Downwell

Short, fun and challenging. And if you get to the bottom of the well there's something there worth the challenge!

When it started
Oh, a Winter Sale on Nintendo eShop. What's this game, Downwell, on sale?
plays it
Yeah, this game's peak.
Two months later, on Steam
Downwell shows up recommended when viewing other roguelites
Huh, but I have Downwell on Switch already.
price is $0.74
...gosh darn it, fine.
plays it on Steam
...yeah, this game's peak.

An Accidental Masterpiece, Downwell is a video game that is perfect in every aspect of game design.
Downwell takes basic concepts and amplifies them. One button does it all and the goal is very simple, go down the well. When you start the run the game waste no time Introducing you to how everything works. You can quickly find out how to jump and shoot, it spawns an enemy that when landed on top of, it kills them and the further you go, it slowly starts incorporating new additions. New enemy types where if you touch them they hurt you, others where they chase you indefinitely, Hazards along the way that make you watch where you step, room upgrades that can either Give you health or more Ammo along with changing your weapon type, Upgrades as soon as you clear an area. Everything that was designed in this game feels like it was crafted in perfect unison with one another as if each component of the game aids the other. You might not click with this game at first and that's because its hard, it takes time to master, but as soon as you start to learn how to keep a combo, the flow of gameplay unfolds right in front of you. You start to go down with speed and precision, every step and bullet shot turns into a calculated move. Seeing yourself just stomping on everything without even having to land on a platform to reload is incredibly rewarding, and Beating this game was the biggest dopamine rush I have felt in a while
My Victory was 9 years in the making, yours will probably take less. This is one of the few titles where I wish they would make a sequel, as I believe there can be so many improvements that only a second game can offer.
Buy this game. Master the mechanics, Go Down the Well.

I came back to Downwell after five years of not playing it and was instantly as hooked as I had been the first time. It's a simple idea executed uncommonly well, and an absolute masterpiece example of what indie games are capable of.

I used to play this on GOG but that version of the game is broken on modern Windows, so I'm here on Steam because I just can't get enough of this game. It's great fun and very cheap. Lowballing itself so hard that I've seen it fall under people's radars.
This unassuming appearance is hiding one of the best roguelites ever. If you haven't played Downwell already, you should right now. I've been playing for a long time and I still haven't gotten bored of it. It's a forever game for me.
You're basically going down this well, bouncing on enemies' heads and scoring combos for money + upgrades to your guns and health. There are upgrades between stages and a handful of "playstyles" which are just starting modifiers. These factors make up your "build" for the run, and you might have noticed from the promotional images and the trailer, that you don't get as many choices compared to other roguelites. There are just a few guns which mostly change the form of your shot: spread, straight, aimed, long range, etc., plus a simplistic shop system where you can buy health and ammo. That's it.
In this regard it's more arcade than roguelite. It gets some flak for being on the tougher side but it's very consistent as a result of its arcade design. Hard but fair. Infinitely replayable but also predictable. There are so few upgrades that if you just pick the ones that fit your build, you're all but guaranteed to eventually get every upgrade you want. This is good actually. I'm tired of rolling the dice in these games. Downwell has a tight design that makes it more fun without relying too much on randomness.
If you're having trouble beating the game, going for the achievements will make you a better player. Try to do the combo and money saver ones especially. Once you get combos down you'll realize that you never needed the shop in the first place, which naturally ties into the money saver achievement.
This is also a ripe game for challenge runs. My favorites are never entering side rooms for the whole game, and trying to go as far as you can before you trigger the music. Shout-out to Downwell: Descent, an expansion mod. It's pretty cool how you can just mod the game like that. Like I said, forever game. When you run out of challenge runs to do, there's even a mod to sink your teeth into. Sometimes I wonder if I'll be on my deathbed still playing Downwell 50 years from now...

Great game. Inspired me to study game design and coding. Turns out game design and coding are really hard but Downwell is still fun

Such a great roguelite. Tough, but easy to sink many hours trying again and again. Don't be fooled - yes I have all achievements but I promised I played much longer than 6 hours, because I mostly played on Switch. Before that I played it on PS4. I had to buy it on Steam so I could get all the achievements, and I DO recommend you get all the achievements for this game.