BY LOGAN SCHLOSSER
STAFF WRITER
Today I have the pleasure of talking to you about my favorite game to waste time. The game that I am talking about here is Downwell. I can describe this game as a rapid-paced experience; and this a game can last anywhere from one minute to thirty. The description I would also give this game would be “randomly-generated-fun”. I would give this game this description because your game experience is legitimately different every single time. The enemies are randomly spawned, same with the levels you experience! So, with the introduction out of the way, lets get more in depth with this game!
Alright, so I feel because this is a video game, I should be talking about the actual gameplay first. So in this game, as the name suggests, you are legitimately falling down a well! The main mechanic of this game is the gun boots that are strapped to your feet as you descend. These boots have many different upgrade abilities and mechanics as you travel fast down the well. On the mechanics side, you have a certain amount of ammo you can use, but it will reload once you land on a solid object. You will use these spectacular boots to traverse the well—mostly because they will allow you to slow fall and not just plummet into all of the enemies that will try to take your health away. Speaking of heath, you only have four hit points as you travel down, but these can be refilled as you travel down the well. You also have the ability to change the type of shots your boots shoot by picking up little upgrade modules. Now, each of these will usually contain an ammo upgrade or a health refill. But more importantly, they will always change how your boots function, making the game so much more fun! Lastly, as you destroy the enemies that are below you by stepping on them, they will always drop some sort of currency. This currency can be used in the shops that you will find occasionally to purchase health upgrades and ammo upgrades! Now, because I don’t wanna spoil too much of the game, let’s move onto the next paragraph.
Well, as I like to do in the reviews I write, I will be talking about the art style. I feel as though the art style of a game will really pull it together. Even if the gameplay is fun, I feel a game can only be good if you pair that with a good art style. This game’s art style is what would be described as 8-bit. The game also has a two-color color palette that can be changed as you progress through the game, so what can motivate you to continue playing the game is to unlock more color palettes, as well as this simple graphic design. You do not need the most powerful hardware in the business to play this comfortably, so that makes the game a lot more opening to new players hoping to join the PC gaming community
Anyways, there is so much more I would like to tell you about this game, but I don’t wanna spoil the experience that you can have with this game. So if my review made you want to pick up a copy of Downwell, I gladly recommend you do.