Animal Well

I think it’s safe to say that today’s AAA video games are not exactly the paragons of passion and creativity. But worry not, indie games are here to pick up the slack. A decade ago, if someone had told me that in 2024, a 100-megabyte game with little to no marketing would steal the hearts of critics and players alike and give multi-million-dollar titles a run for their money, I would have assumed that they have lost their goshdarned mind. Right now, that person doesn’t seem that insane anymore. Animal Well is the name of that 100-megabyte game.

Animal Well is a 2D platformer metroidvania developed by one Billy Basso. It puts the player in the… um, shoes(?) of a cute blob. “Why am I a blob? And what am I doing in this dark, weird place?” I hear you ask. Well, that is for you to figure out. The game doesn’t tell a story in the traditional sense of the word. There aren’t any NPCs that dump a bunch of exposition onto you. Whether or not you actually want to know more about this world and its inhabitants and how you go about doing that is entirely up to you.

Like any good metroidvania, Animal Well’s map is filled with secrets. There’s something waiting to be found in almost every nook and cranny. But unlocking a new area is not as simple as acquiring a new item/ability that lets you access that area. You have to actually “git gud” at platforming and solve logical puzzles that require a bit of trial and error. Also, there’s no double jumping in Animal Well. I admit that it does sound a little weird for a metroidvania released in 2024, but the game’s challenges are so well-designed that you’d barely even notice it’s missing.

The game does not hold your hand in any way. Stuck somewhere? Well, too bad, try harder! It might sound like an unfriendly approach in this day and age, but if you can untrain years of games holding your hand in every step of the way, it can be a liberating experience. The triumphant feeling of finding a clever solution to a problem that has been bugging you for a while can be highly satisfying. There’s no combat in this game. (Seriously, what did you expect a blob to do?) Whenever you encounter a hostile creature, you have either run or use a flare to keep them at bay. All in all, I’m not going to sugarcoat it, as you might have guessed by now, Animal Well is a difficult game. However, it never feels unfair.

In a world where there’s a pixel art something everywhere you look, Animal Well manages to stand out. Pixel art has become the indie developer’s friend. It keeps the costs and the system requirements low and tugs at players’ sense of nostalgia. Not that there’s anything inherently wrong with that, but Animal Well’s pixel art graphics is not a mere nostalgia bait. The game maintains a cohesive artistic identity. Its aesthetics, including its sound design (or lack thereof), serve a purpose, which is immersing you in this dark, quiet, lonely, but weirdly beautiful world.

Animal Well is another unassuming indie title that comes out of nowhere and steals people’s heart. It’s a breath of fresh air and is as much a piece of art as it is an engaging, fun game. If you have the time and patience to untrain yourself of years of formulaic, paint-by-number video games, Animal Well can prove to be a highly rewarding experience.