Shut Eye
Shut Eye
Game
Game2016
The Dweller
Developer Villainous Games
The Dweller is a puzzle game where you play as the MONSTER! It's time to get rid of all those pesky archaeologists snooping around in your lair. SCARE them, CRUSH them, DEVOUR them! ELIMINATE THE INTRUDERS! From the Steam store page
189 reactions from 2 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky) · newest Nov 4, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
94
LovedLoved
168 positive · 10 negative
95% range 90–97%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 168 | 10 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 3 | 1 | 7 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
354 of 377 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
94% recommend · 173 yes, 11 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 184 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (623 of 669 positive).
Players enjoy the unique puzzle gameplay and the satisfying role of a monster. [1][2][3] Some reviewers find the game bland or lacking in level design. [4][5][6]
Liked
Representative posts
- [4]
Control wurm like creature which dive underground. Goal is to swallow all explorers. You can move freely in soil, do short dive and push boxes. It plays like a puzzle game. Not a big fan of this one. Level design is lacking. Boring to play and bland scenery make this one a bad choice rather than something at least mediocre. Not recommended.
- [1]
A fairly unique puzzle game worthy of the ~3 hours I put into it (admittedly, some idle time). As with all good puzzle game, new elements get added as one progresses. I did not find much of a difficulty ramp, with each puzzle being unique. I found some later scenes less difficult than earlier ones, and overall the variation did not seem dependent on the level number. Additional Details Operating System Ubuntu Linux …
- [2]
I’ve found that games can teach us just as much about ourselves as it can about the creator or the greater world. The Dweller, for example, has taught me that I am an absolute sociopath when asked. Not only will I devour people, crush them with boulders, and send them screaming off of cliffs, I’ll do it while cackling gleefully and extolling the virtues of my deeds to anyone who will listen. So, to add some context …
- [14]
Fun puzzle game with a story & some humour You are an ancient monster whose cave home is now being excavated by a group of archaeologists. The goal on each level is to either kill them or scare them away. There are 50+ levels offering ~3-5 hours of gameplay, and as you progress, the story is revealed through the diary pages of various people on the excavation team. The game is well-made (aside from spelling errors …
- [3]
Thought this would be your typical puzzle game but i was wrong. It was pretty satisfying just crushing the humans,
Summarised from 34 of the 194 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
94% of the 184 Steam reviewers we collected recommend The Dweller. The complaint that keeps coming up: very short length. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Reactions
60 of 189 · most liked firstA fairly unique puzzle game worthy of the ~3 hours I put into it (admittedly, some idle time). As with all good puzzle game, new elements get added as one progresses. I did not find much of a difficulty ramp, with each puzzle being unique. I found some later scenes less difficult than earlier ones, and overall the variation did not seem dependent on the level number. Additional Details Operating System Ubuntu Linux 18.04 x64 CPU Ryzen 5 1500x…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →These foolish mortals dared to trespass upon our sacred grounds. Devour them all!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Dweller is a fun puzzle platformer with an interesting story. You are a shapeless monster, which dwells in walls and rocks, trying to kill off archeologists, who peacefully seek to explore an ancient city. But if you think you can go now and freely murder these poor men and women as you like, you are wrong. You have to do that in the shape of puzzles. The difficulty of the puzzles is somewhere between easy and medium. By doing the stages, you unlock parts of the story. Unfortunately,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was honestly surprised how fun this actually was. Shame they have removed it on steam.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I’ve found that games can teach us just as much about ourselves as it can about the creator or the greater world. The Dweller, for example, has taught me that I am an absolute sociopath when asked. Not only will I devour people, crush them with boulders, and send them screaming off of cliffs, I’ll do it while cackling gleefully and extolling the virtues of my deeds to anyone who will listen. So, to add some context for whatever therapist ends up reading this review in a few years, let me…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun puzzle game with a story & some humour You are an ancient monster whose cave home is now being excavated by a group of archaeologists. The goal on each level is to either kill them or scare them away. There are 50+ levels offering ~3-5 hours of gameplay, and as you progress, the story is revealed through the diary pages of various people on the excavation team. The game is well-made (aside from spelling errors here 'n' there), the puzzles very fun and sometimes challenging to solve, and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/23741321]Follow our curator page Alexander's Club Curations, if you like and want to see more reviews like this one. Overview The Dweller is a short 2d puzzle game about a monstrous entity beset upon by nosy explorers, picking them off, one at a time. The Good Ambient music Text lore Simple controls Difficulty Numerous puzzle mechanics Steam Achievements The Bad Fiddly object movement/possession Zero aesthetic variety Short length…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Control wurm like creature which dive underground. Goal is to swallow all explorers. You can move freely in soil, do short dive and push boxes. It plays like a puzzle game. Not a big fan of this one. Level design is lacking. Boring to play and bland scenery make this one a bad choice rather than something at least mediocre. Not recommended.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Thought this would be your typical puzzle game but i was wrong. It was pretty satisfying just crushing the humans,
