RecommendedSteam player
Downwell combines the never-ending sense of discovery of The Binding of Isaac Rebirth, the randomness arcade perfection of Super Crate Box and the extreme level of polish seen in Nintendo EAD most beloved creations with all the awesomeness and frantic intensity of Sega’s 90s classics. In the best Japanese game created in the last 30 years, that is as influential as the first Super Mario Bros When Shigeru Miyamoto designed the original Super Mario Bros in 1985, there was a true intentionality behind it of disrupting every single rule and convention to the date. The key to understand the design philosophy behind Super Mario Bros is the turtle in level 3-1. Until Super Mario Bros all in the Japanese games was about scoring, creating a small and enclosed world where every single element had a purpose. But Shigeru Miyamoto realized that he wanted to evolve the games to much more complex universes. Worlds not being restricted to a single screen. So for him, the scoring wasn’t the primal focus anymore, being only a second layer in its design philosophy. With Super Mario Bros, Shigeru Miyamoto had in his hands a perfect and memorable game for scoring purposes, an unforgettable arcade experience. But he didn't feel in the mood for creating games with restricted rules while he was working at the same time in its design for the ambitious universe of Zelda. So, he intentionally put a turtle in the level 3-1 that serves to achieve an infinite score, like a punk act of insurgency. A turtle that was destined to change the videogame history. And then, after 30 years of this murder of the classic arcade committed by Miyamoto, comes Downwell. That it’s not only a game so well constructed and that it’s so joyful to play as Super Mario Bros, evoking the same sense of magic seen in Miyamoto’s masterful creation. But that it’s also a game that like Super Mario Bros 30 years before, tries to revolutionize the Japanese industry turning it around every misconception and previous rule. In a certain manner, Downwell can be seen as an intent to reverting all the things that the influence of Super Mario Bros changed in videogame history. It’s infused with he same punk spirit of trying to break every known rule, the same spirit that we can see in the level 3-1 of Super Mario Bros. The game starts as a declaration of intent from part of its creators, saying to us that they know Nintendo history, that they love Nintendo EAD creations, but they also know that previously to the success of Miyamoto, Gunpei Yokoi was a fundamental figure to understand the history of videogames. The minimal color palette used in Downwell has the same philosophy that can be seen in the creation of the original Game Boy, when Yokoi was obsessed with the idea of suggesting things and evoking a broad range of sensations, via the use of a limited number of colors to suggesting abstract shapes that the player needs to reconstruct in his imagination. If Super Mario Bros was all about horizontality, Downwell centers its design in the idea of verticality. By looking at the original Kid Icarus, one of the most iconic Gunpei Yokoi’s creations. And the references to Gunpei Yokoi don’t stop there, as in the first level we can see enemies that resemble the original Metroids. But wen can also meet turtles that we can’t shoot, needing to jump over them. As if the developers want to say that they prefer a pre-Miyamoto world when the scoring was the most important thing and that they enjoy enclosed and simplistic worlds. But at the same time they also feel an enormous respect for the Miyamoto’s creations. But with Downwell being a love letter to Nintendo and Gunpei Yokoi’s creations, the game also has a mesmerizing sense of action and a frantic intensity in its shooting parts that it’s on par with Sega’s mid-90s greatest classics. Sometimes, playing Downwell you can feel this particular Nintendo magic, of a game in which every design concept fits perfectly creating a captivating flow. But also this sense of enjoyment and almost hypnotic trance that you could feel the first time when you played Sonic the Hedgehog. Or some of the most greatest Megadrive’s action titles created by emblematic studios like Treasure or the Konami team responsible of Contra Hard Corps. This Sega’s greatest classics feeling is emphasized with a brilliant synthetized soundtrack with some dissonant and noisy fragments that resembles Motohiro Kawashima’s compositions for Streets of Rage 3. And if Downwell looks at Gunpei Yokoi as a game designer, it also looks at Yokoi as the man making cheerful toys. Trying to be not only as fun as a toy, but also as easy to learn and enjoy as a toy. With a masterful control scheme designed with only 3 buttons in mind. Adding another disruptive note respect to Super Mario Bros. Because in Mario, with the act of jumping we ascend vertically. So it’s necessary to keep pressed the button. But in Downwell we’re most of the time failing, taking the brilliant decision of using the same button for jump and shooting purposes. Downwell has a control scheme so smart and intuitive, so precise and exquisite, that playing it becomes an unforgettable experience. One of these rare games that you can’t stop playing. And then it comes all of its masterful lessons in game design. It’s incredible how the creators have inserted so many variables in such a simple concept. Every enemy adds a new challenge and needs a different approach. Every weapon or item obtained in a random basis that looks at Super Crate Box, can completely modify the gameplay structure. You will never cease of discovering new weapons, new subtle and small details inserted in the structure of its levels, new tricks to improve your score. And the random nature of the game only increases this sensation of master class in game design. No matter its random structure, every single run in Downwell is perfectly crafted. Every element in its gameplay fits so well that you could not believe it until you play it. Cave Story and La Mulana were two Japanese masterpieces, extracting its greatness from looking at past titles and creating gaming concepts by imitating the classics. But I think that Downwell is a leap forward from past Japanese indie games. Because it not only looks at an amazing period in Japanese videogame history, but also looks at the contemporary occidental scene. Taking its influences from creators and studios like Vlambeer or Edmund McMillen. Resulting in a title that is destined to lead the actual Japanese scene, being its main referent. And a game that will be venerated for future indie creators to come. Downwell has become the most influential and industry-changer release coming from Devolver Digital since Hotline Miami. ( The writer of this review is not an English native. So you should expect occasional grammar errors. I apologize in advance. )Show moreShow less
3.5 hours at review354 people found this helpful