A fun, bitesized metroidvania with a vibe all its own. It was very addicting to explore this lovably weird game, especially with the wonderfully cute power-ups you get to further your progress.

I've got a couple of criticisms but my overall feeling is very positive. There's not a lot of meaningful backtracking, a new power-up rarely opened up new paths all across the map, and sometimes I felt the punishment for failing a puzzle was a bit too harsh. I don't know how to feel about the dog chase, it was frustrating to complete but I felt very accomplished once I'd done it. Maybe the controls for the power-ups are a bit too finicky for that part but I did appreciate the challenge.

Despite the lack of backtracking I did love the progression through the map, I never really mind when the journey through a metroidvania is a bit more linear. I also really appreciated how every power-up got a couple of dedicated puzzle rooms to explore all of its mechanics. The puzzle design is top notch.

I can see myself replaying this in the future, just to experience this wonderful vibe again for a couple of hours.

Animal Well as an experience is better than Animal Well as a game. That doesn't mean Animal Well isn't a fun game, but it's not the kind of game that works nearly as well past a first playthrough. For most people, that's perfectly fine. You play through a game, find its secrets, and then quit. But for a game that actively encourages you to experience it, then continue to experience it again and again, the cracks begin to show pretty evidently.

Animal Well is a puzzle platformer metroidvania. You, some little slime dude, are dropped into the world with no information other than...well actually, just no information. A key element that brings out Animal Well's unique charm is how completely informationless you are and remain throughout the entire duration of play. No matter how far you get, no semblance of real narrative or lore is ever dropped on you. This combined with the game's stellar art and ambience gives the player a rich and mysterious atmosphere as they play. It's dripping in atmosphere all over, and it is gorgeous. On the other hand, though, the utter lack of information makes for a playthrough that's full of questioning. "Why am I doing this?" "What's my goal?" "Is there any reason for me to be here?" You aren't ever given any answers, and outside of the game-given goal of "getting the four flames", there is zero forward momentum within the game to drive a player. This is a divisive thing though, for some people, the intrigue will outweigh their need for answers. For me, however, I found it very difficult, especially after specific events to become very engaged with the game and its utter lack of clues. Depending on how long you play, the lack of anything other than your own ambition will set in harder and harder.

The best way to showcase the dichotomy of the game's failings (in my eyes) is through the game's three "layers". Layer 1 is collecting the four flames and reaching the credits. When you play through Layer 1 of this game, you will have gone through a majority of the screens, collected a decent amount of hidden easter eggs, and maybe glimpsed some deeper things, but not many. After reaching the credits, you enter "Layer 2" where your goal (if you continue playing) is to find any screens you missed, collect all the remaining easter eggs, and maybe find something new...hopefully. In this layer, the mostly filled-in map will be to your detriment. The remaining pieces of the game are harder and harder to find, and the retreading of screen after screen in search of an amorphous "second ending" of some kind will push any thoughts of fun out of the way. If you play genuinely blind, this is where things start to decline fast. And then you hit "Layer 3", the cryptic, unknowable, super-duper secret post-game puzzles that are designed specifically for sickos. For only certain people will this entertain, for me I turned the game off. The reward of more cryptic and more hidden puzzles after solving a bunch of cryptic and hidden shit isn't very rewarding. At no point do I learn anything interesting about the world or what's going on, and my only driving motivator to continue engaging with it is to "find secrets for secret's sake". At some point, the egg cracks. Many tout this game's insane depths as some sort of selling point and huge intrigue, but I find it quite the opposite. I really enjoyed playing through the metroidvania layer, finding new tools to utilize, and solving quick byte-sized puzzles. The different puzzle-solving tools are incredibly unique and interesting, combined with thoughtful level design and it becomes a fun experience.

But that's it. The best example of Animal Well's desire for you to replay what is essentially a game you are continually replaying just to find another secret is the fact that there is a reward you get for beating the entire game without dying and without saving. Sure, you could definitely argue that this is just a challenge for enthusiasts, but in a game so seeped in mysteries, are you really going to deny that people might unintentionally expect more clues for some deeper secret after beating the game deathless?

I know that this review is pretty harsh, but don't get me wrong, I think Animal Well is a fun game. I just don't think it's one I will really think about going back to. There is such a thing as too cryptic. And beyond the deeper puzzles, Animal Well just doesn't have enough going for it for me. It was fine, but...that's it...

Animal Well is an undeniable passion project brimming with personality; evidentially shown through the immaculate presentation, the ominous yet inviting atmosphere, and the intuitive but thought-provoking puzzle design. The amount of freedom provided to the player is astounding and often grants the sensation that you're breaking the game even though it's obviously intended and meticulously crafted to feel that way. The only sore spot for me were the boss encounters as I didn't feel like they encouraged ingenuity and creativity from the player in the way that the rest of experience does.

