Well Dweller presents itself as a very dark metroidvania. Will it live up to its spiritual predecessor Crypt Custodian?
Well Dweller represents first and foremost the continuity of the collaboration between Kyle Thompson and Top Hat Studios.
After the first positive impressions on his previous work, Crypt Custodian, Thompson returns with another metroidvania. This time, however, with darker and creepier tones, despite the apparently fairy-tale aesthetic.
There is a little bird at the bottom of the well
The story begins exactly like this. At the bottom of a well lives a small creature, the only one brave enough to destroy the Queen.
We are a cute little bird armed with a match. This improper weapon will allow us to free our fellow men and discover the secrets of a now fallen kingdom.
From his house which is literally a humanoid skull with a knife stuck in it, the adventure seems to begin.
A look at the trailer: style, characters and settings
What catches the eye about Well Dweller is the aesthetic and graphic aspect.
Seems to have made a lot of progress from Crypt Custodian, and this can be seen in the care taken with the environments and backgrounds. In fact, the background and settings are much richer in detail and give a very fairy-tale appearance to everything.
Furthermore, compared to its predecessor, the title seems much darker and more obscure. The trailer has no shortage of twisted and decadent monstrosities, which contrast with the colorful tone of the characters and environments.
The game world itself now seems to be decaying and the creatures that inhabit it are now empty shells. On the contrary, the protagonist and the NPCs are small and cute, excellent for creating a good sense of contrast.
Map, mechanics and general impressions
Well Dweller, as seen from the trailer, seems to have abandoned the three-quarter chamber of Crypt Custodian. Instead we have a classic 2D view where verticality and platforming seem to be important elements.
From the trailer we see an enhancement system based on trinkets and an original use of the match. In fact, our weapon, in addition to being used to strike, can be planted in walls as a springboard to reach otherwise inaccessible places.
We can also use it as a baseball bat: the weapon can hit secondary objects to use against enemies. This could involve clever use of items or secondary weapons?
Furthermore, the metroidvania mechanics seem well developed and “justified”, even if fundamentally there seems to be nothing new. The map seems very large and explorable. The interactions between NPCs are promising, not to mention the boss fights. They seem extremely well built even though I’ve seen very few of them since the trailer.
What to say? Dwell Weller seems like a promising title, considering the Thompson brothers’ love for the metroidvania genre.
While waiting for this title which will arrive for PC and Nintendo Switch in 2026, we bring you the review of its predecessor: Crypt Custodian.
