Cellar
Released Mar 2016
Short arcade game with handcrafted pixel art graphics. You play as Lily who traverses the dark corners of the basement under her house in search of her lost teddy bear. Inspired by some of the greatest fears from our childhood.
78% positive · 223 reviews
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence
Where to buy
Steam $0.99
Can't confirm — worth a look
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Evaluation
Cellar is a small, self-contained arcade game that launched on March 23, 2016. The store description explicitly states the game has 8 levels and roughly 1 hour of playtime, presenting it as a complete, intentionally compact experience from the outset.
After launch, the developer shipped one significant content update — Patch 2.00 on October 29, 2016 — which added new pixel art, revised game modes, localization support, and additional achievements. A follow-up patch in November 2016 added Linux support and more languages. The final recorded update was a bug fix patch on January 15, 2018, addressing collision issues, input handling, and localization fixes.
Following that January 2018 patch, the developer's communications shifted entirely to promoting their next game, Yahrit! (announced June 30, 2018, released July 13, 2018). There have been no further posts, patches, or announcements relating to Cellar since January 2018. No unreleased DLC is listed, no roadmap or future content was ever promised, and the developer has not indicated any intention to return to the game.
The game launched as a finished product, received meaningful post-launch polish and content improvements through 2016–2018, and has been stable ever since. It is complete.
Evidence
Final update for Cellar — a bug fix patch addressing level collisions, challenge mode behavior, font rendering, and input handling. Last official communication about the game.
Patch 2.00 released — a major update adding new pixel art, revised challenge mode, options menu, environment interactions, localization, and new achievements.
Media
Details
Developer
Publisher
Vertical Skull Games
Achievements
15
Platform
Windows, Linux
Controller
full support
Steam Deck
Not rated
Players
Single-player
About this game
Do you remember when as a little child you were sent to fetch something from the cellar and you were always afraid that something's lurking there in the darkness? Cellar will allow you to go back to these days and face the greatest fears from your childhood - join Lily on her quest to find her missing teddy, Blackbear the Pirate!
Cellar is a short, casual game created in pixel art. Gameplay is presented in top-down view (like Bomberman or early Zelda installments). At the core, the game requires you to find your way through a maze of crates and other stuff stocked in a basement and get the key that unlocks the door to next level. The ultimate goal is to find your lost teddy bear while avoiding dangerous traps and monsters that lurk in the cellar.
You're still here? OK, so here's some hard facts about the game:
Cellar is a short, casual game created in pixel art. Gameplay is presented in top-down view (like Bomberman or early Zelda installments). At the core, the game requires you to find your way through a maze of crates and other stuff stocked in a basement and get the key that unlocks the door to next level. The ultimate goal is to find your lost teddy bear while avoiding dangerous traps and monsters that lurk in the cellar.
You're still here? OK, so here's some hard facts about the game:
- It's a fine variation of Bomberman/Dyna Blaster in the world of Sokoban (you know, because of all the crates)
- The game auto-saves only at the beginning of each level. Deal with it.
- There are 8 levels. That's right, 8 of them.
- It's a perfect choice to boost up your completion / achievement rate on Steam. You can get a nice, round 100% in about 1 hour, unless you turn out really bad at this game.
- We actually said this already, but the expected playtime is about 1 hour. Enough for a refreshing break from all those well-known, repetitive AAA titles, but still short enough to keep you from getting frustrated.
- You CAN actually speedrun through the game in 15 minutes, even though you're in a cellar and not a vault. Are you up for a challenge?
- Speaking of challenge, there's also an additional, time-based difficulty setting that becomes playable after you beat the game once.
- There are Steam Achievements, including those horrible hidden ones that you'll be dying to figure out before someone finally posts a guide for this game.
- You can play it with a controller from the comfort of your couch. Or you can keep standing, that's fine too.
- If you're still reading this, then we'd suggest you get the game, cause it seems we seriously got your attention.
Are these done yet?
Last evaluated Jun 27, 2026
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