The Therapist Gamer

Downwell

Downwell has an extremely basic premise but it's expertly executed.  Basically, you fall down a well to progress through levels and shoot bullets down at enemies.  If enemies are white then you can jump on them, but if they're red then you can't.  You get just four hits points, and killing enemies gets you money you can spend on upgrades.

 

The reason the game works so well, I think, is because it's easy to catch on to but very difficult to master.  Initially players just try to get through the levels (which are tough), but you eventually learn that there is a combo system.  What this means is that the longer you can go without touching the ground the more money you get.  All of the weapons have a limited amount of shots, but they refill when you either land on the ground or kill an enemy by jumping on it.  So to expertly play the game you have to balance shooting enemies, avoiding the ground, and jumping on enemies before your ammo runs out.  It's quite addictive!

 

I really can't fault Downwell in any department.  It's great for what it is.  The only possible complaint I have is that there are significant difficulty spikes towards the end, to the extent that I imagine few people have beaten the game.  But maybe that's the allure!