![]() ![]() That means you can plan ahead if you want to, never having to rely entirely on reflexes.Īs you move through the distinct areas, each with their own enemies, traps and possible layouts, the skills required shift slightly. There's never a point at which you're falling blind because whatever algorithm is at play ensures that at least one visible block or platform is always generated at the bottom of the screen. The first relates to the randomised nature of the levels. Two features stand out as evidence of the game's intelligent design. Every detail of the game works toward communicating an understanding of your situation, even when the pace becomes almost impossibly fast. There's no correct way to play and a speedy, stompy free-fall can be as effective as a tactical descent in which you harvest every enemy and break open every item. It's great for clearing an area of baddies but it will also knock out all of the nearby destructible blocks, often leaving you plummeting a fair way down, with no chance to pause and take stock.Īnd the genius of Downwell lies in the fact that sometimes you won't want to pause and take stock. None are explicitly harmful but the one that causes enemies that you stomp on to explode can be a double-edged boot-blade. They're the most Isaac-like part of the game – snappy little alterations to the main character that change the way the game plays and either help or hinder. It's the other type of power-up I'd like to see more of, the ones that you receive at the end of a level. The handful of gun mods are fine – none of them are useless and any additional ones would be slight variations on what already exists. You might find the laser in the first treasure room you discover or you might not find it at all, and if you pick up a shotgun mod early on and then ditch it, you might come across it again later in the same playthrough. Importantly, they're not upgrades, they're alterations. Each of the modules is useful against specific enemy types, meaning that it's handy to have some in the late-game (should you get that far) when certain critters appear, while others are handy in the early game, with its tortoises, frogs and bats. There are a few different modules for your gunboots, either spreading fire, concentrating it, or altering range and accuracy. The limited number of power-ups is a slight concern. Downwell is fast, challenging and rewarding. ![]() While it's frustrating when a skellington kills me during a decent run (or should that be drop?), the slot machine of pick-ups usually provides another good character build within the several fresh attempts spread across the following fifteen minutes. It's one of those games in which death is such a small obstacle that I find myself in a loop of failure and restart that threatens to last an entire day. By design, the game only takes place of a small vertical strip of your screen but it uses that space perfectly if Downwell were a property developer, it'd be able to fit a swimming pool and home theatre onto a plot of land most people would struggle to cram a bedsit into. The overall effect is more like a Vlambeer game than Spelunky – shooting, jumping, smashing and dodging all feel weighty and juicy. At times it feels like a vertical shooter in reverse and at other times it becomes a mini-platformer, but the beauty of it is that everything feels just right. Where much of the joy in Derek Yu's game comes from the various elements interacting with one another – you lob a rock at a bat and set off a chain reaction that ends with you bouncing onto some spikes – Downwell is a much tighter experience. There are shopkeepers to agitate, bats frogs to dodge, and the underworld becomes weirder and weirder as you make your way through it.ĭownwell's similarities to Spelunky are superficial though. Both games are made up of randomised levels and involve a distinct downward trajectory. But why is it brilliant? The superb Spelunky is an obvious point of comparison. I've been plumbing the depths for a couple of days and here's wot I think.ĭownwell is brilliant, that much was clear after fifteen minutes in its company. You shoot straight from the soles and there are various powerups that change the spread or strength of your pedal-projectiles. ![]() ![]() Equipped with a pair of gunboots, you're making your way right down to the bottom of a well, blasting objects, terrain and monsters that block your path. In Downwell, there's only one way to go. ![]()
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