Line #38 VideoGame/DownWell


1	[[quoteright:329:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/downwell.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:329: This is certainly not the usual TimmyInAWell.]]
3
4	''Downwell'' is a game about [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin falling down a well.]] Numerous enemies and a few hazards make this trip more dangerous than your standard falling down a well, which is why the [[NoNameGiven unnamed protagonist]] brought their gunboots along. Gameplay is centered around making your way to the bottom of the well, shooting or jumping on anything that tries to get in your way.
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6	Developed by Moppin, published by Creator/DevolverDigital, and released in late 2015, it is available on Platform/{{Steam}}, mobile phones, Platform/PlayStation4, Platform/PlayStationVita, and Platform/NintendoSwitch. The game's lead would also become a fighter in ''VideoGame/IndiePogo'' and ''VideoGame/{{Fraymakers}}''.
7	----
8	!!''Downwell'' contains examples of the following tropes:
9	* AllThereInTheManual: The protagonist is only ever named and gendered in the crossovers noted above.[[note]]His name is Welltaro.[[/note]]
10	* AntiAir: Certain upgrades function exclusively to guard the protagonist's upper area against flying enemies they might have passed by.
11	** Gunpowder Blocks cause destroyed blocks to explode and shoot bullets straight up, the former of which can cause chain reactions in clusters of blocks.
12	** Popping Gems functions on the same principle as the above, but the shooting of bullets is triggered by collecting gems.
13	** In addition to slowing your fall, the Heart Balloon pops explosively if an enemy touches it.
14	* AntiFrustrationFeatures: Objects such as ceramics in the Caverns or air-filled barrels in the Aquifer can be bounced off of to reload the Gunboots, given that they aren't shot before the player lands on them. The objects in Limbo, however, won't get destroyed if they're shot; given that Limbo's gimmick is hosting [[TheSpiny Spiny-type enemies]] nigh-exclusively and coating almost every inch of floor with spikes, this is appreciated as otherwise, hard-to-control projectiles like Hot Casings or the Noppy would be a death sentence in this area.
15	* ArmedLegs: The gunboots.
16	* ArrangeMode: The aptly named "Hard Mode", only available after beating the game, takes things up a few notches and massively increases the difficulty of the game. You thought it was hard before? You'll think it's a cakewalk by the time you beat this mode.
17	** All areas boast a lot more enemies than before, making it more difficult to navigate without getting hurt, but you can get some crazy rewards due to the ability to land bigger combos.
18	** The Caverns introduces a new enemy that looks like a clam, floating side by side in the air. Can only be killed by stomping, similar to the turtle. It also introduces an enemy that homes in on you from above, forcing you to pick up the pace or do some acrobatics to trick it into descending below you, where you can shoot it with your boots.
19	** The Catacombs' spikes function on a timer instead of activating when you land, forcing a different approach on when to reload or cash in a combo.
20	** Oxygen in the Aquifer drains faster, and you have to pick up free-floating bubbles instead of stomping on objects that contain them.
21	** Limbo now features a multitude of enemies from other areas, and fewer floating objects. This means you'll have to stomp on enemies to recharge instead!
22	** The final boss now fires two shots per hitpoint lost instead of one.
23	* AttackablePickup: Reverse Engineering allows you to change a gun mod into a different one once by shooting it.
24	* AttackDrone: The drone upgrade has a drone follow you around, shooting bullets downwards as you do.
25	* AwesomenessMeter: Killing strings of enemies without touching the ground grants you a combo bonus. 8 gives you 100 gems, 15 adds in 1 extra gunboot charge, and 25 comes with 1 extra health.
26	* {{Balloonacy}}: Downplayed example, but the Heart Balloon makes you fall more slowly.
27	* BigBoosHaunt: The second area of the game.
28	* BilingualBonus: Two of the achievements contain Japanese in their names. One of them is Sugoi[[note]]roughly meaning "wow"[[/note]] Combo, for getting a hundred-enemy streak, and the other is Mottainai[[note]]approximately meaning disappointment for wasting something that could be better used[[/note]], for completing a level without shooting the gunboots.
29	* BottomlessPits: Limbo is an area with next to no solid ground to stand on, forcing free-fall. The only ways to recharge your gunboots are to either land in side-areas or stomp on random floating objects.
30	* BuffySpeak: The trophies/achievements refer to the enemies in the fourth area as "stuff".
31	* CosmeticAward: Collecting a certain amount of gems gives you [[PaletteSwap a palette swap for the game.]]
32	* DemBones: Skeletons that throw bones at you are one of the enemy types in the Catacombs.
