Oh well, I may not be smart enough to beat Animal Well. I went into Animal Well with minimal knowledge. I saw an article that read “Animal Well” and “Metroidvania.” That was all I needed to find it and play it.
Animal Well is a 2024 Metroidvania developed by Shared Memory and published by Bigmode. It was not what I expected.
What is in Animal Well?
When the game first opened, I did not expect two creepy bunnies to stare at me. The ominous music did not help with the discomfort.
When I first got control, I checked the entire first map. Only way forward was to the right. I pick up an egg sitting in plain view. It’s the clearly visibly “Clover Egg.” The trophy that popped called it the “SECRET EGG.” The game is doing a great job at misdirection, or maybe this egg does hold the secret?
I’m not sure — I never made it that far. The neo-retro aesthetics are beautiful, though. They always draw me in. So, I push forward.
About 10 minutes later, wracking my brain on plot predictions, I enter my first puzzle room. It’s based on levers and platforms. Think: the red and blue buttons and squares from Mario. I came up with a solution to reach the passage up top. Actually, this was a non-solution because it failed… I’ll come to this later.
It was not long that I found myself in another puzzle room. This one, I presume, wanted the player to reflect the spray of water at a specific angle. I
presume, because I am not sure. I’ll come back to this one too.
Feeling defeated and baffled, I proceed through Animal Well. I find my friend squirrel again from earlier. Squirrel likes to run away, though, so I chased him. On the next map, I see foreshadowing that only a gamer could recognize.
The statue I see this time is a bit more… ominous. This isn’t a puzzle room this time. No it’s a giant cat head with a disc in its mouth. I didn’t even know cats played with discs.
I’ve played horror games before. I’m sure it is not good to remove this disc. I do it anyway. Immediately I go on a newsworthy chase to my death, halfway across the map.
I may not be smart enough to beat Animal Well.
That’s Swell, Animal Well
Animal Well is like falling asleep to an Adult Swim bump as a kid in the 2000’s. Its surreal nature is like a dream of a Mandela Effect game. The visuals make you question: is this real. The neo-retro aesthetic shines. This is especially so in the environments, my favorite part.
“A picture can speak 1000 words.” The level design and environments can be like pictures themselves. One of my favorite maps almost resembled the face of a cat.
With all this talk of level design and art style, I cannot understate the sound design. The sound design only serves to heighten the other elements of the game. Or perhaps the sound design is elevated by the other elements of the game?
Whatever the case may be, Animal Well’s music and ambience are ominous. It seems so kiddy on the surface; however, this entire package is nothing of the sort. The cat statue encounter mentioned above, is evidence of this. This early section is a representation of the fusion of all these surreal elements.
Alongside the other elements, if you haven’t noticed, the enemy variety is fairly neat. Although I’ve only played about an hour or so, I’ve seen numerous enemy types. There is one room is the game, that reminded me of Pac-Man for some odd reason. Blue and Pink cat heads navigate the screen in a maze-like fashion. This was, of course, my favorite map.
Without a doubt, this game and true and through its Metroidvania roots. From the exploration, backtracking, items, puzzles — the works.
Well, What Is in This Well?
The 45minutes that I played of Animal Well had an impression upon me. The neo-retro and surreal aura of it all reeled me in. I have to return to Animal Well.
Now I can’t tell you all what Animal Well is about. Maybe you all know? It piqued my interest. I want to know what is in Animal Well, or to help this animal trapped inside this well. Truth be told, I don’t know the plot. I could not make it that far during my time.
I may not be smart enough for Animal Well. All I know is that I want to return. Will you all go? Have you already gone? Do you plan on going? Let us
know in the comments and let’s talk about it.
Animal Well is currently available for PS5, Nintendo Switch, and on Steam.
Played on PS5.
This article has a video companion. View it here.
