General Gaming Animal Well - Beautiful metroidvania with vibes for days, out now - 89 OC/91 meta

[stepee]

 

Out now on everything besides Xbox because it’s just NOT their week.

 

Game Information

Game Title: Animal Well

 

Platforms:

• PlayStation 5 (May 9, 2024)
• Nintendo Switch (May 9, 2024)
• PC (May 9, 2024)

 

Developer: Billy Basso

Publisher: Bigmode

 

Review Aggregator:

OpenCritic - 89 average - 100% recommended

 

Critic Reviews

Spoiler

Destructoid - Jamie Sharp - 10 / 10

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It’s one I’m grateful I experienced knowing so little, and urge anyone else sitting on the fence to wholeheartedly embrace until the darkness and biologically fueled light sources of its world envelop you in your beautiful, if slightly chilly, new home.

Eurogamer - Christian Donlan - 5 / 5

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Explore a bright vision of subterranean nature in this astonishingly rich Metroidvania.

Nintendo Life - Nile Bowie - 10 / 10

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Developer Shared Memory's stated goal is "to craft complete experiences that will be playable long after the world loses its internet connection," and screen after screen, Animal Well excels in delighting your eyes and giving your brain something to stew on. It's a riposte against a culture of post-launch updates in favour of a meticulously crafted, singular vision with potentially years' worth of discoveries baked in. By all indications, Animal Well delivers on that long-term promise and does so with a one-of-a-kind elegance.

TechRaptor - Andrew Stretch - 10 / 10

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Animal Well is a game that promised platforming and puzzles and has managed to absolutely nail both in execution. Platforming fans will have an enjoyable time reaching the credits and will be content to set it down while puzzle gamers will be enamored by the depth that Animal Well has been able to achieve. You won't get more satisfied by a game solving puzzles like these.

TheGamer - Eric Switzer - 5 / 5

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This is a game best played alongside friends who can go in without any expectations and work through obstacles together. Don’t expect to be able to solve everything on your own, but at the same time, do everything you can not to ask for help. If you can be comfortable with contradictions like that, you’ll find a lot to love in Animal Well.

DualShockers - Sam Woods - 9.2 / 10

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Animal Well is sure to be one of 2024's surprise hits. It's Metroidvania gameplay plays second fiddle to a seemingly endless mystery

Hobby Consolas - Alberto Lloret - Spanish - 92 / 100

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Animal Well is one of the most interesting indie games that has been released so far in 2024.

But Why Tho? - Charles Hartford - 9 / 10

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Animal Well delivers a gorgeous art style paired with unique gameplay and an uncompromising vision

CGMagazine - Jordan Biordi - 9 / 10

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Animal Well kept me captivated from start to finish and long after. Fans of Metroid-likes NEED to play this.

Game Informer - Charlie Wacholz - 9 / 10

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Teeming with life, secrets, and charm that surprise and delight, Animal Well held my full, undivided attention

GameSpot - Richard Wakeling - 9 / 10

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Animal Well delights with its non-traditional approach to Metroidvanias, combining unique items with a reactive and surreal world that's full of surprises.

GamesRadar+ - Jon Bailes - 4.5 / 5

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Without giving anything away, it suffices to say that this rabbit hole goes a long way down, and if Animal Well is a Metroidvania, it's so much more besides.

God is a Geek - Lyle Carr - 9 / 10

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Animal Well is a Metroidvania that stands out in a crowded marketplace thanks to a lack of combat and some seriously creative power ups.

Hardcore Gamer - James Cunningham - 4.5 / 5

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Animal Well is a stunner of a metroidvania, usually charming but frequently creepy, mysterious but by no means unapproachable, and filled from top to bottom with secrets that are always satisfying to uncover.

IGN - Rebekah Valentine - 9 / 10

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Animal Well is a beautiful, multi-layered puzzle box that’s both fun to simply play around with, and an utter delight to slowly crack open, secret by secret.

