Well Dweller out on PS5: 90 OpenCritic score and 100% recommendation

Kyle Thompson’s indie game currently holds a Top Critic Average of 90 on OpenCritic, based on 18 reviews, with a critic recommendation score of 100%.

In the game, you play as Glimmer, a small black bird carrying a match, in a dark fairy-tale kingdom with side-scrolling combat and boss fights.

What happened

According to the source, Well Dweller has launched as a new indie metroidvania from developer Kyle Thompson, known for Islets, Sheepo and Crypt Custodian. The game is described as a dark fairy-tale or dark fantasy metroidvania with interconnected level design, grotesque and cute NPCs, and hack-and-slash combat in a side-scrolling style.

The lead role goes to Glimmer, a small black bird carrying a match. According to the description, Glimmer must travel through a cruel fairy-tale kingdom to stop an evil queen and save their family. The provided context also notes that the game’s world is filled with charming characters in a brutal kingdom, matching the metroidvania structure and fairy-tale tone.

The release is accompanied by strong review scores. OpenCritic currently lists Well Dweller with a Top Critic Average of 90 and a critic recommendation score of 100%, based on 18 critic reviews. In external context, the game is also described as “Mighty” on OpenCritic and as part of the top 1% of games on the platform, though that ranking is time-sensitive and depends on the current aggregation.

The provided source also calls Well Dweller one of the highest-rated games of 2026 and places it in a shared fourth spot on OpenCritic for that year. That detail comes from the source text and depends on the current OpenCritic ranking and how tied scores are handled.

Background

Well Dweller comes from Kyle Thompson, the solo developer behind Islets, Sheepo and Crypt Custodian. The game fits his earlier work as a compact action game with a distinct visual style and metroidvania structure. The source emphasizes an interconnected world, side-scrolling combat, and a mix of grotesque and cute characters.

External Metacritic context describes Well Dweller as a dark fairy-tale metroidvania with charming characters in a cruel kingdom. In the same description, Glimmer is presented as a small bird with a match who must burn the wicked queen to save their family. That lines up with the core of the provided source, which says the protagonist travels through a cruel fairy-tale kingdom to stop an evil queen.

The source also says the game is available on PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X/S. No exact release date is explicitly confirmed in the provided facts, only that the game is out now. An external snippet does mention September 22, 2026, but that date is not confirmed in the main source and should be treated as unverified.

The timing of the announcement is also limited to the phrase “last August” in the source context. Without the article’s publication date, it is not possible to determine the year with certainty. The available facts do confirm that the game is now out and that its OpenCritic scores were very strong at the time of the source.

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• OpenCritic: Well Dweller reviews
• OpenCritic: Well Dweller critic reviews