Two smaller games came out on September 22, both squeezed between this month's big releases. Well Dweller, a dark fairy-tale metroidvania, has some of the most consistent reviews of the year. Graveyard Keeper 2, the sequel to Lazy Bear's cemetery management sim, has a much wider spread, and the reason is the same thing its fans love about it.
Well Dweller review scores: 91 on Metacritic
Well Dweller is by Kyle Thompson, published with Top Hat Studios and Doyoyo Games, on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch and Switch 2. You play Glimmer, a tiny bird armed with a matchstick, who has to burn the wicked queen to save his family. Metacritic lists it at 91 from seven critics, all positive. OpenCritic has a 90 top-critic average from 18 reviews, with every critic recommending it.
- Console Creatures: 100
- Loot Level Chill: 95
- Gamer Social Club: 9.5/10
- Hardcore Gamer: 90
- Worth Playing: 9/10
- Noisy Pixel: 9/10
- Cubed3: 9/10
- IGN Spain: 9/10
- Pizza Fria: 9/10
- ZTGD: 9/10
- The Indie Informer: 90
- PS4Blog.net: 8.5/10
- Oyungezer: 8/10
What critics love about Well Dweller
The level design and the pace. Hardcore Gamer calls it "simply, a fantastic traditional metroidvania, with an incredibly well-designed world supplemented by wonderful storytelling." IGN Spain says it "masterfully blends dark fantasy with fable" with "exquisite level design." Loot Level Chill calls it "one of the most polished and captivating Metroidvanias I've played in years."
Orpheus Joshua at Noisy Pixel (9, Must-Play) describes the loop that keeps people going: "The cycle of learning a new movement skill, such as wall jumping, and then immediately going to locations that benefit from it is pretty addictive." The combat is "swift, smooth, and pretty intuitive, trading depth for near-immediate reliability."
Several critics also praise how approachable it is. Oyungezer (8/10): "Not every metroidvania has to be frustratingly difficult; we need games like Well Dweller that manage to appeal to everyone." Pizza Fria says it has "just the right amount of challenge." Console Creatures points fans of the developer's previous game straight at it: "If you enjoyed the dev's previous effort in Crypt Custodian, this is a no-brainer and, in my mind, an all-timer in the genre."
The one caveat
There isn't much criticism, but Noisy Pixel names the most likely one. Glimmer's toolkit is "reliable and satisfying but relatively simple," and "the skill ceiling just isn't all that high," leaving combat "wanting another distinct idea or two for greater long-term variety." If you want a metroidvania that pushes you as hard as Hollow Knight, this is a gentler one. That's also exactly why other critics love it.
Graveyard Keeper 2 review scores: 73 on Metacritic, 83 on OpenCritic
Graveyard Keeper 2 is developed by Lazy Bear Games and published by tinyBuild, on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch and Switch 2. Metacritic lists it at 73 from eight critics (four positive, three mixed, one negative), while OpenCritic's average sits higher at 83. On Steam, about 88% of more than 1,200 user reviews are positive.
You restore a town, run a graveyard, automate production, and this time lead an undead army against a zombie outbreak. New to the sequel are tower defence, reanimating corpses as zombie workers, conveyor-belt automation, faster movement, fast travel and voice acting.
- The Outerhaven: 5/5
- Try Hard Guides: 90
- DualShockers: 85
- GameSpew: 8/10
- Gameliner: 80
- Steam Deck HQ: 70
- IGN Portugal: 70
- Shacknews: 70
- The Wand Report: 40
What critics love about Graveyard Keeper 2
The humour, the voice acting and the automation. Kim Snaith at GameSpew (8/10) calls it "bigger, better and more grizzly than ever," says the "voice acting elevates it to the next level," and finds the crafting "complex but it feels very rewarding." James Clarkson at The Outerhaven (5/5) praises "excellent dark humor and memorable characters" and "an enormous amount of meaningful content."
DualShockers (85) calls it a "fantastic sequel that delivers in almost every way" with "serious upgrades." Gameliner (80) says the faster movement, fast travel and voice acting cut down on the first game's frustrations. IGN Portugal (70) likes the "ambitious tower defence mechanics."
Where Graveyard Keeper 2 reviews split: the grind
The lower scores are about the same systems. Shacknews (70) calls the design "deliberately tedious," with tasks built on "multi-tier processes" that feel unnecessary. IGN Portugal mentions "exhausting micromanagement." The Wand Report (40) finds it "laborious" and says it magnifies the first game's problems. Even the positive reviews warn about onboarding: GameSpew says it "can feel overwhelming at times" and "could do with better tutorials," and DualShockers notes that "old-school design choices" make it obtuse in places. The Outerhaven finds the sleep-based saving restrictive, and at least one review cites rough performance alongside odd design choices.
The critics who scored it highly and the ones who didn't are describing the same game: long production chains, lots of steps, little hand-holding. Whether that's satisfying or exhausting depends on how much you enjoyed untangling the first one.
Which one to play
Well Dweller is the easy recommendation. Almost nobody has a bad word for it, and it's approachable enough for people who don't usually play metroidvanias. Players who want a punishing challenge may find the combat simple.
Graveyard Keeper 2 is for people who liked the first game and want more of it, with the rough edges sanded down a bit. If multi-step crafting chains and micromanagement wore you out last time, the lower reviews are telling you it hasn't changed that much.