Animal Well really is a thing you need to experience with a controller in your hands and full focus because it is a living, breathing art piece that sucked me in. I bought this game 5 hours ago and I haven't put it down since. The way everything animated is like drinking cool water on a hot night. Refreshing.

Seeing the previews of this game, I thought "ok big youtuber videogamedunkey is firmly in his 30's and wants to expand beyond making shitposts and make money by becoming an indie publisher". I wasn't moved at all by any of the promotion for Animal Well. I am bored to DEATH of 2D platformers and this game only teased a pleasant art style which is not enough to make me care. Most 2D games all mostly play the same. I'm sleep.

Thing is I got 24.68 on my Steam Wallet, so why not give it a try.

It is a Metroidvania logic puzzler. There are no tutorials in Animal Well. You are left as to guess how you progress forward. It's not Baba is You go FUCK yourself hard. It is quite simple and natural gameplay that leads to bigger and bigger "ah-HA!" moments. The kind where you feel dumb and smart. Smumb. Darmbt. I felt like I was one of those things.

The gameplay mixed with the environments and ambient music just clicked with me hard. I was 45 minutes into the game after being cynical about the whole thing and my brain just snapped after a certain puzzle solution and I realized this game has a hidden power level of cleverness. It is so meticulously well thought out. It's not trying to reinvent the wheel. It just was catered for you to have a good time.

I recommend this game for everyone. I've been in a gaming slump where no new game releases has really excited me, but Animal Well is the game that pulled my brain out of that fog. Not saying it will do the same for you, but if you give it a shot, it just might.

It ain't as good as Hollow Knight, but this is right under that (so far) as a jaw dropping 2D game with content that keeps upping the ante in amazement.

Jamal Dunkey picked a banger to kick off his publishing venture.

At the end of Lego Skywalker Saga, I'm conflicted. On the one hand, the gameplay is far better than previous Lego SW titles, the visuals and sounds are fantastic, the roster is immense, and there are a truly vast amount of things to do.

On the other hand, I had to experience Episode IX again.

Personal grievances with J.J. Abrams aside, this is a really good Lego game! It's gratifying to see what a Lego title can be when it's not strictly adhering to the same mechanics we've had since 2005. Simply being able to freely move the camera around feels like a revelation, and is something they should have been doing long ago. The split-screen works fantastically too, and not having to stay near your co-op partner makes exploring the various featured planets stress-free. The way unlocks and cheats are handled is the best it's ever been, and if my wife and I hadn't felt so bleak after ending on TRoS, we probably would have 100%ed the whole thing.

If you're looking for a comprehensive Star Wars game that lets you explore practically every planet we've seen in the 9 episodic movies, this is about as good as you're likely to get. But if you're looking for deep-dives on the movies themselves, this game is a bit light on content. Levels in the original two Lego Star Wars games are significantly longer than what you'll find here, with some of the larger story beats consigned to cutscenes. But hey, you can fire your blaster with modern third-shooter controls, so STOP COMPLAINING

Seriously though, the game is solid. If you think you might like it, you're probably right! But if you've got Sequel Trilogy hangups, this doesn't do anything to make those movies any more endearing. Ghost Luke still off-handedly confirms that both he and Leia always knew Rey's heritage, Lando still magically wrangles up the largest Space Posse the Galaxy has ever seen after no one listened to Leia's transmission in TLJ, and giant planet-killing lasers are still showing up constantly. I had hoped that this game would rehabilitate the 2019 ending to this series, much like how Episode I: Racer, Battle for Naboo, and Jedi Power Battles helped me to fall in love with The Phantom Menace. Unfortunately, the sequels are portrayed in a rather dire tone most of the time, and the humor rarely works as well as it did in the older games.

It's a good game! But as this is the first time The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker are playable, any baggage you might have with those divisive films may very well taint the whole experience.

Now go read this graphic novel adaptation of the leaked Duel of the Fates script where Finn leads a Stormtrooper rebellion on Coruscant, then pine for a better world: https://awinegarner.squarespace.com/duel-of-the-fates