On the surface, little in common can be seen between Dead Cells and the Cobra Unit: the former is an action rogue-like video game on steroids, while the latter is a group of antagonists from the Metal Gear Solid series. Deconstruct them, however, and interesting parallels between two games may be found both in gameplay mechanics, in themes, and in the emotive experiences they create.
Gameplay: Action Quick vs. Strategic Combat
The game Dead Cells is, in fact, a Metroidvania game using the rogue-like mechanics with you playing as the “Prisoner,” traversing procedurally generated levels. Your combat is fast, the controls are very tight, and you have a plethora of arms and abilities which keep you on your toes. You must move level by level, completing it in order to reach bosses, and along the way you’ll have to gather upgrades for the character.
Cobra Unit : This, unlike the unit that was producible in game, is not really quite an existent Cobra Unit in the classical sense since it doesn’t really exist according to definition for a real enemy team. In fact, the unit was made out of bosses from the Metal Gear Solid 4 video game. All of its people have their own character and fighting style, thereby representing power and background. Players come across the Cobra Unit in Snake’s mission and then fight their way through bosses before strategizing and emotionally being in it. Every fight is half mechanical prowess and half fight with the inner workings of the character, always story-driven.
Comparison: Dead Cells is more of a game that is speed and agility oriented since it enables the player to execute fast, smooth combat with as many varieties of enemies as are available in the game, peaking at certain parts and rewarding only those individuals with loads of skills and adaptability.
The fights, however, are much more strategic in combat and adapt to each individual boss’s unique ability. The fights themselves are memorable, not necessarily due to their difficulty, but also because each boss seems to represent a different theme; from pain to war to personal sacrifice.
Themes: Longevity vs. Emotional Depth
Dead Cells is an end game about death and rebirth and freedom. In Dead Cells, you can just imagine being in some endless cycle of death and rebirth, moving around within this world full of dangers and mystery. What will propel the game forward through a series of challenges to that eventual death is going one step closer to mastering mastery.
Cobra Unit: The entire members of the Cobra Unit in Metal Gear Solid 4 reflect all the things involved with war, loss, and sacrifice. With The End representing the power of destruction of time and patience and with The Pain having the powers due to a past tormented with pain, each of these boss battles brings about some deep, psychological and emotional factors. These themes fit the broad narrative of Metal Gear Solid 4, which, both carries the cost of war as well as a personal struggle of its characters.
Comparison
Dead Cells is very far from deep and theme-filled storytelling and much more focuses on the feeling of advancement and survival. Where stories appear, the main reason to push the player is to be as hard as possible with the extra bonus of presenting something different every time it’s played.
The Cobra Unit in MGS4 is one piece of a much broader, more emotionally heavy storyline. Every battle leads to emotional ramifications of suffering and abuse the characters experience, which can differ in perspective from the action playthrough that Dead Cells does.
Design: Procedural vs. Set Encounters
Dead Cells is actually quite the rogue-like game because levels are procedurally generated, meaning they’re randomized, ensuring that no two runs at all will be alike and that keeps the game ever new, assuring replay as it tosses new environments and challenges to the player from every run.
Cobra Unit: The Cobra Unit is found in Metal Gear Solid 4. These are sections of scripted missions in which every boss is set in place for what a particular theme or narrative point the story wants to convey at the time. Battles do not serve to be those kinds of random encounters; rather, they’re almost endless replayability.
Comparison
Dead Cells has a great replayability feature through procedural generation, where fresh and random challenges are ready every time a player plays.
The Cobra Unit is very well-defined since its story has each boss to be part of the story, not some encounter with an arbitrarily generated foe.
Visuals & Art Style
Dead Cells: Game graphics is rich pixel art, very detailed and fluid. Each biome has a different visual atmosphere. Silky smooth animation, beautiful crafting for nostalgic yet modern aesthetic for the environments.
Cobra Unit: The Cobra Unit bosses in Metal Gear Solid 4 are quite visual with each designed to fit their powers and personalities. It was the best in its time with graphics: really detailed character models, beautiful cinematic cutscenes, and great boss designs.
Comparison
Dead Cells relies on its retro pixel-art style to make it aesthetically pleasing to people who love old-school games yet offers modern fluidity and animation.
Cobra Unit is more cinematic storytelling and detailed character designs that are fitting into the greater and the more realistic art style for Metal Gear Solid 4.
Replay value & Emotional Impact
Dead Cells: Because of the procedural generation and random progress it affords, Dead Cells possesses high replay value. That is because players come again and again to master those challenges, experiment with different builds, and discover new secrets.
Cobra Unit: Boss battles are memorable but not as replay-based on emotion and storytelling. Once done, these encounters are now part of the story and are now part of Metal Gear Solid 4’s overall plot.
Comparison
Dead Cells is very good at replay value; each run can bring different surprises and challenges to players, encouraging the players to come back again and again.
This has the emotional payoff of the back stories and how the Cobra Unit is connected to the Metal Gear story itself; one time, but quite impactful.
Conclusion
A Study in Different Approaches to Gaming
Where the backgrounds of Dead Cells and the Cobra Unit come from very different worlds, one based on rogue-like progression and the other from story-driven boss fights, comparison reveals a distinct approach to bringing excitement or emotional depth into a game. Dead Cells will keep a player on their toes regarding its random, fast-action nature. The cinematic storytelling and substance of the Cobra Unit make it pull through whereas the two are unique enough to be remembered in their distinct genres while providing a certain challenge for the players who would want to enjoy it.
