Creature in the Well

About

"Creature in the Well" is a top-down, pinball-inspired action game set in a mystical desert mountain. As the last BOT-C unit, players must restore power to a struggling city by defeating a menacing creature in the mountain's depths. Using hack and slash mechanics, players battle enemies and solve puzzles to clear paths, uncover secrets, and upgrade their gear.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

79%

Audience ScoreBased on 415 reviews

gameplay83 positive mentions

grinding10 negative mentions

Unique blend of pinball mechanics and dungeon crawling that offers a fresh gameplay experience.
Stunning art style and atmospheric sound design that enhance the overall immersion.
Challenging yet rewarding gameplay that encourages skill development and exploration.

Repetitive room layouts and puzzles that can lead to a feeling of monotony.
Significant difficulty spikes, particularly in boss fights, that may frustrate players.
Controls can feel clunky and imprecise, especially when using keyboard and mouse.

gameplay
244 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
65%
1%
The gameplay of "Creature in the Well" is characterized by its unique blend of pinball mechanics and dungeon crawling, offering a refreshing yet sometimes repetitive experience. While many players appreciate the innovative mechanics and engaging art style, some find the gameplay can become stale and frustrating due to control issues and a lack of variety in challenges. Overall, the game presents a satisfying loop that rewards mastery, but it struggles to maintain excitement throughout its duration.
- “The gameplay carries the momentum, a perfect mix of reflexes and puzzle solving that have you coming back for more.”
- “Creature in the well is a fun game and you'll quickly be drawn into the simple gameplay.”
- “The 'creature in the well' is a very innovative gameplay experience that combines fast-paced hack and slash controls with pinball-like mechanics in use as puzzles.”
- “The gameplay isn't built into anything truly compelling.”
- “I really liked the gameplay at first, but then it got really repetitive.”
- “This game could have been insanely better; most of the rooms felt generic and didn't do enough to bring out the unique mechanics.”
graphics
103 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
65%
32%
3%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising its unique and stunning art style, vibrant color palettes, and immersive aesthetic that enhances gameplay. However, some players noted issues with bland aesthetics, minor graphical glitches, and repetitive asset use that detracted from the overall experience. Overall, while the visuals are often described as beautiful and engaging, there are calls for improvement in certain areas to elevate the game's aesthetic appeal further.
- “The art style and sound are great, the presentation of the game is wonderful and was a real pleasure to experience.”
- “The graphics and colors are very nice and I really appreciate the style of this game.”
- “Very well made with some outstanding graphics made with love.”
- “If the devs are reading this, if you are working on a sequel, instead of using this ugly bland aesthetic to streamline your production of a proof of concept game, maybe go the extra mile and make it pretty.”
- “There are some minor graphical issues that make the style look cluttered and amateurish instead of heavily stylized.”
- “The aesthetics in this game remind me of Hyper Light Drifter, but it is not anything like that game at all.”
story
89 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
56%
3%
The story of the game is described as intriguing and charming, with elements of mystery that engage players, though many reviewers feel it lacks depth and could benefit from further development. While the writing and character interactions are praised, some find the narrative sparse and not particularly gripping, with environmental storytelling being minimal. Overall, the art style and gameplay mechanics often overshadow the story, which is seen as straightforward and simple, yet enjoyable for those who appreciate the lore and world-building.
- “The writing is extremely charming, the mystery of the plot pushes you forward.”
- “There was genuine worldbuilding and storytelling hiding behind every corner, and every triumph felt visceral and earned.”
- “The story starts off mysterious and you start to find clues to who you are and what you're supposed to be doing.”
- “Don't worry too much about the story, it's a robot trying to reactivate some facility or something, not very engaging.”
- “The story provides nearly nothing past the setting and start.”
- “The ending was rather tame and left a couple loose ends, though let's be honest the biggest draw for the game is everything I listed above and not its in-depth story.”
music
45 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
71%
22%
7%
The music in the game is generally praised for its beauty and ability to enhance the atmosphere, with many reviewers noting that it immerses players in the setting. However, several comments highlight the repetitiveness of the soundtrack, with a desire for more diverse tracks to accompany the gameplay. Overall, while the music contributes positively to the experience, its limited variety may detract from long-term enjoyment.