PC Gamer - Shaun Prescott - 90 / 100

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A sleep-destroying puzzle metroidvania of baffling depth, Animal Well may go down in history as one of the genre's best.

Screen Rant - Rob Gordon - 4.5 / 5

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Animal Well is something quite remarkable. A Metroidvania title that still feels fresh in 2024 thanks to its puzzle-centric gameplay, incredible atmosphere and army of secrets to discover, this is a must-play for those who like a bit of mystery in their games. Players should just make sure to discover the secrets themselves.

Wccftech - Kai Tatsumoto - 8.6 / 10

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Animal Well is a fantastic breakout title from both a new developer and publishing studio. Fans of Fez and Tunic will feel right at home jumping into this well.

Checkpoint Gaming - Omi Koulas - 8.5 / 10

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Uncover secrets, evade dangers, and embark on an eerie journey in ANIMAL WELL. Billy Basso has crafted a dark neon aesthetic and enigmatic gameplay that delivers a Metroidvania unlike many others. The mystery and cryptic puzzles won't be for everyone, but those who enjoy a challenge and a good platformer will be rewarded with a haunting adventure.

NintendoWorldReport - Willem Hilhorst - 8.5 / 10

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Even though it drops a few balls while juggling all these mechanics together, such as the boss battles. Still, ANIMAL WELL is a brilliantly put together game that I'd highly recommend to anyone who wants to get lost in a small but intricately designed game. I am quite convinced that both designers and players will be delving down deeper into this well over the coming years.

PSX Brasil - Victor Vitório - Portuguese - 85 / 100

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Animal Well is stunning and mysterious, a visual treat that offers open-ended and thought-provoking exploration. The total lack of explanations may put off part of the audience, but those who are willing to see how deep the iceberg, or rather the pit, goes, will have a lot to enjoy in this surrealist metroidvania.

COGconnected - Jaz Sagoo - 80 / 100

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Animal Well is a refreshing twist on the Metroidvania formula. Its tight platforming and clever puzzles make each exhilarating trek to distinct regions a blast. Although the retro-inspired art direction and odd presentation may not resonate with everyone, the originality and charm that imbues the game make this trip to the absurd a must for fans of the genre.

DarkZero - Lewis Howarth - 8 / 10

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Overall, Animal Well is a visually striking 2D metroidvania that immerses you in a pixelated world full of mysteries.

Digital Trends - Giovanni Colantonio - 4 / 5

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Animal Well's deep secrets and arresting atmosphere will suck you down the rabbit hole.

PCGamesN - Lauren Bergin - 8 / 10

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Despite its confusing fast travel system and misbehaving yo-yo, Animal Well is a bizarre yet brilliant neon-bathed adventure, characterized by tricky puzzles, intense platforming, and a host of cute animals - almost all of which are out to kill you.

Push Square - Stephen Tailby - 8 / 10

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Animal Well is an extremely rewarding game — if you're willing to lose yourself in it. The sort of mysteries it's hiding go well beyond finding collectibles, giving you a rich and detailed world to unpack. If you have the patience and the curiosity, it's absolutely worth plumbing its depths.

Shacknews - TJ Denzer - 8 / 10

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Animal Well is one of the strangest metroidvanias I’ve played in a lot of very good ways. It’s pretty, funny, and scary in its atmospheric visuals and audio. Its platforming is also very satisfying and makes you feel good when you figure out how to use your tools properly to solve a puzzle. There are also secrets a plenty and a post-game to explore, as well. It's also just interesting to me that you don't directly fight with enemies and instead use your tools to work around them. The main double-edged sword here is the complete lack of context and hand-holding, which makes Animal Well charming and mysterious, but can make it difficult to keep track of what you were doing or where you should be going next. Nonetheless, if you want a solid and quirky adventure that will put your reflexes and puzzle-solving to the test, Animal Well is an absolutely fascinating journey.

Rock, Paper, Shotgun - Edwin Evans-Thirlwell - RPS Bestest Bests

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A gorgeous and immensely absorbing metroidvania platformer that is both easy to get into and dense with secrets.

