Games available on mobile devices often carry the stigma of being more casual or less challenging than console and PC titles. Dead Cells apparently didn’t get that memo. A far cry from cozy farming simulators and brain-bending puzzle games, Motion Twin and Evil Empire’s undead action-adventure platformer is a thumb-blistering romp that’ll happily reduce you to a pulpy pile of viscera over and over again.

Of course, Dead Cells: Netflix Edition piles the corpses even higher, as it includes free access to not only the original indie hit, but the many DLC expansions that have come since it first started eviscerating players in 2018. So if you’re a brave gamer with a Netflix subscription, read on to discover just how rewarding it can be to repeatedly die in Dead Cells. (Check out 9 other all-time-great games on Netflix.)

What kind of game is Dead Cells: Netflix Edition?

Dead Cells’ deeply challenging, albeit endlessly engrossing, gameplay stems from its ambitious mix of genres. For starters, it adopts a retro style that’ll feel familiar to anyone who spent their formative years tethered to a Nintendo Entertainment System. Heavily inspired by classic side-scrolling series Castlevania and Metroid, it tasks you with navigating increasingly complex levels brimming with baddies just begging to have their progress thwarted.

But on top of bringing back the old-school difficulty and labyrinthine design of those 8-bit favorites, Dead Cells mixes in a bit of permadeath for good measure. A defining element of roguelike games, such as Dark Souls and Elden Ring, this progress-foiling feature not only sees you dying repeatedly, but also robbed of your precious resources and revived at the game’s starting point upon each untimely demise.

How do you play Dead Cells: Netflix Edition?

While its early hours will see you regularly flayed from brain stem to belly before being booted back to the beginning, Dead Cells’ brutal death loop isn’t all doom and gloom. In fact, frequent deaths are a defining part of its core design; learning from each failed run is how you move through its story and, ultimately, make progress. 

Armed with a sinister assortment of blades, bows, and other bloodletting devices, you’ll explore the game’s maze-like dungeons, acquiring fresh intel with each mutant slayed and new area discovered. Leveraging a lightning-quick dodge roll and double-jump maneuver, you’ll not only suss out enemy weaknesses, but also loot valuable resources — like cells, runes, and blueprints — leading to upgrades and perks that’ll stick with you on successive runs. 

As you gain new knowledge and tools, gradually leveling up to make each attempt easier, you’ll find yourself flying through monster-infested stretches that once stopped you in your tracks. That is, until you encounter any of Dead Cells’ many bosses. These tank-like, towering behemoths won’t just crush your newfound confidence, but will unceremoniously return you to the grind until you devise a strategy worthy of their time. 

What’s the main story of Dead Cells: Netflix Edition?

When not being obliterated by foes of the fanged, horned, or clawed variety, you’ll unravel the narrative justification for your existence in Dead Cells’ death loop. While the game’s story isn’t especially deep, its compelling setup — combined with its absorbing gameplay — makes you determined to see it through. 

As the twisted tale goes, the protagonist is a headless pile of sludge dubbed “the prisoner.” In addition to making him an awkward dinner date, the antihero’s sloppy state allows him to inhabit fresh corpses, before using the unfortunate husks as hosts. 

But our sludgy friend isn’t simply possessing expired strangers, only to have them killed again for fun. As you’ve probably surmised, the prisoner is incarcerated from the story’s start; what you might find surprising, however, is the fact that his jail is actually a sprawling former island paradise infested with plague-ridden civilians. Needless to say, escaping this living nightmare is as high on his priority list as discovering why he’s essentially become a murky puddle. 

How long does it take to beat Dead Cells: Netflix Edition?

Much like Dead Cells’ amorphous antihero, time can become a bit of a blur while you’re engrossed in the game. But while the intoxicating promise of making incremental progress with each run might see you missing your bedtime, don’t be surprised if 15 or so hours actually pass before you put the final boss in its place.

That said, digging into all the included DLC could double that clock-neglecting commitment. Netflix subscribers not only get free access to the base game — ad-free with no in-app purchases or extra fees — but they’re encouraged to continue satisfying their death wish with all previously released Dead Cells expansions: The Bad Seed, Rise of the Giant, Fatal Falls, The Queen and the Sea, and Return to Castlevania.

Where can I download Dead Cells: Netflix Edition?

Netflix subscribers can play Dead Cells: Netflix Edition ad-free and with no in-app purchases and no extra fees by downloading it via the App Store or Google Play store to their mobile device.

What compatible devices can I play Dead Cells: Netflix Edition on?

Netflix subscribers can play Dead Cells: Netflix Edition on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch running iOS/iPad OS 15 or later or an Android phone or tablet running Android 8.0 or later.

Check out Dead Cells: Netflix Edition and more from Netflix mobile games.