by Omar (@siegarettes)

• Downwell
• Developer - Ojiro Fumoto
• Publisher - Devolver Digital
• PC (Steam), iOS

“Downwell is a game about a young person falling down a well, battling enemies with gun boots, and sometimes visiting shops.” -Downwell Official Site

I’m generally not one to use the game’s tagline, but that’s about as succinct as summary as you’ll get. Developed by Ojiro Fumoto, Downwell is most aesthetically confident and complete game I’ve played since FOTONICA. That extends from the artwork all the way down to the feeling of each moment of play. I first witnessed it at Chicago Bit Bash, and even within the truncated time I spent with it felt GOOD. 

Downwell is broken into sessions, with each death bringing you back to the start and giving you a new set of layouts to drop through. So each session is spent learning how to adapt whatever abilities you come across to the new situation, and you’ll slowly learn its tricks until you’re free falling down the stage without ever touching the ground. It’s a punchy loop of slowing your descent with well timed gun fire, bouncing off enemies to recharge it and keeping that streak going as long as possible. 

There’s a well thought out visual language to it as well. The three colors (provided in a myriad of unlockable palettes, from the original red and black to the familiar GameBoy greens) communicate information immediately. Enemies shaded on the underside can be jumped on, enemies with outlines of one color cannot. The whole visual language of the game carries that immediacy, and alongside some very expressive animations, never stops impressing. There a strong sense of weight to the feedback provided here, and every jump or well timed shot feels like a small victory. 

That’s important, because you might never actually see the ending of this game. The challenge here is steep, and will likely keep anyone but the most dedicated from seeing everything there is. As a result it feels more like something you carve away at, understanding it better with each session, continually rediscovering it. Every new trick, item, style or enemy you find changes how you approach it. In the end, that’s what sticks about Downwell. It’s about what you discover on your way down.