Animal Well Review: A Labyrinth Full of Secrets

Animal Well is a game you should know as little as possible about before you start it. You guide a small creature through a branching cave system full of animals, traps and puzzles. It was developed by Shared Memory, Billy Basso's one-man studio, and published by Bigmode. Animal Well launched on May 9, 2024.

We worked our way through the wells and tunnels and reveal why this game is so special, without spoiling the best surprises. On Steam, around 95 percent of reviews are positive.

Animal Well: How the puzzle Metroidvania plays

At first, your little creature can only walk and jump. There's practically no combat. Instead, you gradually find items such as a bubble wand, a frisbee or a yo-yo-like object. Each of them has multiple functions you have to figure out yourself.

The result is a Metroidvania that's more puzzle game than action. You observe animals, exploit their behavior and combine tools in surprising ways. The game gives hardly any hints, but the solutions almost always feel fair and clever.

The world is compact but incredibly dense. Almost every room hides something, and Animal Well has several layers of secrets. For many players, the real treasure hunt only begins after the credits roll.

Atmosphere, scope and secrets

Animal Well doesn't tell a traditional story. The mood comes from the environment: silent caves, strange statues and animals that seem cute one moment and menacing the next. Encounters with large creatures in particular create real tension, even though you can't defend yourself.

Your first playthrough takes about six to ten hours. If you want to uncover every secret, you'll be busy many times longer, and some puzzles were solved collectively by the community. Less patient players may get stuck in later sections, though.

Graphics, sound and tech

The pixel art is a technical tour de force. Billy Basso wrote his own engine that renders light, particles and water in a way you rarely see in pixel art. The sound design is restrained and relies on ambient sounds, which heightens the atmosphere even further.

Animal Well is tiny and runs on practically any PC. You'll find the exact minimum requirements in the table below this article. On Steam Deck, the game is Verified and runs flawlessly.

You can read more about the publisher on our Bigmode page.

Scores at a glance