Dr.Morris79
Gold Member
It's lovely on the Deck 
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Animal Well |OT| The First True Metroidunkavania
- Thread starter Maiden Voyage
- Start date
- |OT| Indie
linko9
Member
It's Kirby
Portugeezer
Member
The map gives a lot of clues.
DragoonKain
Neighbours from Hell
I've been going around trying to find all the bunnies. I think this will be the last thing I do in the game before I move on to my next one.
Maiden Voyage
Gold™ Member
Finally got the last two achievements. Not sure yet if I will do the bunny statues. I will probably spoil it and see what it leads to next. The UV light in the store room or whatever had me kind of intrigued.
Also no clue what to do with the control panel...
Also no clue what to do with the control panel...
Last edited:
ChoosableOne
ChoosableAll
It looks boring and the art design is terrible. I might give it a try if it comes to Game Pass. I'm curious about the reviews after the hype dies down. We'll see real opinions within a year.
Portugeezer
Member
Just beat the main boss I think, if you want to call it that.
What a great Metroidvania game, always keeps you wondering about what previous discovered location you can use your new item. The bubble platforms let you do stuff which make you think you might be sequence breaking but certain parts have more of a hard block just in case (not invisible walls, always contextualised by the game and new item abilities).
Anyway, I got a new item after the main boss:
But the game is good.
What a great Metroidvania game, always keeps you wondering about what previous discovered location you can use your new item. The bubble platforms let you do stuff which make you think you might be sequence breaking but certain parts have more of a hard block just in case (not invisible walls, always contextualised by the game and new item abilities).
Anyway, I got a new item after the main boss:
stopwatch? I don't see it
The pixels are too chunky (TV on PS5), scan lines just just hurt my eyes.
But the game is good.
swarley64
Member
I bought it yesterday…. It’s alright I guess.
Maiden Voyage
Gold™ Member
Pause screen
At its best, the game is one of the most original puzzle games in a while. At its worst, it has some puzzles that genuinely make me want to stop playing and never come back.
I think the biggest sin this game has is its save point locations. Some puzzles will kill you again and again, and you'll have to backtrack again and again, with less and less inclination each time.
The worst puzzles are the ones where you know what you need to do, but the controls and level design just make the process tedious and not enjoyable.
I think the biggest sin this game has is its save point locations. Some puzzles will kill you again and again, and you'll have to backtrack again and again, with less and less inclination each time.
The worst puzzles are the ones where you know what you need to do, but the controls and level design just make the process tedious and not enjoyable.
Impotaku
Member
Played a few hours so far, i'm failing to see how the graphics are terrible. The animation & lighting is beautiful however i come from the original gaming generation so i can appreciate nice pixel art. The puzzles so far are reasonably straight forward however i have played the fuck out of fez so i'm no stranger to thinking outside the box when it comes to puzzles but so far it's a matter of using what you have found or paying close attention to the areas and how things behave. Will be interesting to see how i manage on the more obscure puzzles.
TerribleAtThisGame
Member
The save spots are often obnoxiously far and make little sense to me. The fast travel points also feel oddly placed.
Weird experience overall. I really loved it for a long time but somewhere it devolved into frustrating and annoying tedium and soured me pretty hard. I thought I'd gotten over it, reinstalled it to go for the post-game secrets but realized after like 10 minutes I had no fucking interest in going through every room trying every item again.
Last edited:
BurningNad
Member
Looks fantastic. I love me some pixel goodness. I'll pick it up down the line.
Miyazaki’s Slave
Gold Member
Just a quick reminder the collector and physical editions go on sale tomorrow at Limited Run Games at 10am EDT.
I doubt there will be a shortage of copies but you never know.
I doubt there will be a shortage of copies but you never know.
Doomtrain
Member
Can I get some VERY LIGHT postgame nudges in the right direction? Currently I:
Just got the top, but I haven’t figured out what to do with it. I found the S. Medal and the circular recess to the left of the bat. Running around filling out the map where I see gaps and finding more eggs. I got the stopwatch and the bubble wand upgrade by the final boss.
Maiden Voyage
Gold™ Member
Keep looking for eggs.
Use the top in every room until you find its use. The room you obtained it should have had a use for it but I can't remember for sure.
Use the top in every room until you find its use. The room you obtained it should have had a use for it but I can't remember for sure.
Doomtrain
Member
Much appreciated!
Got the Bouncy Ball, the Wheel, the UV wand, and 52-ish eggs. I've now exhausted every single open area/gap on the map that I can see. Some mysteries I still haven't figured out:
- The pile of skulls and the circle of faces in the room to the left of the final boss. I found out that the Remote will change the TV to show the faces, but I haven't actually figured out what to do with that yet. Without spoiling it, do I currently have the tools to solve that, and is the solution in the same area? Or should I ignore that for now?
- The rabbit mural with the control panel that lets me draw on it.
- I clearly need a tool to break the clear-ish blocks that are everywhere, but no idea where to look.
- Using the UV wand, I see numbers on the clock after the final boss area. I assume those are for speed runs and may be out of my reach on this playthrough?
- I haven't yet figured out a good place to use the Wheel to do anything of real consequence, but I might just need to scour the map again now that I have the tool.
