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Downwell |OT| Footwear firepower (Downward roguelite shooter from Devolver,PC/mobile)

M

More_Badass

Member
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http://downwellgame.com/
Launch Trailer
$2.99, Steam / iTunes / Android

Downwell is a curious game about a young man with guns for boots venturing down a well in search of untold treasures.

Make your way further and further down into a darkness filled with nasty creatures and mysterious secrets and collect the spectacular red gems scattered about the rocks. Step into an oddly placed shop to buy some helpful items or level up between caverns to battle well dwelling monsters and uncover hidden caves filled with riches and relics. No two trips down the well are ever the same!

- Gun Boots: Blast your way through crumbling stone and cranky creatures as you fall further and further down the well. Unlock new weapons and upgrades for your high-powered footwear from snazzy lasers to powerful shotgun bursts.

- Gems & Upgrades: Release the shiny gems locked within the rocky terrain or tucked inside the creepy inhabitants of the well to purchase special items or forge on to special checkpoints to unlock weapon upgrades like friendly drones and red-hot bullet casings.

- Creepy, Crawly Baddies: The well is crawling with enemies that want nothing more to stop you in your gun boot tracks! Battle everything from slimy worms and frogs to menacing skeletons and cave trolls!

- Unpredictable Well: The well itself is full of surprises; changing with each new trip down its formidable walls – no two adventures are exactly alike for our young hero.

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Just bought it, really fun and replayable. I think this may take the spot away from geometry dash as my go to addicting arcade experience on my phone.
 
Really enjoying this. It's inspired by Spelunky and Vlambeer games (and Rami at Vlambeer even called it one of the best games of PAX East) and it definitely captures the frenetic feel of those. The shooting is punchy and satisfying. But you can't just fire mindlessly because you only have X amount of charges for your boots, and they only recharge once you land

The upgrades have all been really cool so far, ranging from causing blocks to shoot bullets when destroyed to recharging your boots when you collect gems, or having your boosts have rocket boosters when you run out of charges in mid-air

There's a a few extra mechanics, like a Gem High that boosts your bullet damage when you collect enough gems or stomping on enemies Mario-style to kill them
 
Does the game have a good amount of content? It definitely looks like something I'd enjoy, but the price point makes me nervous. I'd rather pay more for a fuller experience than something that just leaves me wanting a lot more.
 
If it's 2.99 on Steam as well, I'll be sure to buy it today. It looks and sounds fun!

Update: Ok, I've bought and played a few rounds and it's great so far! If you liked Spelunky you'll like this!
 
Very cool game so far from the ~15 minutes I played.

Definitely having some frame rate issues whenever there's a lot of on-screen action though which in a game of this type can get in the way.
 
Damn this game is good! The comparison to Spelunky is spot on. An incredibly tight design.

What does it mean when it says "GEM MAX" at the top of the screen?
 
FlyinJ said:
Damn this game is good! The comparison to Spelunky is spot on. An incredibly tight design.

What does it mean when it says "GEM MAX" at the top of the screen?
Click to expand...
You mean GEM HIGH? In that state, you get an attack buff as long as you keep the meter filled by collecting gems
 
Game is soooooo good. Controls work better than they have any right to on an iPhone 6. Music is rad. Serious Metroid and Cave Story vibes when playing this. I've been enjoying the Boulder mode, as I like jumping on enemies; feels like descending sections in Metroid games.
 
dangerskew said:
Game is soooooo good. Controls work better than they have any right to on an iPhone 6. Music is rad. Serious Metroid and Cave Story vibes when playing this. I've been enjoying the Boulder mode, as I like jumping on enemies; feels like descending sections in Metroid games.
Click to expand...

What do you mean by boulder mode? afaik jumping on enemies is the main mechanic of the game.

I have boulder style but he plays just like all other characters. Farthest I've got is 4-1. I'm not sure I can beat that one tbh.
 
drotahorror said:
What do you mean by boulder mode? afaik jumping on enemies is the main mechanic of the game.

I have boulder style but he plays just like all other characters. Farthest I've got is 4-1. I'm not sure I can beat that one tbh.
Click to expand...
Boulder Style:
starts with more HP (6)
less upgrade options

It doesn't change the game significantly or anything, but it lets me jump on stuff a little more aggressively than I feel I can in the default style.
 
dangerskew said:
Boulder Style:
starts with more HP (6)
less upgrade options

It doesn't change the game significantly or anything, but it lets me jump on stuff a little more aggressively than I feel I can in the default style.
Click to expand...

Right, I just thought you meant it did something different when jumping on enemies.
 
We are all in agreement that Knife and Fork is the best upgrade right?

Also, these fucking bats are killing me so often. It's similar to the Spelunky bat AI but they come in at all the angles that are neigh impossible to dodge, and they NEVER give up.
 
Looks really cool but extremely hectic with just three colors. Was hard to follow what was going on in that trailer. Anyone playing it having that problem or is it something you learn to overcome?
 
Glitchesarecool said:
Looks really cool but extremely hectic with just three colors. Was hard to follow what was going on in that trailer. Anyone playing it having that problem or is it something you learn to overcome?
Click to expand...

Only sometimes when a whole bunch (3-5) surround you and you are desperately shooting does it become hectic. And in that case you die anyway. Otherwise, I have no trouble keeping up.
 
PurpleMoustache said:
We are all in agreement that Knife and Fork is the best upgrade right?

Also, these fucking bats are killing me so often. It's similar to the Spelunky bat AI but they come in at all the angles that are neigh impossible to dodge, and they NEVER give up.
Click to expand...
Knife and Fork is great when I feel like taking things slow and methodical. I also really like the Rocket Jump upgrade which can really save your ass when you're in a bind. Adds an interesting layer of strategy too, since jumping kills the platform you're standing on (if destructible).

Bats are tricky, but at least you can jump on them.
 
Nice to see I can rely on More_Badass to put in the OT work for small stuff like this. I'm really enjoying this so far!

Strangely enough, the pixel art, enemy design, and other visual touches, such as having an aura surround you as you're falling fast and chaining ala the Speed Booster, keep giving me Metroid vibes. Even the moment to moment rhythm of carefully falling down a well with frequent enemy occupied platforms and special side rooms compounds those feelings further. It's something I wasn't expecting from this game going into it, and it manages to evoke those games stronger for me than actual, recent metroidvanias like Ori and Axiom Verge.

It has gotten pretty hectic even in World 1, but the controls are so tight and the feedback is so satisfying that I'm eager to keep playing and see if I adjust. Even though I like to challenge myself by going faster, I do like the idea that the pace is variable and up to the player. Also, I've noticed that a world can feel pretty lengthy for a fast score chaser like this. But I've only made it as far as World 2-1, and I'm assuming its the usual 5 Worlds fare.
 
Played this for like 4 hours so far.

I can see myself playing this for like a hundred hours.

FLAILING ARM MAN IS THE BEST
 
This is the mobile game I was waiting all year for. Downwell is a damn fine game.

I can't wait to see what Ojiro (@moppin_) does next!
 
Bought it based entirely off Twitter hype, sight unseen. I've learned to buy any mobile game that gets hype. Gotta play them while they are topic of conversation nation
 
My Xbox One controller hates this game. Dude keeps running to the right. Controller works fine elsewhere. Win 10 64
 
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