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7 reasons why you should play Animal Well

13/5/2024

Translation: Patrik Stainbrook

Animal Well is the indie game of the moment. I too have fallen into the well, not looking to get out any time soon. Here are seven reasons why you should give the game from solo developer Billy Basso a chance.

91 per cent on Metacritic, 10/10 on Steam and 4.6/5 stars on PlayStation. Animal Well is being praised and loved by the press as well as everyday gamers. This despite the fact the indie game has done many things differently to other current titles. I search in vain for a story – at least initially. At its core, the game is a true Metroidvania – it’s about the journey, not the destination. You explore an open world by learning new skills and reaching previously inaccessible areas. Nevertheless, the game does a few things differently to other genre representatives. Here are seven reasons why you should play Animal Well.

1. A blast from the past

As with the plot, Animal Well doesn’t give anything away in terms of gameplay. You’re thrown in at the deep end. Where do I go? Beats me. What do I do with the fireworks I find? Don’t ask, try! Oh, I can also stand on a Frisbee and use it to cross wide chasms. The gameplay of Animal Well takes me right back to the early 90s when I played Blaster Master for the first time.

Even the capybara doesn’t seem to understand what’s going on here.
Source: Bigmode

2. Frustration never sets in

Despite my lack of direction, the game motivates me right from the start. Things progress steadily. When I deftly solve a puzzle in a room, my body oozes serotonin. The puzzles are just right in terms of difficulty. Challenging enough to require some pondering, but not so difficult that I put the game aside.

Lately, I’ve been playing some Metroidvanias that hardly reward backtracking, such as Tales of Kenzera: Zau. In Animal Well, the opposite is true. With every new skill, it’s worth revisiting rooms you’ve already been too. This should be even more worthwhile after the first playthrough – but I’m not there yet. The fact that there’s always something new to discover appeals to the trophy hunter in me.

3. Clever skills and gadgets

The skills you acquire aren’t your usual fare. In Metroidvanias, I’m used to double or wall jumping. In Animal Well, you get soap bubbles, yo-yos or a frisbee. You can jump onto the bubbles before they burst and reach higher platforms. But that’s not all. If there’s a waterfall or well nearby, for example, the bubbles won’t burst. This opens up further opportunities for exploration. With the frisbee, you can operate faraway switches and also jump on it to whizz through the air. You use the yoyo to reach switches in branched passages or destroy spikes on the ground. Every time I discover new possibilities, I’m pleased as punch.

4. No battles

In most Metroidvanias, you fight your way through the world, strapped with weaponry. Animal Well, on the other hand, only kind of has battles. You can throw your frisbee or yoyo at animals in the well. However, most of them are unimpressed and only stop briefly at most. You defeat enemies by tricking them, fleeing or setting traps. This puzzle concept is a nice change from your usual genre-typical battles.

Instead of fighting, I’m distracting dogs with my Frisbee.
Source: Bigmode

5. Cool presentation

The world of Animal Well is dark. After all, you’re stuck in a well shaft with various creatures. The scenery is accompanied by minimalist synth sounds and cleverly applied acoustic effects. The darkness creates an oppressive atmosphere. In contrast, the neon pixel splendour makes the world appear bizarre. The shadowy animals range between cute and disturbing. It’s just so cool. Only my heroic blob is even cooler.

6. I’m a blob

Most of the time, I feel blobby. What does that mean? I don’t really know. But I feel with the blob I navigate through the inhospitable world of Animal Well. It’s the perfect canvas for all the feelings I experience while playing – as a result, it’s deeper than many a movie superhero. I like my blob.

7. No room for excuses

Animal Well isn’t only reminiscent of gaming hits of the past in terms of its presentation. The required storage space is also small, its installation file is just 34 megabytes. A lack of storage space isn’t an excuse to not give the game a chance either. Neither is the price. At around 20 francs/euros, it’s a steal.

Animal Well has been available for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and PC (Steam) since 9 May 2024.

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Kevin Hofer

Senior Editor

kevin.hofer@digitecgalaxus.ch

From big data to big brother, Cyborgs to Sci-Fi. All aspects of technology and society fascinate me.

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