- “The art direction, music, and engaging world do a lot to build up the game's atmosphere, and make it a pleasure to explore and see what you'll find next.”
- “The music is absolutely lovely, though a few more tracks would go a long way in this game.”
- “The art is gorgeous, the music is really nice to listen to and never got annoying - and the combat is very fun, if hard as hell.”
- “I found the music pretty bland, unfortunately.”
- “You'll listen to the same handful of songs for most of the game; though seeing how you can beat it in less than 10 hours, it's definitely not a significant negative to me.”
- “Creature in the Well combines unique fun gameplay from pinball and dungeon crawlers, but its plot is lackluster and the music is repetitive.”
atmosphere
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
68%
32%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its beautiful art direction, engaging music, and intriguing world design, creating a captivating environment for exploration. Players appreciate the blend of introspective and frenetic elements, which enhance the overall experience, although some note that the atmosphere may lose its impact as the game progresses. Overall, it offers a stimulating yet chill ambiance that complements its unique gameplay.
- “The art direction, music, and engaging world do a lot to build up the game's atmosphere, and make it a pleasure to explore and see what you'll find next.”
- “A haunting and atmospheric game that combines elements of arcade classics like breakout and pinball to create a frenetic and colorful hack and slash dungeon-delving adventure.”
- “The direction, atmosphere, visual design, and attention to detail is amazing.”
grinding
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game is criticized for being tedious and frustrating, particularly due to issues with controls and repetitive room designs. While the game avoids traditional level grinding and offers interesting achievements, the collection of energy from targets feels more like a chore than an engaging challenge. Overall, players find the grinding elements to be a mixed bag, with some appreciating the lack of extensive grinding while others feel it detracts from the experience.
- “You collect energy from targets to open doors, but instead of pushing its puzzles, they fill rooms with freebies that are tedious to collect.”
- “Many of the dungeon rooms are made using premade rooms, only slightly changed to either have a new challenge or unchanged for their utilitarian use (rooms used for in between other rooms, grinding rooms, etc.) This is 100% a nitpick, it's just I noticed and it bothers me.”
- “Actually, it has a metric ton of problems, starting from 'x doesn't always work for exiting game' (tedious) to 'lmb doesn't always work while collecting balls' (deadly and infuriatingly unfair).”
stability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game exhibits notable graphical appeal, but it is marred by frequent glitches and bugs that detract from the overall experience. Users have reported issues with controls as well, indicating a lack of stability that impacts gameplay.
- “Very buggy.”
- “The controls are really bad and buggy.”
- “This game is really a piece of art and I would love to see more, but of course there are some flaws like some glitches.”
character development
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, the character development is praised for its strong art direction and appealing character designs, with many noting the high quality of the graphics and sound design. While some character designs may be considered unconventional, the aesthetics are generally well-received, contributing positively to the game's visual experience.
- “Sound design, character design, and aesthetics are top notch.”
- “The art direction is great, and the character designs are fun.”
- “The art style and graphics are nice overall; some character designs are weird, but other than that, it looks great.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's optimization appears to favor controller use, leading to issues with mouse support and excessive controller vibration. Additionally, some players feel that the game mechanics do not align well with player speed, suggesting a lack of overall balance in optimization.
- “The game mechanics may not be optimized for player speed, as my controller constantly vibrates while I'm playing.”
- “It seems like the game was optimized for a controller, and the developers may not have fully integrated mouse support.”
- “Maybe the game was optimized for a controller and the developers did not really know how to properly add mouse support, or I somehow missed the fact that this game has stamina.”
- “My controller constantly vibrates while I'm playing (like, it literally is constantly vibrating), and I think the game mechanics may not be optimized for the player speed (I don't know, maybe I'm just bad at the game).”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Players note that while the game is relatively short to complete, it offers strong replayability, particularly through speedrunning opportunities.
- “The game felt short to finish, but I found the replayability to be excellent through speedrunning.”