<s>
Downwell	B-Application
is	O
a	O
video	O
game	O
that	O
is	O
a	O
combination	O
of	O
a	O
vertically	O
scrolling	O
shooter	O
and	O
platform	O
game	O
with	O
elements	O
of	O
a	O
roguelike	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
developed	O
by	O
Ojiro	O
Fumoto	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Devolver	O
Digital	O
for	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
in	O
October	O
2015	O
,	O
for	O
Android	B-Application
in	O
January	O
2016	O
,	O
and	O
for	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
and	O
PlayStation	B-Device
Vita	I-Device
in	O
May	O
2016	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
version	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
January	O
2019	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
British	O
studio	O
Red	O
Phantom	O
Games	O
developed	O
the	O
Switch	B-Application
and	O
PlayStation	O
ports	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Downwell	B-Application
uses	O
a	O
palette	B-Data_Structure
of	O
four	O
colors	O
,	O
which	O
default	O
to	O
black	O
background	O
and	O
white	O
outlines	O
,	O
with	O
red	O
as	O
a	O
highlight	O
for	O
gems	O
,	O
enemies	O
and	O
other	O
important	O
items	O
,	O
and	O
blue	O
for	O
water	O
environment	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
exact	O
colors	O
can	O
be	O
changed	O
through	O
unlockable	O
in-game	O
palettes	B-Data_Structure
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
art	O
style	O
and	O
underground	O
level	O
design	O
have	O
been	O
compared	O
to	O
Spelunky	B-Application
and	O
Cave	B-Application
Story	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Downwell	B-Application
,	O
players	O
control	O
a	O
"	O
curious	O
man	O
"	O
named	O
Welltaro	O
,	O
who	O
is	O
at	O
the	O
local	O
park	O
one	O
night	O
when	O
he	O
decides	O
to	O
explore	O
the	O
depths	O
of	O
the	O
well	O
nearby	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
alternating	O
with	O
color	O
palettes	B-Data_Structure
unlocks	O
,	O
the	O
player	O
unlocks	O
different	O
movement	O
styles	O
,	O
which	O
influence	O
Welltaro	O
's	O
position	O
and	O
movement	O
animation	O
while	O
on	O
solid	O
ground	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
well	O
's	O
procedural	O
attributes	O
,	O
like	O
frequency	O
and	O
type	O
of	O
timevoids	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Downwell	B-Application
development	O
began	O
around	O
March	O
2014	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
that	O
time	O
,	O
Fumoto	O
had	O
graduated	O
in	O
opera	B-Application
singing	I-Application
at	O
the	O
Tokyo	O
University	O
of	O
the	O
Arts	O
,	O
but	O
felt	O
like	O
that	O
was	O
not	O
the	O
way	O
he	O
wanted	O
to	O
go	O
in	O
life	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Downwell	B-Application
was	O
Fumoto	O
's	O
thirteenth	O
project	O
,	O
in	O
which	O
he	O
instantly	O
saw	O
a	O
high	O
potential	O
and	O
decided	O
to	O
continue	O
its	O
development	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Much	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
influenced	O
with	O
Fumoto	O
's	O
obsession	O
with	O
Spelunky	B-Application
,	O
and	O
the	O
initial	O
idea	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
came	O
from	O
him	O
wondering	O
what	O
a	O
mobile	O
phone	O
game	O
with	O
similar	O
gameplay	O
would	O
be	O
like	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
early	O
development	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
titled	O
Fall	O
or	O
Well	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
during	O
an	O
indie	O
meet-up	O
in	O
Tokyo	O
,	O
Japan	O
,	O
Fumoto	O
figured	O
that	O
he	O
needed	O
an	O
actual	O
name	O
for	O
his	O
game	O
,	O
and	O
therefore	O
came	O
up	O
with	O
Downwell	B-Application
,	O
and	O
stuck	O
with	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
not	O
very	O
popular	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
Fumoto	O
started	O
posting	O
animated	O
GIF	O
images	O
of	O
Downwell	B-Application
gameplay	O
in	O
early	O
development	O
stages	O
on	O
his	O
Japanese	O
Twitter	B-Application
account	I-Application
,	O
which	O
came	O
to	O
the	O
attention	O
of	O
Cara	O
Ellison	O
from	O
The	O
Guardian	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
largely	O
different	O
from	O
Japan	O
's	O
usual	O
indie	O
gaming	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
comment	O
and	O
the	O
following	O
dialog	O
then	O
led	O
to	O
Devolver	O
Digital	O
becoming	O
Downwell	B-Application
publisher	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
