Choose Down the shaft
Choose Down the shaft if you want an Action and Free To Play experience. On Steam, it's free to play, so the barrier to trying it is zero. Down the shaft launched in 2024.
Down the shaft vs Those Who Dwell
Down the shaft and Those Who Dwell both land in Indie, Adventure on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Indie, Adventure on Steam. Down the shaft (2024) is 1 year older than Those Who Dwell (2025). Down the shaft is free; Those Who Dwell is paid (4.99 USD). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Those Who Dwell
Choose Those Who Dwell if it matches what drew you to this matchup. Those Who Dwell launched in 2025.
Both Down the shaft and Those Who Dwell sit in Indie and Adventure on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 Down the shaft |  Those Who Dwell | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024 | 2025 |
| Genres | Action, Indie, Adventure, Free To Play | Indie, Adventure |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Unrated |
| Price | Free to play | 4.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 2 reviews | 90% positive (20 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | MissCasandra_DEV | Midnight Forge LTD |
Side by side
- Both share Indie, Adventure on Steam.
- Down the shaft (2024) is 1 year older than Those Who Dwell (2025).
- Down the shaft is free; Those Who Dwell is paid (4.99 USD).
Down the shaft vs Those Who Dwell — FAQ
- Should I play Down the shaft or Those Who Dwell first?
- If you want chronology, Down the shaft (2024) came out before Those Who Dwell (2025). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Down the shaft and Those Who Dwell similar?
- They overlap on Indie, Adventure on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.
- Is Down the shaft free?
- Yes — Down the shaft is a free-to-play Steam title. Those Who Dwell is paid (4.99 USD).