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →And there's no chance the Dweller is just, like, sort of temporarily capturing the ensigns like in a playground game and they'll all come out chuckling happily in a little bit, right
neutral · AI labelView post →Bland and hollow. Although I'm sure the dev put his heart and soul into it, it's the kind of game an experienced developer could produce in about 10 minutes (less the level design). I say this not to knock the developer, but to use this to point out how incredibly shallow the game is. I grew bored within about 15 minutes and the rest of my displayed play time beyond that will be idling the game for the cards. All you do is look at the level arrangement and then perform a sort of mental…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →tl;dr: fine little puzzle game that runs natively on Linux. Feels like a game jam game that just made it to release. A couple of times physics was glitchy. There is a duplicated word in the 2nd note (it's kinda lame). Otherwise no issues. The puzzles are interesting, and that's what really matters. Frustration-free game. Thumbs up from me.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →-- Review for Linux version of this game -- Nice Linux port, everything worked as expected. game is very lightweight (I barely noticed any resource consumption in CPU/RAM). Game itself is short - 50 levels + some story notes. each level consists of puzzle where you as the monster have to kill all enemies. Tho levels look like it's some platformer game it is rather puzzle game where you have time to plan your move. I liked music, it's so dark and makes me think about Diablo 1 and 2 and its…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Dweller is a small, indie, puzzle game that lets you play as a monster defending its lair (tomb?) from the way too curious archeologists (and some army later on?). It's really short, easily beatable in less than 2 hours and to be frank, it's just not that much fun. Gameplay Most of the time you'll find yourself moving rocks of different sizes, as the monster can only move within ground (for the most part of the game). And while in range of a scientist you'll quickly eat it or slide the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →a Unique puzzle experience, that's what we have here, sure worth the play especially if you can get it on sale. The story behind the game is pretty simple, people/ archaeologists invade your home and your job is to kill them, pretty straightforward, however what is unique is the way you go about doing said killing. Normally you would have your own character and direct it up and down towards the enemies to kill them, but here you are a entity and not entirely in your own body, instead you move…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A short journey into the abyss as seen by an ancient unknown tasked with protecting a lost civilization's legacy, The Dweller does not mess around and immediately tests your problem solving skills. The problems are rather diverse and include (but are not limited to): - People. - Lots of people. - Graverobbing people. - Government regulated graverobbing. - More people. To dissolve these problems one must use a series of very cleverly designed actions to main, crush, annihilate, maul and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Dweller is a puzzle game where you eliminate the archaeologists as a monster. Gameplay The game has a total of 59 levels of various difficulty. The objective of the game is to eliminate all the archaeologists through scaring, crushing or devouring them. You (the monster) can only move through the walls of the cave and through rocks by "possessing" them- you cannot pass through the open areas of the level, restricting your movement. These restrictions challenge the player's creativity,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Much better game than it seems.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Cool The Dweller 5/10 Heisen
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A very enjoyable little puzzle game where you're the monster for a change feels very similar to carrion. Graphics 7/10 Very basic retro style Gameplay 9/10 They linger on just long enough before introducing new mechanics before it gets boring Story 6/10 Kinda meh very loose and vague but more then you'd expect Difficulty 4/10 Enjoyable and simple but the difficulty is very inconsistent (disregarding the levels introducing new mechanics) it spikes A LOT Overall 6.5/10 Very good for a little…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Excellent story and gameplay. I just wish there were more levels. It's a little easy but still 6/5.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Funny game. But short. You can earn achievements. You can get trading cards.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Short but fun puzze game. Plays great on Linux, thanks!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →simple but effective concept. Good execution.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I think know exactly the level you're talking about! E3M9 The Dweller in Darkness, my favorite challenge in the whole game, and a tough one at that. Bless the Riveter. I might pass on using a gap to travel to a dimension with that level, I don't think I'd survive without quicksaves.
