The Indie Informer

Kyle Thompson released his wonderful metroidvania, Crypt Custodian, in 2024, and while it features a cat in the afterlife, its tone felt light and its hero endearing. The developer’s anticipated follow-up, Well Dweller, is going full Brothers Grimm fairy tale. I love it.

To better shade in the details on the game’s atmosphere, the dev describes his hero as “Glimmer — a tiny bird armed with a matchstick — who must burn the wicked queen to save his family.” That has all the hallmarks of the original Snow White story, where the evil queen “dances” at the heroine’s wedding. If you don’t know what that means, it involves heated metal shoes, and be sure you want to know before Googling it.

One of the most stunning moments of the demo took place near the end, while I was secret hunting. And secrets I found. A glowing torn page lay abandoned at the dead end of a secret passage. Written there, I read a story of a foundling-grown-ruler whose devastating selfishness meant the destruction of an entire species. As my eyes took in the words, I realized it was my own story when it described a well with a skull in its depths. Suddenly, everything became personal.

But when I started my adventure, ignorantly blissful of the tale unfolding, I saw a creepy home for an unusual hero. I took control of a hooded and cloaked bird and was tasked with hopping out of the watery chamber via the conveniently placed platforms.

The movement felt good, but the visuals were the undeniable star. Moss, crunchy and yielding, clings to decaying wood, and I can almost feel it underfoot. Looking closer at the skull — which, with a knife embedded in it, casts a sinister shadow over the locale — I noticed crossed beams in the eye. That led my eye down to its ghastly grin, which hosts a small door. This isn’t a simple sign of death, but also a symbol of shelter, safety, and home for Glimmer. It’s an amazing juxtaposition that informs the game’s core.

The surface is lighter but more dangerous. Enemies abound, and I have nothing to fight with, leaving me the option of learning how to run, dash, and dodge through problems — a clever integrated tutorial. My reward for successfully completing this is a strange weapon: A match. Its flame, I notice with a pleasant start, burns in relation to my health. The bigger the fire, the healthier I am.

In typical metroidvania fashion, the map is spiraling and filled with increasingly complex dangers and challenges. One of my favorites of these is the introduction of bubbles that launch my character around the screen. Well-placed shortcuts lead away from and back to a small tent, which hosts a murder of little bird-looking creatures. This is not only a checkpoint, but offers a space to change out equipment (which I can’t take advantage of so early in the game).

Here’s where things get anything but typical. I defeat a room with waves of enemies and discover the game’s healing mechanism: An oil flask. My mind immediately splits into two opposing camps. Using the flask prompts a straightforward minigame where I have to hit a button at a certain time. If I get the timing right, I heal. If I don’t, I get to keep trying, but time continues to tick by.

First and foremost, I love an innovative mechanic in a genre so well-trodden. Simulating the time it would actually take to grab and apply oil in the heat of the moment is fascinating to me. However, the player in me worries what this feels like in battle, when enemies are swiping at me as I try to get my timing perfect.

It didn’t take long for me to get to see healing in action. The boss of this demo, an absolutely nightmare fuel, sword-legged spider monstrousity called The Groundskeeper, was amazing. It used the dashing skills I’d honed throughout the level. The design was amazing. The character moves are balanced between readable and challenging. It took me five attempts and several oil applications to finally overcome. Even in this adrenaline-filled scenario, I was able to heal without cursing the minigame system. So, for now, I’m inclined to enjoy the unique process.

I played through this first hands-on experience twice. Not only to better develop my feelings, but also to feel the spark of joy Well Dweller ignited. The game is currently set to release in 2026, and I hope to jump back in sooner rather than later.