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I was never a fan of Metroidvania games until I played Hollow Knight and fell in love with it. Then I tried another 2d platformer (The Messenger), which cleverly changes the genre midway and becomes a Metroidvania. I loved that game for a lot of reasons. Naturally, I wanted to try more such Metroidvanias, and one of the games that attracted me was Animal Well.
I had already seen some posts about this game in the community and liked the minimalistic pixel art style. I had to try it to see what it was all about.
The Mysterious Beginning
This post will be my first impression of the game. There are no cutscenes or dialogues to explain what is going on. It is such a mysterious start. We are a small creature in this atmospheric world, having the ability to just jump and run.
No combat mechanics to avoid the dangers of this world. Just clever puzzles and a vast interconnected world.
Puzzle solving, platforming and exploration are the main themes of the game, and with the rich and beautiful world, I like it. As you go around visiting different rooms and sections, the game teaches you basic mechanics.
As you are a small creature in this world, there are many dangers and mysterious things. The first item we find is a firecracker, which can be used to light up dark areas — but more importantly, to scare off predators and mysterious ghost-like entities.
There are a lot of 'animals' in this world, and many of the early ones were harmless, like rabbits or squirrels. The game teaches you nothing about this world. You have to just experience everything and learn from your mistakes. Thankfully, there is a map that you find early in the game. Not super detailed, but something that I think is going to be super useful later in the game.
Tools, Puzzles, and Clever Mechanics
One of the items that you find in chests all over the place is eggs. A lot of different kinds of eggs. And then the game finally starts to get better when you receive some items that fundamentally change the movement abilities.
I got a 'Bubble Wand' which creates one bubble at a time which I can use as a substitute of a double jump. You can blow just one bubble at a time and it starts going up slowly. Then you can jump on that bubble, and it starts going down slowly.
If you now blow another bubble, this one will burst, so you cannot blow it while you are already on the bubble. Also, if you jump while standing on the bubble, it bursts as well. This can be used in many smart ways to access a lot of inaccessible places.
I love the use of animals in this game. They not only look good but are used as hazards or supports to clear levels. Some add difficulty to the challenge. I am really impressed with how cleverly they’re integrated into the gameplay.
As I told you, this world is full of mysteries, statues of animals and other cool artwork. One thing that surprised me is this ghost, which appears when you take out a disk from this statue.
It starts chasing you until you put the disk back in that statue. No matter how far you go with it, it keeps up with you and gives you damage on contact.
But why do you need the disk? Turns out there is a fake disk somewhere, and you can replace it with this one. This disk is such an awesome tool. It can be used to throw, which can activate levels or destroy pointy spikes.
You can even sit on it as it flies away. Such a cool item with a possibility of so many interesting ideas and puzzles. And combined with the other items you can see how the puzzles gets more interesting.
Sound and Atmosphere
Another strong aspect of the game is its atmosphere. Everything feels alive and mysterious. The grass moves as you go through it. You hear water dripping, splashes when you land, and even subtle sounds while climbing ladders. The entire background music and things like rustling movements in dark environments. It is filled with such amazing sound design.
The game tries to communicate with the sound, and I like it. Everything seems to fit well. There are critical messages on the walls and statues that I have yet to solve. I suspect there are a lot of hidden rooms and places accessible after getting unique items.
I am impressed with it so far. This game might not be for everyone, but if you like solving puzzles, exploring a mysterious and complex animal kingdom with pixel-art graphics, then it will be a perfect game for you.
I loved whatever I saw till now, and I am suspecting that the difficulty will grow a lot after I get more items with unique abilities.
Can't wait to see what other items and secrets I find out next. Have you played it? Let me know your thoughts about the game.
- All the content is mine unless otherwise stated.
- Screenshots are from the game Animal Well.