Animal Well (2024)

I'm not a huge metroidvania fan, but I love myself a good puzzle game and this one is one certainly.

Aesthetically the game comes off as a minimalistic one-man pixelart-project, emphasized by the laconic sort of character you're playing, which seems to be little more than a faceless blob out of bubble bobble.

The dark blue colour palette and eerie music pair perfectly with the mostly cute but often enough slightly frightening animals you encounter in the well.

To replace combat with puzzle is one thing, but what makes Animal Well great is that it celebrates a game mechanic which has become part of the standard reportoire of metroidvanias but unfortunately became totally trivialized in the process:

Backtracking with newly acquired abilities. In other games of the genre and even in Hollow Knight it is a simple hard lock in the map which simply indicates that the foreseen way of proceeding is geographically seperated from the end of the former chapter.

In Animal Well, the abilities can be used in various seemingly creative ways in all parts of the map, making it scratch on the surface of an immersive sim mechanic.

USP of the game is also it's various layers of depth if you explore the additional content, which I ofc don't because I never do.

I don't know if the price tag is justified but I don't mind spending my money if it goes directly towards a passionate one man-indie dev project.

Oh and btw: I just decided that puzzlevania is okay to say, while metroidbrainia is totally cringe. Jump in on the train!

One of the most complex and deep metroidvanias I've ever played.

Not sure what the story is (or if there's even a story) but Animal Well is basically one huge puzzle. No guidance, no nothing - it's just you, your brain and your instincts. Really fun cracking this game open, and after 12 or so hours I still haven't found everything.

I will say the game has too much content for its own good, and some of it isn't fun to find - just too well hidden. But I can see myself going back to find all the eggs (and maaaaybe all the bunnies) to get the "true ending." Not sure I'll ever replay it from scratch, though.

The visuals are interesting and have a certain style and appeal. The sounds are also pretty good, though they do not stand out as much.

Overall, a true indie gem and a fantastic game.

I actually rolled credits on this a couple of weeks ago, but I was undecided whether I’d go back to try for some secret endings. What an interesting little world. Prior to playing it I’d heard it described as having elements of Super Metroid, Tunic, The Witness. I love all of those games, and this didn’t disappoint either.

It’s comforting, strange, beautiful, and creepy at all once. The art style is one I have a huge weakness for, and while I wish there was a bit more music, what there is really sets the tone and the sound effects are great too.

I’m generally fairly poor at puzzle-heavy games, so I’m quite proud of myself that I reached credits without using a guide. Ultimately though I’ve decided to not proceed getting the second ending or any of the other secrets; I did a little bit of Googling and there is no way in a million years I would ever work that stuff out myself.

However, it has been very entertaining watching the YouTube videos of all the crazy stuff people have found, and it would seem like not everything has been discovered yet!