VIDEO GAME: Downwell (2019)
DownwellYear: 2019Rating: E10+Time Played: 10+ hours
Outside of the games Nintendo makes for their own consoles, there aren't a lot of games from outside developers that take advantage of the system's unique properties. I first learned about Downwell from Game Maker's Tool Kit and thought it looked like an interesting way to use the Switch. Because you can remove the joycons, the screen can be used vertically, giving a much more natural orientation to play this extremely vertical game. Fortunately, Downwell goes on sale fairly frequently and you'll likely only be out a few bucks for a game with a significant challenge.
As with other Devolver Digital games like Gato Roboto, Downwell leans into its retro pixel monochrome aesthetic. Things move pretty fast when in a constant free-fall, so it's important to have high contrast visuals to make important things stand out. If anything, the limited graphics aren't an issue because the gameplay loop is so addicting. I even bought a Flip...