Animal Well Reviews
If you like your games challenging, weird, beautiful, and a little unsettling, ANIMAL WELL should be on your must-play list.
A fantastic metroidvania that will be remembered for a very long time due to its originality and the amount of mystery it contains.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Even though it drops a few balls while juggling all these mechanics together, such as the boss battles. Still, ANIMAL WELL is a brilliantly put together game that I'd highly recommend to anyone who wants to get lost in a small but intricately designed game. I am quite convinced that both designers and players will be delving down deeper into this well over the coming years.
Animal Well is stunning and mysterious, a visual treat that offers open-ended and thought-provoking exploration. The total lack of explanations may put off part of the audience, but those who are willing to see how deep the iceberg, or rather the pit, goes, will have a lot to enjoy in this surrealist metroidvania.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
I'm happy that I discovered ANIMAL WELL because its puzzle-filled world was a great deal of fun to traverse and master. Great stuff!
Frankly, there's nothing particularly new here. The way the individual elements are organized is the thing that builds this interesting work. ARGs in games has been a thing for a while now, so hidden endings can't be called new. Still, Animal Well presents everything with a new look, as it is capable of reorganizing references, creating a world of its own, with solutions that depend on the "collective playing". Therefore, there is no way to classify Animal Well in any way other than as the best experience of its kind in 2024.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
When I stop to think that Animal Well is a product of a single person's imagination, all the positive impressions I had about the game take on even greater proportions. Animal Well applies simple concepts to create a formula that can incite the player's creativity and their ability to understand a mysterious ecosystem. A game like this doesn't come along very often and deserves to be revered whenever possible.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
The game might initially seem like a combat-free Metroidvania or an extension of indie platformers. However, its deep game design becomes more attractive when played. Where puzzles stimulate curiosity, the curiosity initially becomes the key to solving it. While the game's graphics also act as a hint, and the sound effects blend seamlessly into the gameplay.
Review in Korean | Read full review
Animal Well has shattered my understanding of game design in the best ways. Solemn, delightful, and haunting, you simply must discover it yourself.
It’s easy to describe Animal Well as a puzzle-focused Metroidvania eschewing traditional combat, where nearly every room is a puzzle room, but that falls so far short of describing just what this game is and how expertly it defies genre and classification that it feels like a disservice. Animal Well is a paragon of the art form, a game that simply must be experienced.
If the idea of being plopped in a foreign place that is ominous with no explanation and residents that may or may not want you there sounds appealing, Animal Well will prove an interesting trip.
It’s impeccably well-designed, with a ton of secrets to unfold, but I also feel it wasn’t that much fun at all times. I’m all for a game not holding my hand throughout its entire runtime, but it didn’t need to feel so cryptic, and so focused on trial-and-error, especially when its checkpoints were way too far away from each other. At times, I loved exploring its many secrets. Other times, I felt so frustrated I wanted to throw my Switch across the room. All in all, it’s still worth checking out if you’re into a deceptively complex metroidvania, but be aware of some truly obnoxious design choices and roadblocks.
Animal Well makes a damn good first impression with its awesomely-crafted pixel art, moody aesthetics, and ambient sound work. And within hours while you're playing and even after finishing the game (6 to 8 hours tops), you won't forget a sight like Animal Well.
Animal Well is an excellent mystery game that should be experienced knowing as little as possible.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Animal Well delivers a gorgeous art style paired with unique gameplay and an uncompromising vision