The Bottom of the Well

A branching visual novel about surviving a dream apocalypse

Red Nettle Studio · Released Mar 3, 2016

Reviews: Very Positive; 86% of 673
Recent reviews: Not enough recent
Players: 0; daily peak, Oct 30, 2026
Steam Deck: Untested
Last update on Steam: 10 years ago; May 16, 2016
Minimum PC: 0.5 GB disk; Full requirements

What is The Bottom of the Well?

You play as Alice, who recounts an end-of-the-world dream to a friend in this free visual novel. You select her starting stats, then read and choose her actions through the ruins of her city. Those stats affect both dialogue and major decisions.

For you if...

+you enjoy short playthroughs with different paths to explore

Not for you if...

−you want action rather than reading and making choices

What players say

86% of 673 reviews are positive

Players praise the writing, atmosphere, music, and artwork. Isolated complaints concern repeated restarts and difficulty figuring out which character setup allows access to particular story branches.

Screenshots and trailer

The Bottom of the Well system requirements

Minimum: 0.5 GB of disk space.

As published by the developer.

Can my PC run The Bottom of the Well?

The published requirements do not name a graphics card we can compare.

Set up my PC →

Minimum

OS: Windows 7, 8, 10
Storage: 500 MB available space

Does The Bottom of the Well have co-op or multiplayer?

No: single-player only, no multiplayer modes declared.

Single-player

Does The Bottom of the Well run on Steam Deck?

Untested Not yet tested by Valve on Steam Deck.

PC version details

DRM: None declared on Steam
Controller: Keyboard and mouse
Platforms: Windows
Achievements: 12
Steam features: Family Sharing
Languages: Text only: English.

Does The Bottom of the Well use AI-generated content?

No AI-generated content is disclosed on the game's Steam page.

Self-reported by the developer under Steam rules: it covers AI content that ships in the game, not tools used to make it. Steam page checked on Oct 27, 2026. How to filter AI games on Steam