Well Dweller is out, and critics are calling it an all-timer

Well Dweller is about a tiny bird with a matchstick who has to burn a wicked queen to get his family back. It came out on September 22, and it’s already one of the best reviewed games of the year.

It’s the third game from Kyle Thompson, who made Islets in 2022 and Crypt Custodian in 2024, and it’s published by Top Hat Studios like Crypt Custodian was. It launched everywhere at once: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch and Switch 2. It’s also on Game Pass from day one, so if you’re subscribed you can try it tonight without spending anything extra.

The reviews are something else

Well Dweller sits at 91 on Metacritic and 90 on OpenCritic, where every single critic recommends it. On Steam, players agree: more than 700 reviews in its first few days, and 97% of them positive, which earns it the Overwhelmingly Positive badge.

What critics keep coming back to is the level design. IGN Spain praised its “exquisite level design”, and Gamer Social Club called it “a Metroidvania that could, and should, be held up as an example of what games from the genre should be”, which is high praise in a genre that already has Hollow Knight.

Dark, but also kind of sweet

The tone is what caught my eye first. The world is grim, full of bones and giant skulls and bosses with far too many teeth, but the characters living in it are small and funny. You go camping with Ilda, a mouse on the run from the queen. You explore an abandoned castle with a scavenger called Looter. And you spend the game finding your brothers and sisters, who were snatched one night by a hunter.

Your matchstick is both your light and your weapon, which is a lovely idea for a hero that small. You light up dark rooms with it, swing it at monsters, and upgrade it with trinkets you can mix and match to suit how you like to play.

The bosses look great too. The Groundskeeper is a lanky thing with shears for arms stalking through a graveyard, and it’s the kind of design that makes you want to see what’s further down.

Should you play it?

If you like metroidvanias even a little, yes. If you played Crypt Custodian and enjoyed it, this is the same creator going bigger and darker, and by all accounts landing it. And if you’re on Game Pass, there’s really no reason not to give it an evening.

It’s one of the standout releases of a very good month, alongside the others in our September 2026 new indie games roundup. If it leaves you wanting more, our list of games like Hollow Knight is a good next stop, and you’ll find plenty more to play in our best indie games on Game Pass.