33	* DenialOfDiagonalAttack: Almost all of the guns shoot straight down, with no ability to aim. The exceptions are the Triple and Shotgun, which shoot in a fairly narrow cone, and the Noppy, which angles slightly in the direction the player is moving.
34	* DieChairDie: Random junk in all zones can be shot or stomped. If you do the latter, you can handily reload your boots without ending your combo or risking damage from an enemy.
35	* DiscountCard: Comes in two varieties:
36	** The Member's Card upgrade guarantees that you find a shop at the start of each level and makes shop items cost 10% less.
37	** Handstand Style passively guarantees a shop every floor and makes shop items cheaper for the whole run. The main downside to it is that you do not get any upgrades.
38	* DungeonShop: The rotund shopkeeper seems to be doing perfectly fine two miles deep in the well. {{Justified\|Trope}} In that his shops are all located inside of time-proof bubbles.
39	* EldritchAbomination: [[spoiler: The final boss.]]
40	* EldritchLocation: Limbo. Most of the terrain is hazardous, the enemies are floating black blobs, and there are random objects floating in the air that you can jump on.
41	* EnergyWeapon: The Laser gun module shoots a piercing laser downwards.
42	* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: All the gun modules are this, with exception to the Noppy.
43	* ExtremeOmnivore: The Knife and Fork upgrade lets the player eat corpses to heal. These include [[BedsheetGhost sheets from ghosts]] and bones left behind by the skeleton and skull enemies.
44	* FlunkyBoss: The boss spawns a few enemies every time it gets hurt. These enemies drop lots of gems, making it perfect to maintain Gem High[[note]]Since the duration between phases is so long, your Gem High will likely run out, even with the Gem Sick upgrade, so you'll have less firepower until you can get it back up[[/note]].
45	* TheGoomba: The weakest enemy of the game is the worm. Exclusive to the Caverns and Catacombs, it barely poses a threat, as it doesn't do anything but slowly move from side to side and its hitbox is too small for the player to normally take damage from it by walking at it from the side; it needs to be on a ledge and the player needs to touch it from the low ground in order to actually take damage.
46	* GoombaStomp: Landing on an enemy's head is a one-hit kill with [[TheSpiny few exceptions]]. It's also the only way to kill turtles. The Blast Module upgrades this so that stomping on enemies also causes an explosion that can hurt other enemies.
47	* HealingPotion: The Apple upgrade heals you by 4 HP, but you can only take it once. Shops also sell items that recover your health. Youth also slightly fits this trope, but it only heals you by 1 HP.
48	* HeartContainer:
49	** Buying Curry increases your maximum health by 1.
50	** Collecting any item that refills your health (including heart gun mods and 25 combo bonuses) when you're at full health will instead fill a meter below your health. The meter grants you 1 extra maximum health if you do this 4 times.
51	* HyperactiveMetabolism:
52	** Downplayed by the Knife and Fork upgrade. You can eat corpses to heal if the upgrade is equipped, but you need to eat 10 bodies to restore 1 health.
53	** Played straighter with the shops, which will sell you rice balls, sushi and energy drinks that heal you, as well as curry that increases your maximum health.
54	** There's also the Apple upgrade, which heals 4 health after you eat it, as indicated by it being shown as an apple core afterwards.
55	* ImmuneToBullets: Some enemies won’t take damage from gunfire. A stomp is the only way to kill them.
56	* {{Macrogame}}: Throughout your runs, you slowly gain new color schemes for the game and different styles to play.
57	* MadeOfExplodium:
58	** The Heart Balloon appears to be made of this, since it explodes when an enemy touches it, making it good for defending yourself from enemies that attack you from above.
59	** The Rest in Pieces upgrade turns enemy corpses into this, causing them to explode if you shoot them.
60	* MercyInvincibility: You get some for a brief moment when you take damage. The Candle upgrade makes it last much longer.
61	* {{Minimalism}}: Game mechanics-wise, ''Downwell'' compresses a lot of mechanics into only a few working parts. A few examples: the Gunboots can be used to break blocks, kill enemies, and slow your descent; gems are used as a currency, count as points for the palette/style unlocks, and contribute towards the Gem High mode; enemies pose a threat to the player, but also function as parts of a combo, and a means to reload the Gunboots. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5C1Uj7jJCg You can watch Mark Brown's analysis on it here]].
62	* MinimalistRun: [[invoked]]The game will recognize it if you avoid every side room, which will deprive you of health restoration and ammo upgrades outside any you might pick up between levels. If you get to the last area, the room before the final boss fight will [[spoiler:feature a tomato that grants 8 health and 10 charges instead of a shop.]]
