Bad Ending
Survive the island, but leave the curse to haunt those who come after.
In Dead Cells, the "Bad Ending" is a narrative conclusion where the Prisoner defeats the King but fails to break the island's curse. After slaying the comatose monarch in the throne room, the King's corpse violently explodes, destroying the Prisoner's host body. The Prisoner's head crawls out from the burning fragments of the destroyed throne and exits through a fountain's drain, which leads back to the Prisoners' Quarters. There, the resurrected Prisoner ponders the consequences of the King's death. This outcome represents a personal victory overshadowed by the ongoing tragedy, as the cycle of death and resurrection continues unabated, with future prisoners doomed to repeat the same struggle indefinitely.
- Subject Type
- Narrative Conclusion
- Primary Antagonist Defeated
- King
- Core Status
- Intact and Operational
- Prisoner Fate
- Resurrected in Prisoners' Quarters
- World Status
- Cursed Cycle Continues
Lore & Background
The Prisoner awakens in the depths of the island's prison, suffering from amnesia. A soldier encounters the Prisoner and mentions that they can no longer die. The Prisoner tries to escape the prison, but their head is forced back to the depths as soon as its body is destroyed. Between subsequent escape attempts, the Prisoner learns that the island was once a mighty kingdom that fell when a plague known as "The Malaise" transformed most of the kingdom's citizens into mutated monsters. After escaping the Prisoners' Quarters, the Prisoner decides to kill the island's reclusive King, believing that his death will cause something on the island to "change." While leaving the Quarters, the Prisoner meets with the Collector, a hooded figure that trades Cells in exchange for items and weaponry. After fighting through the island's Malaise-infected locales, the Prisoner reaches the King's throne room and succeeds in slaying the comatose monarch. However, the King's corpse violently explodes in the process, destroying the Prisoner's host body. The Prisoner's head crawls out from the burning fragments of the destroyed throne, where it exits the throne room through a fountain's drain. The drain leads back to the Prisoners' Quarters, where the resurrected Prisoner ponders the consequences of the King's death.
In Their Own Story
The Prisoner awakens in the depths of the island's prison, suffering from amnesia. A soldier encounters the Prisoner and mentions that they can no longer die. The Prisoner tries to escape the prison, but their head is forced back to the depths as soon as its body is destroyed. Between subsequent escape attempts, the Prisoner learns that the island was once a mighty kingdom that fell when a plague known as "The Malaise" transformed most of the kingdom's citizens into mutated monsters. After escaping the Prisoners' Quarters, the Prisoner decides to kill the island's reclusive King, believing that his death will cause something on the island to "change." While leaving the Quarters, the Prisoner meets with the Collector, a hooded figure that trades Cells in exchange for items and weaponry. After fighting through the island's Malaise-infected locales, the Prisoner reaches the King's throne room and succeeds in slaying the comatose monarch. However, the King's corpse violently explodes in the process, destroying the Prisoner's host body. The Prisoner's head crawls out from the burning fragments of the destroyed throne, where it exits the throne room through a fountain's drain. The drain leads back to the Prisoners' Quarters, where the resurrected Prisoner ponders the consequences of the King's death.
Reader's Guide
To reach this conclusion, the Prisoner must fight through the island's Malaise-infected locales and reach the King's throne room. The player must succeed in slaying the comatose monarch. Upon the King's defeat, his corpse violently explodes, destroying the Prisoner's host body. The Prisoner's head then crawls out from the burning fragments of the destroyed throne and exits through a fountain's drain, which leads back to the Prisoners' Quarters. There, the resurrected Prisoner ponders the consequences of the King's death. This outcome represents a personal victory, but the cycle of death and resurrection continues, as the Prisoner's head is immortal and will return to find another corpse. The game's permadeath system means the player loses all weapons and upgrades obtained in a playthrough upon dying, excluding a few permanent items.
Did You Know?
- The Prisoner is an amorphous creature capable of possessing dead bodies, and its 'head' is immortal while the bodies it possesses are not.
- The island was once a mighty kingdom that fell when a plague known as 'The Malaise' transformed most of the kingdom's citizens into mutated monsters.
- The Prisoner decides to kill the island's reclusive King, believing that his death will cause something on the island to 'change.'
- Upon slaying the King, his corpse violently explodes, destroying the Prisoner's host body and forcing the Prisoner's head to return to the Prisoners' Quarters.
- The Prisoner suffers from amnesia upon awakening in the depths of the island's prison.
Frequently Asked Questions
What triggers the Bad Ending in Dead Cells?
This outcome occurs when the Prisoner defeats the King without destroying the Core. While you kill the monarch, the island's curse remains active because the source of resurrection is untouched.
What happens to the Prisoner's body upon killing the King?
The King’s corpse explodes violently, completely obliterating the Prisoner’s current host form in the throne room. Despite this destruction, the Prisoner survives through their regenerative abilities.
Where does the cycle restart after this victory?
After escaping the burning debris via a fountain drain, the resurrected Prisoner wakes up back in the Prisoners' Quarters. This signifies that the loop has reset despite the King’s death.
Does defeating the King stop the curse?
No, because the Core remains intact and operational throughout this sequence. The tragedy continues as new prisoners will suffer the same fate without a permanent solution.
Why is this considered a failure despite winning?
It represents a personal victory overshadowed by the ongoing tragedy of the island’s mechanics. You survive, but you leave the curse to haunt those who come after you.
More in Narrative & Timeline
Elsewhere in the Dead Cells universe
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