Skill Up - Ralph Panebianco - Unscored

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Video Review - Quote not available

[Bacon]

[TheLeon]

I’ll wait for a snap judgement.

[Xbob42]

96% positive on Steam as well, so I picked it up. Thought it looked cool pre-launch, but was hoping it wasn't just leaning on its aesthetic as a crutch, like some of these Metroidvanias do.

[Brian]

Fine. I’ll bite

[stepee]

Ya’ll gonna be all sad as the AAA industry collapses and Brian, Bob, and I are still playing all this cool shit!

[nublood]

WTF even is this hipster crap. Yall trippin

[Mr.Vic20]

Metroidvania means I’ll give it a spin!

[eventide11]

Um.. Naw. Looks like a polished up Celeste meat boy so that's a no from me dawg

[DPCyric]

17 hours ago, stepee said:

Ya’ll gonna be all sad as the AAA industry collapses and Brian, Bob, and I are still playing all this cool shit!

 

You can add me to the list this is the type of game I am actually likely to play through. It's rare an AAA game holds my attention but Metroidvania's, Roguelike's, fighting games and games from Platinum, Vanillaware and other lower budget action games (Chorus, Metal Hellsinger, etc) oh and VR titles (REZ INFINITE BABY) are my bread and butter. 

[TheLeon]

Forgot I still had some $ on my Nintendo account, so I went ahead and bought it. Not sure when I’ll get around to it though. 

[crispy4000]

 

Haters gonna gate.  The game looks gorgeous. I’m all for blending modern tech with retro stylings.  Probably the most impressive blend of it since Noita.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

I've updated the OpenCritic review scores in @stepee's post.

 

At this rate, it's going to be a legitimate GOTY candidate!

[stepee]

1 minute ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

I've updated the OpenCritic review scores in @stepee's post.

 

At this rate, it's going to be a legitimate GOTY candidate!

 

Looks that way! It definitely seems quite special from the bit I’ve played so far. Though I need to figure out how to kill this damn cat ghost.

[Moa]

Played about 2.5 hours so far and this game is really interesting. The multipurpose tools have surprising uses, the animals feel much more organic and strange than conventional metroidvania 'enemies,' and the fact that I'm already doing broken things in platforming and exploration makes me excited to see where this game goes.

 

The art is also pretty striking and unique with the way it blends pretty conventional metroidvania graphics with much more detailed animal sprites and wild lighting and particle effects.

 

Gameplay spoiler:

Spoiler

You can jump off bubbles at the same time you make another bubble to basically platform to anything. This feels like it should be completely gamebreaking and I'm curious to see how the game accounts for that.

 

[TheLeon]

Oh no, this is going to be one of the games that constantly makes me feel like an idiot. Where every time I hit a roadblock, I just stare at it for way too long, thinking “do I not have the tools I need to solve this, or am I just dumb?” 
 

[best3444]

It looks absolutely god awful from what I've seen on YouTube. If it were 1978 it be cool I guess. 

[stepee]

1 hour ago, TheLeon said:

Oh no, this is going to be one of the games that constantly makes me feel like an idiot. Where every time I hit a roadblock, I just stare at it for way too long, thinking “do I not have the tools I need to solve this, or am I just dumb?” 
 

 

I think it definitely helps (from my short time playing, having just triumphantly gotten past the ghost cat) to just explore and poke at it rather than to get too determined on a particular goal. Like to get past ghost cat which was bothering me you

have to just find another fake disc to place there instead. I was never going to beat the ghost cat no matter how many things I tried until I just explored more and then when I got the fake disc it was obvious what to do

I’ll def have to keep that in mind and that when I’m stuck to just explore elsewhere.

[DPCyric]

I want this but I also want the new Metroidvania Humble Bundle (but I already have half the games in that bundle) 

[stepee]

I’ve got two flames and I’m really close to a third one so I think I’m making good progress now. It’s real good.

