Hell Well review (Xbox)

Hell Well is available for Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo Switch and PC (through Steam) for €/$ 4,99.

I’ve never been much inclined to get entangled in the never-ending supply of tower defense games. And when Hell Well popped up on the key list, purely based on the imagery, I thought it was a rogue-like twin-stick shooter. So when I discovered the true tower defense nature of Hell Well, I was very curious if the game could bring anything new to the table. I’m fundamentally of the belief that stepping out of your comfort zone often enough is crucial to getting better reviews. So, here we are.

Sorcerer’s towers

In Hell Well, you are a dark sorcerer, and the main objective is to defend yourself. Angels are out to destroy you, and you have creatures of the underworld at your disposal to help you stay alive. Directly noticeable when you boot the game or look up footage is the 4-tone retro pixel art. The top-down blocky pixels remind me of ZX Spectrum graphics, with the exception that you can choose (and unlock) color palettes in this game, giving it a somewhat distinctive look.

That you are going to die in Hell Well is a certainty; how long it takes depends on your ability to use the game’s units and utilize the randomized map layout to your advantage. Like in most tower defense games, the main objective is to beat rows of incoming enemies. During and in between waves, you can invest in static units you can place on your map or buy power-ups, generally buffs for your character or new unit types.

All these units are totem-like static units with one particular ability. The most straightforward are the Candlemons, which are just towers that fire a shot with a sizable cooldown in between. Other units are wall units, a demon that can restore health of other units in its direct vicinity, and so on.

Abilities and buffs

The buffs and abilities vary from phasing through your own units, so you can’t lock yourself between the angels and your own units, to getting Souls for losing hearts. There are plenty of abilities and buffs to the point that I am still discovering new abilities while I’ve spent several hours in the game. In addition to this, you can upgrade your units to have a higher resistance to damage and buff their specific ability. Between waves, you run into a boss which once defeated sets you on course for the next boss, even if you die and reset your game.

Short-term addiction

As a ‘conscientious tower defense objector’, I stepped in without much enthusiasm, but I have to admit that the game loop is surprisingly addictive. The objectives of the game are extremely straightforward, emphasized by the hilariously short ‘tutorial’. The angels chase you down and follow your every step. Like you’re a satanic Pied Piper, you can guide the force of good through a barrage of demonic fire. You can exploit the obstacles on the map, making it hard for the angels to reach your units and destroy them. The best tactic is to use bits of the map where these obstacles create a square that you can fill up with Candlemons, making them practically untouchable and thus very durable.

Hell Well, with its simple premise, keeps the gameplay loop fresh for quite a while by introducing abilities and units. Once you get through the phase of discovery, the game gets stale fairly quickly, though. The lack of narrative and clear objectives, other than surviving and beating bosses, will keep this game from stepping up from being another tower defense game to something more sustainable. Adding some roguelike elements, for instance, would add much-needed overarching goals and maybe give the a game depth, but for $/€ 4,99 this is a solid return of investment.

If you like this review, please out our other Xbox reviews!