This game is clever beyond belief. It teaches you everything you need to know without a single line of exposition. The puzzles aren't that complicated (that's not a criticism, on the contrary I appreciate that), but you feel like a genius every time you make a breakthrough, since it feels like you figured everything out only by your wits. Of course the developer's "invisible hand" has guided you ever-so-slightly to the solution, but the subtleness of the author's intent, is incredibly well hidden.

Not all puzzles are created equal, of course, and there are a few duds IMHO (which is to be expected, as no game is perfect). I also probably just scratched the surface of this game by getting to the credits. There are probably myriads of secrets I haven't unearthed, some of which I noticed quite clearly, some of which I probably don't even know are there. But that's another great thing about this game: getting to the end is feasible for everyone, unearthing the deeper mysteries requires a dedicated and clever mind. Or at leas, more clever than mine, as I have no intention of delving any deeper. But still, this is basically an invisible difficulty setting, which I adore.

The aesthetics of this game are also pristine and unique, I very rarely saw such dedication in achieving a retro effect, combined with such scrupulous attention to graphical details such as wispy smoke, rippling water or swaying leaves.

Overall, I really recommend this experience to everyone, puzzle game or not.

It took me around 5 or 6 hours to hit the credits, and that time was filled with "a HA!" moments where I discovered something new and peeled back another thin layer of this rich world. It reminded me of my first time playing Outer Wilds in that way. Animal Well has a richer atmosphere than most other titles out there and the fact that one guy made this truly blows me away. I found quite a few eggs and I know I could dive way deeper into this world but I feel satiated with my experience. I'll probably check out some deep spoiler videos once people have really cracked this wide open.

very fun and creative puzzle game with a really cool atmosphere and no hand holding, the level design is incredible and the game can be approached so many different ways. All of the tools the main character gets to complete puzzles with feel really good to use and don't overstay their welcome as you often get a new tool or concept with a good pace. This is especially important since the game has no combat and instead relies on its creative puzzles. There are a lot of really cool moments in the game and it finds a way to always surprise you. the sound design is really good and helps create the incredible mysterious atmosphere. Overall the game is solid at everything it tried to accomplish and my only complaint was that it was fairly short.

Always a pleasure to see a game converse so much with the player without ever saying a sentence.

A charming, engaging and rewarding journey and the type of game we should always cherish and praise so as to (hopefully) attract more eyes to well-crafted labours of love instead of your regular, half-baked, dull and uninspired AAA titles that still get most people's attention, time and money.

A must play

Um tempo atrás eu lembro de ter ouvido "Busca e Ação" como uma boa definição para o que entendemos como metroidvania, e Animal Well prova que realmente, ir de encontro com um level design não tão linear pode ser benéfico para a atmosfera do jogo.

Me senti perdido muitas vezes, mas a sagacidade entre os encontros e quadros de puzzle me seguraram por todo o tempo. Entretanto, ainda sinto que o jogo perde a mão em ter tantos coletáveis (que acabam sendo importantes para um "final verdadeiro" e um ARG mais pra frente) o que fez que me sentisse fora de uma conversa legal, mas que pedia demais pra eu participar.

No mais, como que o estrupício do VideogameDunkey botou as mãos em uma joia tão interessante quanto essa?

Played not only because of the advertising from Dunkey and his new publishing company, but because this game really looked like it would be up my alley. This is genuinely one of the best and most satisfying games I've ever played; it contains generally relaxing clever puzzles and gameplay, while also hiding some of the best video game secrets maybe ever. No, really—recall the urban legends of retro gaming that spread before a more factful internet age, such as unlocking Luigi in Super Mario 64 per "L is Real" or finding Mew under the truck in Pokémon Red and Blue, and then imagine that whatever obscure hoax methods within those urban legends are actually real. Those are the types of solutions that Animal Well has to offer in its latter layers, beyond its 64 collectible colorful eggs.

Let me first admit that I was not a patient enough player to collect each of the hidden rabbits in this game, which tend to be a bit more cryptic than the average secret video game collectible. I'm sure I would've felt significantly more satisfaction within my playthrough had I done these. However, even just watching a YouTube video after the fact that described the solutions to the rabbits I didn't find on my own had my mind blown into a million bits. And then, even more mind blowing, is the overarching puzzle that these rabbits serve to help solve. It's no wonder that it took an entire Discord community of secret-hunters to figure out the post-game.

Talk about an incredibly delightful puzzle platformer metroidvania that seemingly came out of nowhere and completely floored me. Animal Well's unique abilities leading to creative puzzles and secrets galore had me literally staying up hours because I would discover something that would trigger memories about where else I could try to apply my new knowledge. I never felt lost and always felt like I had a tangible aim guiding my path (except for finding the last 8 eggs I was missing and needed a guide for).