[stepee]

Third flame down! I’m afraid that I’m actually kinda close to the end

[TheLeon]

I’ve made a lot of progress today, but the feeling like an idiot thing is definitely happening a lot. Maybe I’m just out of practice with this style of game. Metroid Dread is the only other one I can remember playing in the last few years. But even that game was a lot more “linear”. I’m all over the place in this game, in a way that makes me feel I’m doing it wrong. 

[stepee]

41 minutes ago, TheLeon said:

I’ve made a lot of progress today, but the feeling like an idiot thing is definitely happening a lot. Maybe I’m just out of practice with this style of game. Metroid Dread is the only other one I can remember playing in the last few years. But even that game was a lot more “linear”. I’m all over the place in this game, in a way that makes me feel I’m doing it wrong. 

 

Idk it’s a game that is meant to kinda make you feel like that but you are kinda supposed to just poke and explore all over with very little direction. I wouldn’t beat yourself up, you are probably playing like everyone else. I actually don’t think it’s THAT obtuse, I think even Hollow Knight is more confusing to get around. But it’s not something like the Witness or Baba.

[TheLeon]

39 minutes ago, stepee said:

 

Idk it’s a game that is meant to kinda make you feel like that but you are kinda supposed to just poke and explore all over with very little direction. I wouldn’t beat yourself up, you are probably playing like everyone else. I actually don’t think it’s THAT obtuse, I think even Hollow Knight is more confusing to get around. But it’s not something like the Witness or Baba.

Yeah, it’s not a problem with the game itself. It’s doing exactly what it set out to do. The more I play, I realize that yes, it isn’t that hard or obtuse. It’s just that every time I get on a roll and start really moving through an area, I hit some fuckin’ roadblock that needs some fuckin’ thing that’s behind some fuckin’ door somewhere. I should be used to it by now, but it annoys me every time. 
 

But while I keep coming into this thread to vent, it’s because I’ve been playing this game on and off all day. I’m really hooked on it, even though it makes me feel insane. 

[TheLeon]

And then of course, after taking a short break, I quickly figured out how to get past one thing to grab my second flame, then realized what I have to do to get the third one, but I had to stop for the night. 

[Moa]

So I "beat" the game at 8 hours. I wish there was just slightly more direction throughout the game as I had far more difficulty figuring out where to go rather than what to do once I managed to find a path forward. There's still clearly a lot left to do in the game, but it's hard for me to figure out exactly what I'm looking for. I don't like the save/checkpoint system which makes some difficulty spikes really frustrating when they might otherwise be fun if you could just get back into it after failing. The tools are also a little weird in that one of them is incredibly useful in every situation and the rest of them feel very underwhelming with mostly obvious uses.

[TwinIon]

This game really shines on the OLED Steam Deck, even though sometimes the graphics are a bit too simple and I need to take a second look at something to figure out why it hurt. It's a minimal look, but perfectly functional. It's got a charming aesthetic, but I find the gameplay to be a bit uneven. This is very possibly due to my own lack of skill, but there have been a couple times where I felt like the tolerances were just too small, to the point where I thought I needed a new tool to solve a puzzle and not just to do it better.

 

I also find myself backtracking quite a lot. Sometimes that's fine, but a bunch of rooms require you to go through the motions again and activate the puzzle or whatever, even if you've been through them once. For a game that has almost no indicators as to where you need to go, that can be frustrating. I have two more inventory slots left open but I've got three flames, so I think I'm closing in on the end. I'm not going to hunt down all the secrets, but I'll have easily gotten my $20 out of it.

 

For a one man team, the game is wonderful. I'm no connoisseur of the genre, but it's an easy recommendation for anyone interested.

[TheLeon]

Just finished it. My initial concern ended up being accurate: almost every time I got stuck, it was because I either forgot a basic game mechanic or missed something obvious, which left me feeling less than smart. 
 

I clearly missed a bunch of stuff. I don’t think I collected even half of the eggs and there’s at least one blank space in my inventory. Now that I don’t have any “pressure” on me, I might enjoy the exploration a bit more, and go hunting for more eggs.