Downwell

Hover mouse over screenshots for commentary.

August 2016

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!

You play as the little guy. Those blobs are big, fat targets for either your bullets or your feet.	At the top left is your hit points. You can choose to start with 6 life instead of 4, but there is a price for that.	At the top right is your money. Enemies drop some upon death and you have to collect it.
You can pick a power up after each level. That red laser coming from the character increases accuracy and makes so the bullets go further.	On the right is your ammo count. It's different for each weapon. You can increase the amount of ammo as you go along.	There are big bonuses for getting combos.
It eventually gets to the point where there is literally no ground and enemies are everywhere.		The third batch of levels are underwater, and you need to continually get air like in the old Sonic games. It's a pain.

(Part of) the final boss.	Oh man, that's a rough game over.	Hey, the bottom of the well!

The Therapist Gamer

Downwell

You play as the little guy. Those blobs are big, fat targets for either your bullets or your feet.

At the top left is your hit points. You can choose to start with 6 life instead of 4, but there is a price for that.

At the top right is your money. Enemies drop some upon death and you have to collect it.

You can pick a power up after each level. That red laser coming from the character increases accuracy and makes so the bullets go further.

On the right is your ammo count. It's different for each weapon. You can increase the amount of ammo as you go along.

There are big bonuses for getting combos.

It eventually gets to the point where there is literally no ground and enemies are everywhere.

The third batch of levels are underwater, and you need to continually get air like in the old Sonic games. It's a pain.

(Part of) the final boss.

Oh man, that's a rough game over.

Hey, the bottom of the well!