The animal scenery elevated the gameplay for me as this was largely a chill game that I was just trying to solve the next puzzle.

Extremely atmospheric and overall pleasant world to interact with.
I think the best comparison I can think of for this game is it's perfect for people who really enjoyed hollow knights world/secrets - but found exploration of it's massive world too much a chore. Animal well is much more compact and dense meaning if you want to check a room it's never too far away.
I don't expect 99% of players to truly 100% the game, but it by no means detracts from its quality. Using steam achievements is a good guide to completing this game on your own, while still leaving secrets to draw you back in if you so wish.
The game does exactly what it sets out to do and more.

Animal Well is centered around the act of organically discovering how its mysterious and foreboding world works. There isn't much that is explicitly tutorialized which leaves the onus of figuring out Animal Well's mechanics to the player.

Navigating The Well and engaging with each new, unexpected discovery is where Animal Well sang for me. The design is such that for your first few hours, different players will take unique routes enabling them to discover the game's secrets in a non-linear fashion. If you get stuck on a specific section, you can always go explore somewhere else and see if you can find specific items or information to aid in your exploration of the game space.

New items were a joy to discover as they are all uniquely multi-faceted in how they aid exploration and puzzle-solving. To not spoil any surprises, one memorable early game puzzle involved figuring out how to use an instrument in a specific way I was sure would not work, before being awe-struck that it resulted in an unexpected outcome. My first few hours with the game were a constant rollercoaster of teasing out the boundaries of the game's logic and being unexpectedly caught off guard by the results. This seems to be the core emotional experience that the creator of Animal Well, Billy Basso, wants to bring up for players.

However, I felt emptier than I expected to after rolling credits; something was missing from the experience for me. And there is more to do in the game to a point. Depending on how far players want to delve into Animal Wells' secrets, there are multiple layers to puzzle out. There is a "True Ending" layer that can be pursued after the credits which involves collecting all 64 eggs (Animal Well's main collectible). I had a fun time obtaining new items and discovering more secrets, but found the pixel-hunting for the last eggs to be tedious and not as satisfying to find.

Getting all 64 eggs results in a second roll of credits, but there are even more obscure secrets to be discovered if one chooses! I chose to stop after getting a few of the collectibles in this "Third Layer", but plenty of players are currently working together to find the rest. I stopped as I found the puzzles in this layer to be removed enough from the core game design to not be satisfying to solve. And so my experience with Animal Well ended on a bit of an anticlimax; I was satisfied with what I discovered, but there wasn't a feeling of catharsis.

At the end of the day, you can only experience the process of discovery once. And once I had gone through that process, there wasn't much else to hang my hat on. Yes, you can only play through any game for the first time once. But the best games leave me ruminating on a specific emotion, a captivating story, or finely tuned game mechanics. The excitement and satisfaction of discovery being the main emotions that drive Animal Well is a double-edged sword. You can never go back and experience The Well again.

__Favorite Tracks__

Flames: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmiUH5yG2Ws&list=PLS7HzNXh-PwozVLyFxG3a7-0HplJwKPY2&index=2

Hit credits after about four hours or so and thought to myself "this was a nice short little game, I wouldn't mind grabbing the rest of the collectibles before moving on". Like five sessions, ten hours, and several pages of notes and ciphers later, I can confidently say that I've had my fun here - and that is to say that there are still more things left to find!

This game's got layers, man.

If you like games like Super Metroid or Tunic and are looking for a densely atmospheric puzzle adventure, this is not a game you should be missing. With a few more fast travel points and a little less platforming precision in some areas (if you found all the bunnies, you'll know what I'm talking about), this would be an easy five star for me. But even with those few minor shortcomings, it's on my 2024 Game of the Year shortlist and I am confidently inducting it into my indie game hall of fame. I can already feel that this'll kick off another wave of indie game fever for me like Outer Wilds did a while back, too.

TL;DR: Animal Well is a fantastically unique experience from start to finish and it is absolutely worth all the high praise you've been hearing.



...still can't believe a donkey published this game...

A super fun and charming game with great exploration and item use. I had several moments in the opening few hours where I was left slack-jawed at how some of the items can work together and have secondary abilities.

I will say though the endgame after the first ending got decently frustrating as I wandered the map searching for those last eggs and items. I ended up looking things up more than I would have liked due to how obtuse some were. I also missed a few abilities of a couple of the items that led to me running around in vain only to look it up and find out I could have solved it the whole time. I suppose that is the catch-22 of having no description of how anything works. On one hand you get the magic of discovering hidden uses of items yourself, but if you don't then it can lead to wasted time and annoyance.

Or maybe I just have a pea-brain.