positive · AI labelView post →Sea of Stars: Day Three! The eclipse is here and we're off to fight the Dweller of Woe! Certainly nothing is going to go wrong, and everyone is super safe! This is like a 20 hour game, right? Also it's Edmund Fitzgerald Day! twitch.tv/pastelmizzy
neutral · AI labelView post →We progressed quite a bit, from being told we wouldn’t be able to beat the Dweller of Strife, meeting the Archivist and learning he’s a character in game, AND learning of the Dweller of Torment and defeating it. So much happened today… Big thanks to @avawyndragoonvt.bsky.social for the raid today!
neutral · AI labelView post →It was a great game. I got hopeful when I took two wounds off the Dweller on turn one, but then he managed to get them back by eating my fighters the next turn and I never managed to hurt him again. I poured way too much of my army into trying to take him down unfortunately.
neutral · AI labelView post →I usually don't enjoy puzzle games, but I was sucked in by the promise of being an ancient abomination that eats archaeologists. Every level is a single-screen puzzle where planning and spatial awareness rewards you with diabolical rewards. I bought this game for myself and my father whilst it was on sale, and we'll get many hours of entertainment playing through at our own pace. If puzzles are your jam though, this short but wonderfully made title is certainly worth the asking price. The…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →refreshing approach to puzzle games. diary also didnt suck .
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Excellent little puzzle game; I would even say one of my favorites from the last decade! Apart from its clever mechanics and design, The Dweller is also notable for letting you play as a really cool Eldritch horror. While it isn't the only game to put in the shoes of a monster, I think there still aren't enough of these experiences; and anyways the devs managed quite a unique take on the genre that stands out from the rest. Playtime is indeed short (~2.5 hours) here, but no level overstays…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I got this on a whim through Chrono.gg, because their coin shop is being shut down. I'm going to call that 'free'. I wasn't sure what to expect, and I haven't played a whole lot, but I really like this! It's got a clever gimmick, and who doesn't love crushing archaeologists with possessed boulders? I mean, really.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I honestly really love this game. It is very simple; the goal is to eat people as a monster. It is a puzzle game and so satisfying chomping on the intruders. Each puzzle increases in difficulty and some had me stumped for a little while. I went in with low expectations and was suprised with how fun it is. It is a good game to wind down with or if you want something low-risk and slow paced. I received it for under a dollar on sale. Not sure I would pay full price only because it is short but I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →it aint bad but it gets really boring for me at least
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →complete h-o-r-s-e-s-h-i-t !
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This cute little game IS for you if puzzle games are your cup of tea. :D By the way, don't forget to play this game if you already own this game. It will take you about 3-5 hours to finish the dweller. Pros: Puzzles are solid The story is :P Pixel art Achievements Trading cards Short (50 levels) Cons: The last 10 levels are not that good The ending is unsatisfying Short
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →KILL THEM ALL!!! EVer wanted to play as a dark earth spirit? Ever wanted to hunt down, devour and crush nosey archeologists? Do you like puzzles? If you answered yest to any of these, then this is the game you want to play. If you said yes to all of them, then you're probably already playing the game...or ar performing some dark ritual to turn yourself into a monster. Joking aside, this game is basically a collection of puzzles. Your job is to kill all those meddling humans and you can do so…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love love love this game. It's almost perfect. It's just the right length, getting to protect your eldritch home from interloping (white) explorers is a great twist, the puzzles are satisfying to solve, and that ending - best puzzle game story ever. You should definitely play this game for the 50¢ they're asking. Heck, even for $5 it's better than the cup of coffee you were going to get this morning.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Short and sweet puzzler where you play the role of an ancient cave dweller, scaring crushing and devouring the invading archaelogical forces. A good amount of puzzles, with a climax of more challenging areas before finishing off with a flurry and a twist to the story.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Cool puzzling game, it's clever and simple. Has a good backstory as well.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What a neat little game!!! Puzzly enough and with fun mechanics! Too short! Nah... the length is great! Enough to squeeze the juice out of every mechanic. No need to go further than that! It's also fun to play the bad guy for once. It was a lot of fun figuring out how to kill everybody. (Well that's a sentence I'll only say while playing video games... lel). Though some puzzle are quite linear. In some ocassions you got to get stuff done in a certain order. Nonetheless... awesome game!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Few days late, but genuinely. Play this game. Putting aside the vore aspect, it's frankly one of the best games I've ever played. Also, the Dweller species has me in a chokehold. Genuinely might have to make my fursona a Dweller at the point, the obsession is BAD.
