- Update 2022 05 31 - 31 May 2022
Much apologies for the looong delay in this much needed fix! This update addresses the issue where the game ran at 45 FPS for some reason. It should be back to running in 60 FPS now. Other changes: More window scaling options Previously the game only let you scale to x4.5 in size but now it should be able to be made bigger Window centers much less often now Removes Steam leaderboards for now Downwell leaderboards have been filled with cheaters with impossibly high scores, and to my shame there's not much I can do about it so I'm removing it for now. Sorry :( I promise to implement a more cheat-proof leaderboards system in my future projects! That's it! Thank you for playing the game :)
- Downwell and Space Hulk: Tactics are coming to Xbox Game Pass for PC - 31 July 2019
Game Boy-style platformer Downwell and board game adaptation Space Hulk: Tactics will be added to the Xbox Game Pass for PC next month. Downwell will be added first, on August 1, with Space Hulk: Tactics coming on August 8. Confusingly, the announcement also lists Slay the Spire as a future Xbox Game Pass for PC game, but it's already there —what's new is that it's being added to the console Game Pass. Xbox Game Pass for PC is currently $5 per month at its introductory price, and offers access to 100-something games through the new Windows 10 Xbox app. One downside is that games which are moddable on Steam probably aren't when purchased through Microsoft. Slay the Spire really is better with Steam Workshop access, so if you like it, you might consider picking it up a la carte at some point. And, obviously, Game Pass being a subscription service means that if y…
- Xbox announces six more titles coming to Game Pass in August - 31 July 2019
If you don't have either Xbox Game Pass or Game Pass Ultimate, it's about time you looked into it, because they're putting Slay the Spire on it next month - and some other games too, I guess. Microsoft has announced August's line-up , which offers a little something for everyone, from witty party games to delightful roguelike adventures. On 1st August, Game Pass for console will get Ashes Cricket and Pandemic . The former is a fast-paced cricket game that boasts a "realistic and authentic" experience, while the latter sets you as a member of an elite disease control team whose goal is to save the world from deadly infections. Read more
- Have you played Downwell? - 22 February 2019
Have You Played? is an endless stream of game retrospectives. One a day, every day, perhaps for all time. Downwell occupies a similar space in my Steam library as Nidhogg . Tense, kinetic, focused, ridiculous. But instead of swordplay, we’re rescuing our cat from the bottom of a miles-deep well while felling innumerable eldritch horrors by bouncing atop their heads. Oh, and you have gun-boots. (more…)
- Twitch Prime's free games for February include Downwell, Dear Esther - 1 February 2019
Twitch has unveiled the line-up of games that Twitch Prime members can download and keep for nowt as part of their subscription in February: Dear Esther, Downwell, The Flame in the Flood, and Draknek & Co Puzzle Collection. It's a strong selection of titles, even if most have been around the block a few times. Enjoyable survival adventure The Flame in the Flood, for instance, has already been offered as a Twitch Prime freebie before. If you didn't snag it then, however, it's definitely worth doing so now. Developed by The Molasses Flood and released in 2016, it delivers a wonderfully atmospheric, and distinctly soggy, twist on the well-worn rogue-lite survival formula. The general gist is that you, along with your trusty canine pal, set forth down a procedurally generated, frequently tumultuous river, stopping off at the occasional island to scavenge supplies, and craft up useful items…
- Nintendo has hired the creator of indie shoot-em-up Downwell - 23 January 2018
Nintendo has hired the creator of reverse-shmup Downwell . As one hawk-eyed ResetEra user spotted, Ojiro 'Moppin' Fumoto tweeted the news out earlier today, though he previously announced the hiring last month on Facebook .  The tweets are in Japanese, but according to my knowledge of Japanese and a little help from three online translators, they roughly translate to: "I got a job at Nintendo! I'll do my best" and "Days are shorter when you're working."  Sadly, this likely won't lead to much for PC gamers, seeing as how Nintendo says it has no interest in putting its games on PC . Even so, it's nice to see a talented indie developer who started on PC take his talents to a big studio. It's also an interesting talking point in the Nintendo Switch gold rush , which has been a huge boon for many indie devs.  As our own Tom Senior wrote in 20…
- Crypt of the Necrodancer, Downwell, Broforce lead this week's Steam sale - 14 November 2017
Although modest compared to last week's mammoth sale, the latest weekly Steam sale is still plenty big at over 300 games. Among them are three great indies, which are marked down by up to 80 percent through Monday, November 20.  The cheapest is Downwell , a 2D action game about collecting items and bouncing on bad guys while falling down a well. At 66 percent off, it's just $1. Which, as Tom will tell you , is a steal for the absorbing hidden depth that this reverse-shmup offers. Crypt of the Necrodancer boasts the biggest discount of the three at 80 percent off. The base game is $3, and as we said in our review , is both an excellent roguelike and a great rhythm action game.  Necrodancer enthusiasts will also find a selection of add-ons on the cheap, chief among them the Amplified prequel DLC , which introduces a new playable character and a fresh dungeon to explore…
- RunGunJumpGun Out, Discount for Downwell Owners - 16 September 2016
Hey gang, our friends at Gambitious Digitial Entertainment and ThirtyThree Games have released the ridiculously awesome RunGunJumpGun and all owners of Downwell get an automatic 25% off the game at checkout on Steam. Enjoy all of the beautifully challenging Running and Gunning that the game’s meticulously handcrafted 120 levels have to offer, and lose themselves in its thumping original soundtrack. Check it out and enjoy! https://youtu.be/rVNtCxmMOdQ http://store.steampowered.com/app/440550/?snr=1_7_15__13
