Comparison

Bleak Sword vs Downwell+

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Bleak Sword

Embark on a dark fantasy adventure across cursed diorama battlefields. Battle creatures through nine chapters, lifting a legendary curse by upgrading your hero with magic and items. Challenge yourself further in Arena Mode with unlockable achievements.

Highlights
  • Diorama battlefields
  • Nine tense chapters
  • Powerful magic invocation
  • Item discovery
  • Character leveling and stat upgrades
  • Arena Mode
  • Unlockable achievements
Features
Read full description

Developed by more8bit Bleak Sword is a dark fantasy action game tasking players to struggle across compact, cursed diorama battlefields. Through nine tense chapters, heroes must lift the curse of the legendary Bleak Sword by striking down all manner of creatures in every forest, swamp, castle, and dungeon on their journey. Invoke powerful magic, uncover helpful items, and level up your character to upgrade your stats before facing down menacing guardians. Once the curse has been lifted the challenging Arena Mode and thirty unlockable achievements await even the most accomplished warrior. Bleak Sword is designed to be able to play it easily with elegant controls allowing heroes to roll, parry, attack and counter-attack using basic movements on gamepads and touch controls. Scored by award-winning composer Jim Guthrie with sound by famed designer Joonas Turner.

About

Downwell+

Venture into a procedurally generated well, battling creatures with special gun boots. Collect gems, purchase upgrades, and discover hidden treasures. Each descent offers a unique and challenging adventure.

Highlights
  • Gun boots for combat and descent control
  • Procedurally generated levels
  • Collect gems and buy items
  • Level up and obtain upgrades
  • Discover hidden caves and relics
Features
Read full description

Downwell is a curious game about a young person venturing down a well in search of untold treasures with only his Gunboots for protection. Make your way further and further down into the darkness filled with nasty creatures and mysterious secrets to collect the spectacular red gems scattered about the rocks. Step into precariously placed shops and buy some helpful items or level up between levels to battle well-dwelling monsters and uncover hidden caves filled with riches and relics. No two trips down the well are ever the same! The Amazing Gunboots - The fashionable and lethal Gunboots allow players to unleash a torrent of firepower on the nasty creatures dwelling in the well and slow your decent with each shot. Unique Weapons & Items - Get different weapons, shop for peculiar items and obtain powerful upgrades that all stack and affect the way you play! A New Adventure Every Time - Each level in Downwell is procedurally generated, so no two trips down the well are ever the same providing a fresh new adventure each time! Music by Eirik Suhrke. Sound Design by Joonas Turner.

Screenshots

Bleak Sword4 screens
Downwell+4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Downwell+ at every 3 weeks against Bleak Sword's every 8 months. Bleak Sword's advantage is ratings volume (899 vs 293). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Bleak Sword against 4.5 for Downwell+. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 899 and 293 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 80% of Bleak Sword's written reviews are positive against 75% of Downwell+'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bleak Sword ships an update every 8 months, Downwell+ every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Bleak Sword versus Downwell+: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBleak SwordDownwell+
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (899 ratings)4.5 (293 ratings)
Positive reviews79.9% of reviews — better75.4% of reviews
Number of ratings899 — better293
Update frequencyEvery 8 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.013.0
Further details — not scored
Size467 MB55 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperDevolver Digital, Inc.Devolver

Customer experience

Bleak Sword

All ratings899 ratings
Positive87.9%
Neutral3.6%
Negative8.6%
Written reviews552 reviews
Positive79.9%
Neutral7.4%
Negative12.7%

Downwell+

All ratings293 ratings
Positive86.0%
Neutral5.1%
Negative8.9%
Written reviews191 reviews
Positive75.4%
Neutral8.9%
Negative15.7%

User reviews

Bleak Sword

From 899 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth and responsive controls
  • 👍 Satisfying combat mechanics
  • 🎨 Unique and atmospheric pixel art style
  • 🕹️ Challenging but fair gameplay
  • 🕰️ Suitable for short play sessions

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional save data loss issues
  • 🔍 Difficulty in tracking character on screen
  • 🤕 Overly punishing difficulty curve
  • 🧠 Lack of progression and upgrade systems
  • 🔍 Blurry visuals on some devices

Downwell+

From 293 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Surprisingly good game
  • 👍 Fun and addictive gameplay
  • 💎 Satisfying audio design
  • 🎨 Customizable palettes

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and performance issues
  • 🎮 Suboptimal controls and button layout
  • 🔇 Lack of sound/volume control
  • 💢 Overly difficult and punishing

Bugs and requests

Bleak Sword

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Controls becoming unresponsive after app switch
  • Inconsistent blocking mechanics

Requested features

5 requests
  • Landscape mode support for tablets
  • Ability to skip credits after first completion
  • More enemy and boss variety
  • Customizable controls
  • Expanded story and lore

Downwell+

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Buttons not working on launch
  • Game freezing at the end of levels
  • Abilities not functioning as expected

Requested features

4 requests
  • Controller support
  • Landscape mode
  • More upgrades and progression
  • Gradual difficulty increase

In-app purchases

None

Bleak Sword

No in-app purchases

None

Downwell+

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Bleak Sword free?
Bleak Sword is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Downwell+ free?
Downwell+ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Bleak Sword or Downwell+?
Bleak Sword and Downwell+ are both rated 4.5 out of 5 on the App Store, from 899 and 293 ratings respectively.
Do Bleak Sword or Downwell+ have ads?
Neither Bleak Sword nor Downwell+ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bleak Sword or Downwell+?
Bleak Sword ships an update every 8 months, and Downwell+ every 3 weeks. Most recently, Bleak Sword was updated on September 20, 2026 and Downwell+ on September 21, 2026.

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