Guillermo del Toro wants Dead Cells to go easier on elderly players — someone tell him Assist Mode exists

Guillermo del Toro, director of Pan's Labyrinth and Pacific Rim and a familiar face in Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding universe, has a bone to pick with Dead Cells. In an IGN interview tied to Pan's Labyrinth's 20th anniversary theatrical return this October, the 61-year-old filmmaker made a heartfelt plea to Motion Twin: please make a version without the brutal respawn loop, for the sake of older players.

Del Toro was effusive about Dead Cells' world design and called it "really interesting," but drew the line at its roguelike structure. "You get 35 levels in, and then you start again," he said. "You get faster, but please, please do a version without respawning for the older, for the elderly players. I'm available. You can contact me and send it to me. Please, I beg you. Because I like the world, great design." It's a genuine, funny appeal — and also slightly ironic, because Dead Cells already has exactly what he's asking for. Motion Twin added an Assist Mode in 2022, which includes a Continue Mode that lets players respawn from their last save point instead of restarting the entire run from scratch.

Del Toro's comments land in the middle of an ongoing debate about optional difficulty settings in games — one that flares up every time a new Soulslike drops and most recently reignited around Yacht Club Games' Mina the Hollower, which ships with dozens of optional modifiers letting players tune the challenge up or down. Del Toro has been vocal about his gaming tastes for years, name-dropping Left 4 Dead, Red Dead Redemption, Metal Gear Solid, and Death Stranding — though he acknowledged he might be a little biased on that last one, given his cameo in the series.

Somebody needs to send del Toro the patch notes from 2022. The mode he's begging for has been sitting in the game for three years.