Permadeath

Gameplay in Dead Cells is akin to a "RogueVania", a combination of the game terms "Roguelike" and "Igavania" It involves intense 2D action with the ever constant threat of Permadeath, in a world full of deadly creatures.

With every new run of the game, the map is randomly generated. Each time you die, you start again from the beginning. Unlike most games, the ability to re-spawn isn't just a game mechanic. The in-game explanation for your ability to re-spawn is that you are a sort of immortal blob of flesh that leaves its body when it has taken enough damage, goes down a pipe and gets a new body. The blob is presumably the head of a decapitated prisoner considering how it always returns to an execution room or perhaps it isn't and it just realizes that this is a good place to find headless bodies.

You do lose most of your progress when you die. All your gold, Cells, skills, blueprints, statistics augments and weaponry. You only keep the upgrades bought from "The Collector" at the end of each level, and a bit of gold if you have permanent upgrades that allow you to keep a percentage.

For more info about the shop see Cells