- RunGunJumpGun Out, Discount for Downwell Owners - 16 September 2016
Hey gang, our friends at Gambitious Digitial Entertainment and ThirtyThree Games have released the ridiculously awesome RunGunJumpGun and all owners of Downwell get an automatic 25% off the game at checkout on Steam. Enjoy all of the beautifully challenging Running and Gunning that the game’s meticulously handcrafted 120 levels have to offer, and lose themselves in its thumping original soundtrack. Check it out and enjoy! https://youtu.be/rVNtCxmMOdQ http://store.steampowered.com/app/440550/?snr=1_7_15__13
- RunGunJumpGun Out, Discount for Downwell Owners - 2 September 2016
Hey gang, our friends at Gambitious Digitial Entertainment and ThirtyThree Games have released the ridiculously awesome RunGunJumpGun and all owners of Downwell get an automatic 25% off the game at checkout on Steam. Enjoy all of the beautifully challenging Running and Gunning that the game’s meticulously handcrafted 120 levels have to offer, and lose themselves in its thumping original soundtrack. Check it out and enjoy! https://youtu.be/rVNtCxmMOdQ http://store.steampowered.com/app/440550/?snr=1_7_15__13
- Daily Deal - Downwell, 50% Off - 9 July 2016
Today's Deal: Save 50% on Downwell !* Look for the deals each day on the front page of Steam. Or follow us on twitter or Facebook for instant notifications wherever you are! *Offer ends Monday at 10AM Pacific Time
- Downwell Creator On Designing The Gunboots - 2 June 2016
Downwell is an tight vertical shooter in which no single part of the game is wasted. I’ve tried many times to explain exactly how smart its design is, as has Adam , but it can be hard to appreciate the beauty of a clockwork machine by someone describing cogs and pendulums to you. This recent video from GDC 2016 might help: its Downwell designer Ojiro Fumoto explaining how he designed the game around its “one key mechanic,” the gunboots. …
- The compulsive chain combos of Downwell - 9 March 2016
WHY I LOVE In Why I Love , PC Gamer writers pick an aspect of PC gaming that they love and write about why it's brilliant. Today, Tom stomps, stomps, stomps in Downwell. You've fallen down a hole—bad luck. Fortunately you had the foresight to leave the house in your shiny new gunboots. The kick-back momentarily halts your fall, and gives you a precious few microseconds to spot any animals—bats, wall-hedgehogs and floating blob monsters—that might take offense to your intrusion. All you can do is make the best of your situation as you fall further and further into the abyss. Downwell is an arcade shmup in reverse, with procedurally generated levels and random weapon placement. It's perfectly paced, literally—the speed at which you fall is tuned to be just too quick to parse without great concentration. Your gun-boots are both a killing tool and a means to buy time…
- The RPS Advent Calendar Dec 3rd: Downwell - 3 December 2015
What is the best shooter of 2015? The RPS Advent Calendar highlights our favourite games from throughout the year, and behind today’s door is… Downwell ! …
- RPS Verdict: Downwell - 20 October 2015
Adam returned from below yesterday with his review , but Downwell has also pulled Graham into its depths. The pair pulled on a gunboot each to discuss the down-scrolling platformer’s simplicity, its feels, and its flaws. …
- Wot I Think: Downwell - 19 October 2015
In Downwell , there’s only one way to go. Equipped with a pair of gunboots, you’re making your way right down to the bottom of a well, blasting objects, terrain and monsters that block your path. You shoot straight from the soles and there are various powerups that change the spread or strength of your pedal-projectiles. I’ve been plumbing the depths for a couple of days and here’s wot I think. …
- What Are We All Playing This Weekend? - 17 October 2015
I never intended for that picture to become the official header for What Are You/We All Playing This Weekend, you know. I found myself in charge of this section one week and thought I’d find a nice picture of a pond – which was where I intended to mostly spend my weekend. Finding nothing in antique illustration archives (we have our whole antiquated Britishness schtick, yeah?), I turned to what else I’d be doing: appearing in visions, indulging my nymph side, and firing cannons at ghastly moustaches. Anyway, what are you playing this weekend? Here’s what we’re into: …
- Now Available on Steam - Downwell - 15 October 2015
Downwell is Now Available on Steam! Downwell is a curious game about a young boy venturing down a well in search of untold treasures with only his Gunboots to protect him.
- Lace Up Your Gunboots: Downwell Released - 15 October 2015
Bayonetta sold me wholly on gunshoes but, if Platinum’s kickwitch won’t come to PC (seems so), I’ll get my fix of kerblamky boots elsewhere. Like Downwell . The depths-plumbing platformer sees a low-fi kid with gunshoes venturing down a well to find fame and fortune, blasting monsters while collecting weapons, items, and cash. The premise caught the eye of those nice Devolver Digital folks, who’ve helped solo developer Moppin to a PC release. That’s out now, priced at only 2. …
- Vertical gunboot shooter Downwell is out now - 15 October 2015
Downwell has one of the best video game names, because it is a video game about falling down a well. Unlike most people who fall down wells, the hero of Downwell has a pair of gunboots, meaning he can shoot bullets to keep himself aloft. He can also use his gunboots to murder his enemies, because they are guns. That well is procedurally generated, by the way. And during your descent you can find upgrades, items, and visit a shop that sells you stuff you might need. So it's *whisper* you know, a bit of a roguelike . "STOP CALLING EVERYTHING A ROGU"-oh god. Anyway. Downwell is out now, on Steam and on mobile telephones. Phil added some cool gifs in the last news post about the game, and I don't know how to do that, so if you want to see some cool gifs, click this link . I'm going to embed the launch trailer instead.
