Creature in the Well | Xbox One Review

It’s no secret that I’m a massive fan of pinball. Whether I’m playing real tables at a local arcade or playing digital tables on Pinball FX 3, I can’t get enough of the silver ball. When I was invited to preview Creature in the Well at E3 in June, I was beyond excited. A game that combined dungeon crawling with pinball mechanics was a perfect mashup of two genres I love. Now that I’ve gotten my hands on the full game, I can finally say I’m extremely satisfied with the results. Although the game is punishingly difficult at times, the game gave me a lot of the same vibes I’ve gotten from pinball. But now it has a bit more purpose than a simple score, and that makes me happy.

Don’t Miss the Lore

You play as a a robot engineer known as BOT-C who wakes up in the middle of a sandstorm that has plagued a small town. You learn very quickly that a facility next to the town was designed as a sort of weather machine to protect it from the storm. Unfortunately, a nasty creature has inhabited the facility, shutting down the system. Your job is to restore the power in order to stave off the sandstorm. Oh, and you’ll have to deal with the creature at the same time.

The story is very minimal, but it’s as deep as it needs to be. As you progress through each stage of the facility, you’ll uncover a dark past by way of notes left from former engineers. They’re mildly interesting, but admittedly not the reason to play the game. You’re here for pinball action, after all.

A Fresh Combat Idea

On the surface, Creature in the Well looks like nothing more than a dungeon crawler with pinball mechanics. That’s only partially true, because the gameplay is quite a bit different from what I was expecting. You won’t find yourself merely slashing at balls of energy in the direction you want them to go. Instead, your character harnesses the energy while performing a melee strike for defense. This stance becomes crucial to keep yourself protected while waiting for the opportune moment to fire. You then must point in the direction you would like the energy to be released and watch as the magic unfolds.

“Combat” might not even be the right word here. You’re not firing the energy blasts directly at enemies. Rather, your goal is to bounce energy off of the facility’s walls, bumpers, and turrets. Once each has been hit enough times, it retracts in the environment, leaving a larger core exposed. The energy flows into this final core, creating an immensely satisfying cacophony of dazzling light.

As you complete each room, you gain energy. This allows you to unlock more doors that will allow you to dive deeper into the facility. It’s similar to collecting stars in Mario 64, but with a larger number set. Some rooms even reward you with secret corridors upon completing their puzzles. These areas contain new weapons or cores for your engineer to increase its stats. Eventually, you’ll face off against the creature in a larger-scale puzzle, but again, you’re not attacking him directly. Powering up the room causes him to retreat, and BOT-C is granted access to the next dungeon.

Tread with Caution

I thoroughly enjoyed Creature in the Well. It felt like a game that was made for me for more than one reason. I will warn, however, that this is not an easy title to complete. If you perish in a dungeon, you must start again back at the hub world and make your way through the area in which you just traversed. Thankfully, the rooms don’t reset, so you won’t have to complete areas again. But it’s a tad frustrating having to trek through a dungeon just to retry an area that is frustrating you. Thankfully, there is a portal right before each boss; so if you can make it that far, you won’t have to travel through the entire level again.

It takes a bit of time to wrap your head around how the game works, but once I got into the groove, it was smooth sailing for me. At least until I hit the final boss. After over 20 attempts and sore fingers, I was finally able to finish him off, but I fear many will give up before that point. It wasn’t enough to turn me away, but it’s worth mentioning that this game is far more difficult than it appears.

Creature in the Well Final Verdict

I haven’t seen as fun of a take on pinball mechanics since Yoku’s Island Express. Although Creature in the Well might not strike a chord with everybody, it completely worked for me on a personal level. Its equal parts action, puzzle solving, and exploration. It gave purpose to the mechanics I love from pinball in a way I didn’t know I wanted. It’s an easy recommendation for fans of the genre, and I definitely want more from developer Flight School Studio.

This review is based on on a copy provided by Pop Agenda for coverages purposes and is also available on Nintendo Switch and PC.