Animal Well

Experience creature discomforts in this metroidvania

You’ve a yo-yo, a bubble wand, a slinky, a flying disc: these probably wouldn’t be your first choice of tools for exploring a shadowy underground labyrinth. But then  Shared Memory’s subterranean adventure is no ordinary dungeon crawl. This Well is at least as wide as it is deep, but its secrets go beyond that. This place has layers, and we’re not just talking about those unsettling shifting backgrounds.

You play as a tiny blob with eyes (birthed from a flower, so maybe you’re a seedling – the first of many mysteries) with no obvious goal apart from to investigate your strange surroundings. Unlike in other metroidvania-style games, Animal Well’s world doesn’t scroll. Once you enter each new screen, you usually have time to pause and figure out where you’d like to head next, motivated by nothing more than pure curiosity.