#Downwell palette list upgrade

All There in the Manual: The protagonist is only ever named and gendered in the crossovers noted above.

The game's lead would also become a fighter in Indie Pogo and Fraymakers.ĭownwell contains examples of the following tropes: Gameplay is centered around making your way to the bottom of the well, shooting or jumping on anything that tries to get in your way.ĭeveloped by Moppin, published by Devolver Digital, and released in late 2015, it is available on Steam, mobile phones, PlayStation 4, Play Station Vita, and Nintendo Switch. Numerous enemies and a few hazards make this trip more dangerous than your standard falling down a well, which is why the unnamed protagonist brought their gunboots along.

Though each run is technically different, they all start to feel the same.This is certainly not the usual Timmy in a Well.ĭownwell is a game about falling down a well. Unfortunately, the journey to that level of proficiency feels like a grind. This moment-to-moment challenge is fun, and the later levels (and final boss) put your skills to the test. This lets you fine-tune your approach, but once you earn good ones (like levitation), the urge to experiment diminishes.ĭownwell 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. Your choice of style changes how aggressive you can be, how fast you fall, how many shops appear on your way down, and more.

#Downwell palette list upgrade

For instance, boulder style has more health and a rapid descent, but gives you fewer upgrade options at the end of a stage. Selected at the beginning of a run, styles have different properties that impact your approach. You also have access to different styles, which are the only permanent unlockables worth exploring. The default visuals have a clear “red is bad, white is good” setup, but many of the additional palettes make that distinction much harder to read, muddying the action. The most common item you unlock is new color schemes, which usually make the game worse. I expect to start fresh in games with roguelike elements, but Downwell doesn’t have enough persistence and progression in other areas to keep me excited about diving back in. No matter what power-ups you gather, you lose them when you die. The drone and gem attractor are great, but how many balloons and hot shell casings do you need to grab before they show up? You are never deciding between several power-ups that you want you’re crossing your fingers that one of the good ones shows up. However, the pool of options is ultimately disappointing. Completing a stage presents you with a random selection of upgrades, which initially had me excited for all of the possible builds and combinations. The more time you sink into the experience, the less rewarding it becomes. That makes it easy to play in short bursts, but it doesn’t hold up over the long haul. Your attempts – especially the early ones – are brief, so bad runs can be over in moments, while good ones last 20 minutes or more. When you die, you just start over at the beginning, but the trial-and-error does not feel punishing. When does your ammo refill? Which gun types are the best? You find these answers over the course of your first few runs. That’s okay, since I loved learning the mechanics and finding tricks (like the wall-jump) on my own. The game isn’t complicated, but it also doesn’t explain its intricacies. My favorite part of Downwell is the early discovery phase. You plummet, weave, stomp, and shoot while collecting gems and avoiding hazards on your way to the bottom of each level. The controls are simple and responsive, and striking a balance between speed and safety is entertaining. score) and health bonuses for chaining kills together without touching the ground. Even though you can fire bullets, your best offensive move is stomping on foes, since you get gem (i.e. You fall down vertical stages in a procedurally generated well, using multi-purpose gunboots to slow your descent and take out enemies. Though it borrows elements from platformers, top-down shooters, and roguelikes, Downwell has its own unique feel. This retro-styled hybrid provides short and replayable bursts of action, but the well isn’t deep enough to swallow you up.

Whether it’s another battle, race, or mission, practically every genre has the power to hook us and keep us coming back for “just one more try.” Exactly what creates the irresistible urge to keep playing is hard to pinpoint, but Downwell attempts to tap into it. Every dedicated gamer knows what it feels like to get absorbed in an experience.