constant	O
support	O
from	O
Devolver	O
Digital	O
and	O
Fumoto	O
's	O
continuous	O
posting	O
of	O
GIF	O
images	O
led	O
to	O
the	O
opening	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
official	O
website	O
and	O
the	O
announcement	O
for	O
the	O
late	O
2015	O
release	O
on	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
shown	O
at	O
gaming	O
conventions	O
,	O
one	O
of	O
which	O
was	O
the	O
Independent	O
Games	O
Festival	O
2015	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
held	O
from	O
2	O
March	O
2015	O
to	O
6	O
March	O
2015	O
,	O
at	O
which	O
Downwell	B-Application
got	O
to	O
the	O
finalists	O
of	O
the	O
"	O
Student	O
Showcase	O
Award	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
important	O
convention	O
was	O
Japan	O
's	O
largest	O
indie	O
games	O
festival	O
,	O
BitSummit	O
2015	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
held	O
from	O
11	O
July	O
2015	O
to	O
12	O
July	O
2015	O
,	O
and	O
at	O
which	O
Downwell	B-Application
was	O
nominated	O
for	O
the	O
Vermillion	O
Gate	O
Award	O
by	O
the	O
Grand	O
Jury	O
and	O
scored	O
second	O
behind	O
La-Mulana	B-Application
2	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
finally	O
announced	O
for	O
a	O
release	O
on	O
15	O
October	O
2015	O
and	O
was	O
released	O
for	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
,	O
while	O
Moppin	B-Application
continued	O
working	O
on	O
the	O
Android	B-Application
version	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
12	O
November	O
2015	O
,	O
Downwell	B-Application
was	O
nominated	O
for	O
"	O
Best	O
Mobile/Handheld	O
Game	O
"	O
for	O
The	O
Game	O
Awards	O
2015	O
,	O
which	O
took	O
place	O
on	O
3	O
December	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
11	O
December	O
2015	O
,	O
publisher	O
Devolver	O
Digital	O
teased	O
Downwell	B-Application
for	O
future	O
release	O
on	O
PlayStation	B-Device
Vita	I-Device
by	O
sharing	O
a	O
picture	O
showing	O
the	O
game	O
running	O
on	O
a	O
PlayStation	B-Device
Vita	I-Device
device	O
with	O
tate	O
mode	O
enabled	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
26	O
January	O
2016	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
announced	O
that	O
Downwell	B-Application
would	O
be	O
released	O
the	O
following	O
day	O
,	O
respectively	O
,	O
27	O
January	O
2016	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
9	O
February	O
2016	O
,	O
an	O
official	O
video	O
by	O
Sony	O
Computer	O
Entertainment	O
revealed	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
would	O
be	O
released	O
for	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
and	O
PlayStation	B-Device
Vita	I-Device
sometime	O
in	O
2016	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
believed	O
that	O
his	O
success	O
with	O
Downwell	B-Application
was	O
a	O
large	O
factor	O
in	O
his	O
hiring	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2018	O
,	O
during	O
that	O
month	O
's	O
Nintendo	O
Direct	O
show	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
announced	O
that	O
Red	O
Phantom	O
Games	O
was	O
developing	O
a	O
port	O
of	O
Downwell	B-Application
for	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Upon	O
release	O
,	O
Downwell	B-Application
received	O
critical	O
acclaim	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
Metacritic	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
currently	O
holds	O
a	O
score	O
of	O
81/100	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
,	O
91/100	O
for	O
iOS	B-Application
,	O
80/100	O
for	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
85/100	O
for	O
PlayStation	B-Device
Vita	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Steven	O
Hansen	O
from	O
Destructoid	O
praised	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
design	O
concept	O
and	O
giving	O
it	O
a	O
perfect	O
10/10	O
by	O
saying	O
that	O
"[t]hese	O
are	O
the	O
kind	O
of	O
things	O
you	O
learn	O
as	O
you	O
delve	O
deeper	O
and	O
deeper	O
into	O
Downwell	B-Application
's	O
four	O
worlds	O
(	O
three	O
levels	O
each	O
)	O
and	O
they	O
are	O
presented	O
intelligently.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
positive	O
review	O
was	O
written	O
by	O
Nadia	O
Oxford	O
from	O
Gamezebo	O
,	O
who	O
gave	O
the	O
game	O
a	O
5	O
out	O
of	O
5	O
stars	O
ranking	O
and	O
praising	O
Downwell	B-Application
overall	O
play-style	O
and	O
design	O
,	O
stating	O
that	O
"	O
Downwell	B-Application
is	O
easily	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
best	O
action	O
games	O
to	O
hit	O
mobile	O
this	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
