Downwell

A well, a three color palette to display the visuals, and the recreation of that horrible dream where you're falling forever, only with a bit more control. That's Downwell in a nutshell, the latest game to go from iOS and mobile darling to a handheld...

Downwell is at its best when you’re bounding from one enemy to the next, blasting through obstacles, and frantically scanning for a safe path through the chaos. This moment-to-moment challenge is fun, and the later levels (and final boss) put your skills to the test. Unfortunately, the journey to that level of proficiency feels like a grind. Though each run is technically different, they all start to feel the same.

Downwell is a simple and fun 2D platformer. Its unique gameplay makes it fast-paced and challenging, and its roguelike qualities keep it from growing bland or frustrating. Spend a little time with this game and you may get hooked...

More retro than even the most faithful of retro releases, Downwell is a 2D platformer flipped on its side and packed full of fast-paced action, with glorious and largely black and white visuals and an especially unforgiving level of difficulty at times.

It's this emphasis on challenging choices mixed with frenetic action and high stakes that make Downwell so much more than an amusing arcade jaunt. While at its most hectic Downwell recalls the mad scramble of a high score chaser like Woah Dave! or Luftrausers, but it doesn't forget to let you catch your breath as you descend feet-first into the darkness. This mix of deliberate micro-decisions and relentless rumbles make Downwell a gem of minimalist game design. It's the best £2.29 you'll spend on a game all year.

Downwell is a fantastic arcade game from the ’80s transplanted into a modern-day computer. The pixely art style and minimal color palette reinforce its influences but the animation and number of different moving parts on screen at once are nothing 80s hardware would have been able to keep up with.