ABANDONED: Downwell

[kjorteo]

There was a limited time thing where this game was 100% free on the Play store, so I grabbed it because literally why not. "Because it's a mobile port and those never have playable controls" is why not, of course, but it was free and shut up.

Anyway, Downwell is a procedurally-generated pixel action game about trying to make it as far as you can before you die. There are powerups to be earned between levels and in stores, but you start from scratch with every new run.

I tried and kind of bounced off of The Binding of Isaac years ago because this particular formula isn't really to my tastes. In BoI's case, I guess I was expecting a game with checkpoints or saveable progress that could eventually be beaten, and the "do a fresh random run and get as far as you can" approach makes it hard to feel like I'm actually accomplishing anything. This isn't to say these sorts of games are bad or that it's a failing with them; rather, I think the lesson here is just that Roguelikes are not my genre.

So it is with Downwell, which I tried a few times and then got frustrated with the controls, because of course I did, it's a goddamn mobile port. However, unlike games that I might still be interested in if they were presented in a more playable format (I recently re-purchased Anodyne on Switch; we'll see how that goes if I ever get around to it someday) I just... really didn't care about this one enough to want to bother reuniting with it elsewhere. Sorry.

Comments

[dorchadas]

I've played Downwell on mobile, and only sporadically because of the controls. How did they adapt them, if at all?

[kjorteo]

I've only ever played the mobile version either, but I would assume it's the difference between virtual touchscreen buttons and the real thing. I don't know if the Steam version wants you to jump/shoot with Space or Shift or Z or maybe it has a controller support, but I can't imagine any possible layout they could come up with that wouldn't be a dramatic improvement over those on-screen clickables.

[renegadefolkhero]

I just started playing around with this over the weekend. It's a genre mashup of Stuff I Like but it still didn't quite grab me, though I may poke at it from time to time.

I actually decided not to buy Anodyne for 99c on Switch. I bought the original game on release, but ended up getting stuck or hitting a glitch or something. Curious to know your thoughts if you get to it.