Survivors. Secret characters, levels and a particular sign you may want to see all allow players to gradually uncover vast new levels and weapons to use.

Not only that, but an upcoming update for Vampire Survivors will also add in more traditional, linear levels for players to work their way through, called Adventures. Although not yet on mobile, plenty of other DLC is - like the Legacy of Moonspell expansion, while the main game is totally free.

Indeed, Poncle has been boastful of their light touch monetisation, and with the only adverts being entirely the player’s choice for an additional revive or bonus gold, you can simply play this game as a purely free experience.

Vampire Survivors is currently free on Google Play and the App Store. DLC is paid.

Billing itself as a ‘Soulsborn’-like, Pascal’s Wager is another game that’s made a big splash and which would appeal to those seeking the kind of hardcore difficulty that games like Dead Cells can offer. Inspired, design-wise, by games like Dark Souls and Bloodborne, this game differs from Dead Cells in that it’s a full 3D, third-person combat title. However, with spacing, movement and dodging being so crucial, quick reactions and forward planning are key.

You play as a ‘Courier’, exploring the requisite post or a rather mid-apocalyptic world where giant creatures called Colossi once roamed, dispelling a black mist. However, as they’ve begun to die, darkness has engulfed the land once more, leaving you to explore and investigate what has happened. It’s suitably grim and foreboding stuff.

Admittedly, the graphics may seem somewhat less impressive compared to Dead Cell’s lavishly retro pixel art, but the grimy, dim-hued world of Pascal’s Wager evokes the kind of gritty aesthetic that many Souls-likes aspire to. And if you’re not familiar with the term, a Soulsborn-like is a game that offers a variety of key aspects, chief among them being grim tone and crushing difficulty. Pascal’s Wager is not exactly a relax and unwind kind of game by virtue of that.

What’s probably most telling is that if you go looking for reactions to Pascal’s Wager, it's in the somewhat enviable position of being billed as “not like other mobile games” because of the density of content and the graphics on display. Admittedly, this comes with a premium price tag attached to it, and the game is not on services such as Netflix - which Dead Cells is - but if you’re considering the games further up on this list, you shouldn’t discount Pascal’s Wager.

Pascal’s Wager is available on Google Play for £4.79.

Now we’re getting into games a lot more like Dead Cells in mechanics as well as the general vibe. Grimvalor is a side-scrolling hack ‘n slash title that evokes the older Castlevania titles masterfully. It plays a lot more simply compared to Dead Cells, but that simplicity doesn’t compromise on difficulty and can make it a fun and engaging way to scratch your Metroidvania itch.

The only thing to keep in mind is that Grimvalor is a fairly older title, although that doesn’t stop it from supporting newer systems and services like Google Play Games, which allows you to play mobile titles on Windows. However, it does show in the graphical department and the retro model of allowing players to go through the first chapter an infinite amount of times but requiring payment to unlock the rest of the game.

But for that, you get five acts worth of gameplay, all wrapped around a quite intuitive combat system and some fairly difficult bosses. Grimvalor is a great way to get that Dead Cells fix without having to get into another run or focus on your build. Instead, you can enjoy a fairly purist side-scrolling action-adventure title with just enough difficulty to make you think.

Grimvalor is available on the App Store and Google Play for £5.99 and for free (pending unlocks), respectively.

Yes, yes, this is quite unusual, similar to Terraria. But once more we must point out the similarities between Cultist Simulator and Dead Cells. Specifically, it’s in the mood of the two and the roguelike aspects of the game. If you fancy something equally oppressive and colourful in the atmosphere, while putting the strange, mystical elements front and centre, this might be the game for you.

Cultist Simulator sees the player taking on the role of…well, a cultist, in a lovingly crafted and rendered 3D card game. The ‘gameplay’ itself may seem simple to begin with, simply keeping track of cards, decaying cards and other resources. But as you progress it becomes trickier and trickier to build up your cult, evade the law, keep your health and simply stay sane. As you progress you’ll uncover a vast web of mystical Lovecraftian entities, with plenty of ways to finish your journey, maybe as a devious cult leader, accomplished artist, scholar or simply locked up in an insane asylum.

You’re expected to lose, and much like in Dead Cells, you’re expected to learn from the experience. Add onto that the minimalist, gothic, Lovecraftian aesthetic and the comparison starts to make more sense. Admittedly you’ll need to be open to the idea of a more wordy and less fast-paced game, but make no mistakes, when things get tense Cultist Simulator can be just as heart-pounding as Dead Cells.

Cultist Simulator is available on the App Store and Google Play for £6.99 and £5.99, respectively.

And with that, our list is at an end. We know there are some oddities here, but if you’re looking to branch out, discover the history of the Metroidvania genre and even try something new but different, these titles should offer a great starting point. Now that we are done with the games similar to Dead Cells, maybe you'd be interested in a list of mobile games like Hades and games like Gacha Life.