Dead Cells: Return to Castlevaniais the fourth paid DLC pack for the main game. It followsThe Bad Seed,Fatal Falls, andThe Queen and the Sea. Each expansion brings a plethora of new content into the experience, from new characters, levels, and weapons. The thing the previous DLC packs lacked was nostalgia, though.
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TheDead Cells: Return to Castlevaniatrailer that premiered during The Game Awards show in 2022 was beyond hype. There’s nothing players love more than cross-promotional material when it makes sense, andCastlevaniacontent indeed makes sense. Of the many new additions and changes made to the core game, these are the best to highlight.
This list includes some spoilers
7Classic Character Cameos
The initial trailer for this DLC revealed Richter and Alucard helping the nameless hero in the core game. They do indeed appear as cameos in this DLC and with plenty of dialogue. Alucard, out of all the cameos, perhaps has the most lines in the game. Another big cameo is Shanoa fromOrder of Ecclesia.
She takes the place of the normal vendor in theupgrade room ofDead Cells: Return to Castlevania. Who else is in the game? That would be spoilers, but they are all great on some level and should get that nostalgic blood pumping.
6Costumes To Play As Your Favorite Heroes
There is another cool thing about the cameos. Most of the core heroes can be unlocked ascostume skins inDead Cells: Return to Castlevania. One of the first ones players can unlock is Maria fromRondo of Blood,although she looks more like theSymphony of the Nightversion. She can be rescued in a prison within Dracula’s Castle as long as players obtain a key.
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After rescuing her, players can then get Maria’s costume as a blueprint to unlock with Shanoa. Other prominent hero skins include Trevor and Sypha from the third game,Dracula’s Curse.
5Richter Mode
Not only does Richter appear in the DLC, but he is also playable. Unlike the other costume skins, getting Richter will unlock his very own mode. The self-entitledRichter Mode will turn Dead Cellsinto an even moreCastlevania-like adventure.
The control scheme, for example, will change to the more classic action platformer entries before things went in a Metroidvania direction withSymphony of the Night. This new mode doesn’t feature new areas on top of the already new content, but it is an interesting addition, to be sure.
4New Levels
Dracula’s Castle is the biggest addition to the game as it is one of the aforementioned levels. It’s a level within several levels. Players can activate the DLC by running into Richter within the starting prisoner area ofDead Cells. Richter will tell the player what’s going on and to head past him.
Past Richter will be an exit to the castle’s outskirts, which then leads to the core of the castle. It’s a great reimagining of this classic castle fromtheCastlevaniaseries. Those two levels are the biggest, but there are stages for bosses as well, along with side areas within each of these examples.
3New Bosses And Enemies
There are two big bosses within the game, and they are the obvious ones. Players will get to fight Death along with Dracula in two forms. Death will stop players from reachingDracula inDead Cells: Return to Castlevaniainitially, which is when Alucard will explain the way to circumvent Death’s grasp. Dracula’s addition is great because he will randomly appear to taunt the player once they are inside his castle.
Dracula will even pull Psycho Mantis-like moves fromMetal Gear Solidto mess with the player, like flipping the castle upside down. There are some mini-bosses as well, along with a plethora of classic enemies from the series. Plus, there are Easter Eggs for other bosses, such as the Legion boss which has shown up in severalCastlevaniagames.
2New Weapons
One of the best reasons to getDead Cells: Return to Castlevaniais for the new weapon unlocks. Players can get costumes as was mentioned already. They can also get weapons like the Bible, Throwing Axe, and other iconicCastlevaniaweapons to fight through hordes of monsters.
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One of the coolest weapons in the game is Death’s Scythe, which can be obtained after defeating the boss. Killing an enemy with Death’s Scythe will turn them into a ghost that will then attack other enemies. Those are only the surface-level Mutations inDead Cells: Return to Castlevania,but there is so much more to love.
1Classic Castlevania Music Remixed
Dead Cells: Return to Castlevaniafeatures several new arrangements of some classic tunes from the series. For those wondering, yes, “Vampire Killer”, “Bloody Tears”, and “Beginning” are covered inDead Cells: Return to Castlevania. “Vampire Killer” is from the first game which featured Simon on the NES.
“Bloody Tears” is fromSimon’s Quest, also featuring Simon Belmont, although his sprite design changed between sequels, so it is kind of hard to tell. “Beginning” is from the third game,Dracula’s Curse, which is where Trevor Belmont came into play. It’s also the game theNetflixCastlevaniaanime adaptationis based on. Pretty much everyCastlevaniagame in the series gets a musical nod in this DLC.
Dead Cells: Return to Castlevaniawas released on Jul 29, 2025, and is available on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
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