ANIMAL WELL

A Metroidvania aiming to stand alongside modern classics

There is nothing particularly special about the development journey of Billy Basso’s solo debut. Working at a series of big studios, he grew tired of making the games other people wanted him to make and opted to go it alone with one of his own. Five years ago, it was a hobby project; now it is a full-time job. The details may be different, but we have heard dozens of stories like this before. But that doesn’t matter: having now spent several hours with (or should that be down?) Animal Well, we’re happy to report that the game is the special part.

Yes, if you want to be reductive, it’s another pixel-art Metroidvania. But it evokes a very particular feeling, one that recalls both Fez and Hollow Knight – and these aren’t the kind of comparisons we make lightly. As you explore this world (dense but not overstuffed, intricate without feeling needlessly circuitous), it constantly teases things that arouse your curiosity. There are countless moments when, by happy accident or design, you stumble across something that has you abandoning your current plan to descend down an entirely different rabbit hole. It feels as if there is always another layer to peel back, to reveal things that lie outside your present understanding; indeed, when we talk to him, Basso alludes to Animal Well having three additional tiers’ worth of secrets beyond simple completion.