Dead Cells developer shows off upcoming roguelite Windblown and its stylish, fast-paced 3 player co-op

A new trailer from the PC Gaming Show highlights some key bits of new gameplay from Windblown, the next game from Dead Cells developer Motion Twin. Notably, Motion Twin wants it to be not just a good single player roguelite, but a cooperative one for up to 3 people.

First highlighted is Windblown's ultra-high-speed dashes courtesy of a convenient back-mounted thruster carried by all three playable protagonists. They're dang fast, blasting through multiple screens of the isometric-view action in seconds and arcing players over enemy attacks. You'll also be able to switch weapons mid-run, and swapping to a new weapon after the end of a full combat will let you pull off a stylish "ultra attack." 

There's also a bit of multiplayer footage, during which Motion Twin's community manager explains how you can blend your character's build with your co-op partners to get a variety of choices. There's even a slick moment where one character distracts the enemy with a longer-reach attack while the others wail on it from behind, and another where all three players sync up a stylish dash attack to take down a big buzzsaw robot.

Motion Twin's goal with Windblown was to adapt the ultra-fast, ultra-smooth style of Japanese action games like Devil May Cry and Bayonetta to a multiplayer format. "There are roguelites where multiplayer is cool, I can play with my friends, but I cannot do that stylish Japanese action that goes super fast," said designer Yannick Berthier to PC Gamer earlier this year.

Motion Twin's prior hit Dead Cells is considered a genre-defining action roguelike and has remained on top of the heap for the six years since its 2018 release, racking up a half-dozen well-received expansions including last year's licensed Return to Castlevania.

You can find Windblown on Steam.