positive · AI labelView post →I bought it just for the trading cards a long time ago, but I didn't expect it to be fun enough to make me beat all the levels. The story notes are also a nice little addition.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This seems like something that would have served as inspiration for [url=store.steampowered.com/app/953490/CARRION/]CARRION, as in: you play as the horror monster that people run away from, instead of running from it yourself. This is structured in levels, and you have to kill or scare away every human in each level to win. There are also some character written notes you unlock that give you a small simple story. Your monster can only move inside the ground, and eat the humans from below. You…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There's a big difficulty spike on level 14, but I promise that the solution is very pleasing to figure out and the game really starts to open up with new mechanics shortly after! This is one of the best puzzle games I've played in a long time, it has the three great properties a puzzle game should: - Paradox: Moments where you think a level is impossible until you think of a lateral move that lets you see a level in a new light. Good difficulty curve design is important here to give the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Dweller is a compact but inventive puzzle experience developed by Villainous Games and published by Forever Entertainment S. A. that immediately distinguishes itself through its unusual perspective. Instead of placing the player in the role of an adventurer braving ancient ruins, the game flips the premise entirely and casts you as the ancient horror that dwells beneath the earth. Archaeologists who enter your domain are not heroes to be guided or protected, but intruders whose presence…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It resembles a flash game, since it's pretty basic, but the price isn't too high usually, so you can have some fun with it if you like puzzle games.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am 32 years old. My ex-wife and I have a daughter together, and we adopted our son together. Both are now 4 years old. When we were going through our separation, I felt lost and unhappy. I was self-destructive. One day, I was so angry with everything spiraling out of control that I punched a concrete wall in a moment of overwhelming emotion. This resulted in breaking my fifth metacarpal in my right hand—the hand I worked with, played games with, and used to carry my children to bed—the hand…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →LIVE NOW Sea of Stars: we can't do anymore sidequests until we advance the plot so the game is dragging us kicking ad screaming to the Dweller of Woe. twitch.tv/gaige_neumann <-- allergic to story progress #vtuber #lewdtuber
neutral · AI labelView post →Played it for 5min. Cons: * Booooooring Pros * Got it for free and opened in background to get free trading cards
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Now it's clear who Carrion stole the idea from.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you are into puzzle games its ok, otherwise it may get boring
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is truly just fun to play around with. You are the 'monster' in this game, that's nice. Killing everyone is your main objective in here. Either by: Scaring, crushing, or eating them all. Devolver's CARRION: Is clearly inspired by this. The Dweller really seems like the original gem. Villainous Games did create a really fun game. It's cheap, It feels unique and I just truly dig it. There is plenty of various levels to go through. Around four hours of total playtime, very nice. The…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Wow. Really cool game! I was looking for a hidden gem like this one among the indie titles! I'll make sure to buy the sequel should it ever be made.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Short but entertaining. Can totally recommend for the price.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Be an Eldritch abomination. Find clever ways to murder people. Delight in their screams. That is all you need. ^_^
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A short but very well made indie game. I didn't want to stop until I completed every level. There are some easy ones but most of them require you to use your brain, at least a little bit. Each level feels satisfying to complete, and the solutions to the puzzles are very intuitive. There wasn't a single section where I felt frustrated due to game design. If you want to 100% steam achievements for a game, this one is very easy to do so. In conclusion, this game is worth the few bucks.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bland, hollow, generic and uninteresting. Decent visuals though.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you expect this game to be about taking control of a cave-dwelling monster to run havoc, casually chomping down some humans, consider this game a thumbs-down and avoid the game instead. If you're a puzzle fan, then continue reading this review below. It's a shame this was a puzzle game. Being a mysterious human-chomping monster in a cave would have been a fun game if it were more action-focused. The Dweller is not a bad puzzle game, but it's a wasted potential with a great idea. It's a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A very fun, short and unique puzzler. Highly recommend
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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