63	* MoneyMauling:
64	** Entering Gem High mode increases the range and damage of the player's weapons. The Gem Sick upgrade makes the duration last longer and appropriately changes the name at the top of the screen.
65	** Popping Gems turns all money collected into upwards-firing bullets.
66	** Gem Powered adds to the player's ammo whenever they pick up a gem.
67	* MoreDakka: The machine gun, burst, and noppy gun modules.
68	* NoPlotNoProblem: There's no reason given as to why the main character jumped down the well [[spoiler:until the end of the game, where they rescue a cat that's stuck at the bottom.]]
69	* OddNameOut: Most of the gun names are meaningful (so the Laser and Shotgun are ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, the Puncher shoots "punchy", slower, but more powerful bullets). And then there's the Noppy. It's like the Machine Gun, but it shoots more rapidly and aims in the direction you're moving in.
70	* OneWordTitle: Also a {{Portmantitle}}.
71	* OxygenatedUnderwaterBubbles: In the Aquifer area.
72	* PaletteSwap: One of the main types of unlockables you earn. Initially, you only unlock minor changes like making the main color green or blue instead of red, but several dozen unique color schemes are available.
73	* PowerUp: The gun modules that you find in caves generally fill this trope, changing how your gunboots fire until you collect another one. In addition to the different weapon types, they can either permanently increase your gunboots' charge by 2 or heal you by 1 HP.
74	* PowerUpMagnet: The Gem Attractor, as its name implies, pulls gems to you from farther away.
75	* RecoilBoost: In addition to helping you defeat enemies, the gunboots also slow your descent as you fire. How much it slows your descent is dependent on what module you have equipped. The Laser and Shotgun modules can even increase your height.
76	* RocketBoots: The safety {{jetpack}} upgrade turns your gunboots into this when you are out of ammo.
77	* RocketJump: The aptly named Rocket Jump upgrade. It creates an explosion around yourself when you jump off the ground and increases your jump height.
78	* ShotgunsAreJustBetter:
79	** The shotgun shoes, obviously. They chew up a lot of ammo, though.
80	** The Puncher is like a diet version of this, consuming significantly less ammo, but firing a tighter spread of three pellets.
81	* ShoutOut: The third palette you unlock is [[GreenBoyColor a gray-green color]], named "[[Platform/GameBoy GBOY]]". The one after that is shades of red, and is named "[[Platform/VirtualBoy VBOY]]".
82	* SkillGateCharacters: Levitate Style lets the player fall at a reduced speed, making it easier to avoid damage and keep the Gunboots reloaded. However, falling slower also makes it harder to keep up a Gem High for long durations of time.
83	* TheSpiny: Several enemy types will hurt you if you try to jump on them, indicated by having a different color on the outside.
84	* SpreadShot: The spread module has your gunboots fire out three bullets in a cone, despite only using two charges to fire.
85	* StoneWall: In a sense, Boulder Style. It gives you 6 Max HP at start instead of the usual 4, but you can only pick between two upgrades between levels instead of 3 and you fall at a faster speed.
86	* SuperMode: Collect enough gems, and you enter "Gem High", increasing your damage output. This period only lasts for a limited time, but you gain more time in Gem High by collecting gems. The Gem Sick upgrade makes this last longer.
87	* SwissArmyWeapon: The same gunboots fire off several different types of bullets, but the only way to switch between types is finding a [[PowerUp gun mod.]]
88	* TimeStandsStill: In areas where you find power-ups or shops, there is a bubble that stops time for everything outside of it when you enter. You can also get a power-up that creates one whenever you take damage.
89	* TurnsRed: The Floating Skulls in the catacombs do this after you shoot them once, their red ([[CosmeticAward or blue, green, pink, etc.]]) color indicating you can't GoombaStomp them anymore. They also abandon their aimless wandering to rush you.
90	* UnderTheSea: Complete with OxygenMeter. You aren't any slower in the water, however. It's between two other areas, the one below it being [[ArtisticLicensePhysics devoid of water even though it should flow down.]]
91	* UniversalAmmunition: The gunboots use charges as ammo, which can shoot out any type of bullet.
92	* UnorthodoxReload: Gunboots automatically recharge whenever the player's feet hit something, regardless of whether it was solid ground or bouncing off of an enemy.
93	* VariableTerminalVelocity: Levitate style has you fall slower than normal, while Boulder Style makes you fall faster.
94	* WallJump: The player can do one in a fashion similar to ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'', by pressing away from the wall and hitting the jump button. Since the object of the game is to go down, this is mostly useful if you missed something right above.
95	* {{Youkai}}: The shopkeeper appears to be a living Jizo statue, going by their bald head, robed figure, and the red cloth around their neck.

Context VideoGame / DownWell