Last edited:
Maiden Voyage
Gold™ Member
Yes. More specifically, look for environmental clues that only appear when certain items are used.
LavitzSlambert
Member
I just read about the stuff people seemingly data mined. That was enough for me, since it's really esoteric and I only have so much time and patience with all the quality games out there. I do feel I had my fill from layers 1 and 2, that was plenty. Billy Basso is great and he is going to have a successful career in game development - not just Animal Well.
Doomtrain
Member
Yeah, I think it's a fantastic game overall, but it starts to lose me a little bit in layers 3/4 when the puzzles stop being organic to the game world and start feeling more like things that require external input.
Gamer_By_Proxy
Member
When I hear about a game, check my Steam library and thanks to my Steam family and it’s already there
LavitzSlambert
Member
You gotta escape the well, bro.
Dr. Claus
Banned
Lol, I just didnt' know if there was some grander story at play hidden in the backgrounds similar to titles like Rain World.
Maiden Voyage
Gold™ Member
this ain’t the great gatsby. You think a like g like Billy basso got time to make up fairy tales? Just get out the damn well bro
Last edited:
Arsic
Loves his juicy stink trail scent
I think I get as I play more and more WHY the reviews are so glowing. It’s a very unique puzzle game that feels super rewarding to see things play out. The combo of your input and then the feedback with things like sound and visual effects, create a nice dopamine hit.
10/10 masterpiece? Hell fucking no.
A game worth trying? Absolutely! It does take a few hours in my opinion to start showing you what makes it so good.
10/10 masterpiece? Hell fucking no.
A game worth trying? Absolutely! It does take a few hours in my opinion to start showing you what makes it so good.
Dacvak
No one shall be brought before our LORD David Bowie without the true and secret knowledge of the Photoshop. For in that time, so shall He appear.
Yo what the fuck, I started this game last night and it’s actually kind of amazing? The level design is so carefully crafted, creating micro challenges that can be bypassed once completed for traversal purposes. Not the type of consideration I usually expect from indie devs. Even Hollow Knight struggled with that a bit.
I bought this game for the meme, expecting it to be serviceable but underwhelming. I’m pleasantly surprised. I’m only a couple hours in, but I hope it keeps up the pace and quality.
I bought this game for the meme, expecting it to be serviceable but underwhelming. I’m pleasantly surprised. I’m only a couple hours in, but I hope it keeps up the pace and quality.
Last edited:
Maiden Voyage
Gold™ Member
It's a real gem. My favorite game out this year so far.
Dr. Claus
Banned
So I “completed” the game, in so far as there are currently no other paths forward other then waiting for the “special” folk to figure out the next incredible esoteric ARG puzzle.
The game is at times amazing, one of the best indie games of all time - and at others the most frustrating nonsense that actively made me regret playing it. The core puzzles to getting the normal and “true” endings are absolutely fantastic. Enough to make you scratch your head, use your items in unique ways, and explore with a new set of eyes in areas you had thought was already combed through.
Sadly it is everything after that fact that the game takes a massive jump into the proverbial shit-filled toilet. From puzzles that only provide one tiny section of the answer, requiring you to work with 30+ others playing the game to solve (now just looking up the finished result), to having to figure out the most nonsensical BS that only a truly special person would be willing to spend hundreds of hours on trying to solve. This isn’t fun and actively detracts from the game. Sadly you can’t just ignore it either as much of the game is built on the mystery and these puzzles help expand upon the situations ongoing within the game’s world and environmental story telling.
The game is at times amazing, one of the best indie games of all time - and at others the most frustrating nonsense that actively made me regret playing it. The core puzzles to getting the normal and “true” endings are absolutely fantastic. Enough to make you scratch your head, use your items in unique ways, and explore with a new set of eyes in areas you had thought was already combed through.
Sadly it is everything after that fact that the game takes a massive jump into the proverbial shit-filled toilet. From puzzles that only provide one tiny section of the answer, requiring you to work with 30+ others playing the game to solve (now just looking up the finished result), to having to figure out the most nonsensical BS that only a truly special person would be willing to spend hundreds of hours on trying to solve. This isn’t fun and actively detracts from the game. Sadly you can’t just ignore it either as much of the game is built on the mystery and these puzzles help expand upon the situations ongoing within the game’s world and environmental story telling.
abstract alien
Member
Not a clue what the hell was going on, but I think it was more about "feeling" something, which it delivered on. Great little title, and I do love how the randomness all came together in some unforseen, cryptic way to give a real connection to it's world. There is a logic, and an understanding to it all from a gameplay standpoint, but it may take most a moment to really mesh with it. Once you do, it's off to the races. Pro tip: Use the damn tools on the map to make notes please. You will quickly find yourself lost if not.
Rating: Recommended
Rating: Recommended
abstract alien
Member
After watching a video on all of the secrets and whatnot in Animal Well, it feels like I missed half of the damn game. Wow. If you've completed the game, go check out a few videos and see what you've missed. Some of this stuff is crazy.
What a great game! Just've beaten Manticore for the first time. (which was, strangely, too easy)
I love that there are no weapons, no crafting, no levelling, no inventory management, no shops, no frame-exact platforming, no dashes nor double jumps.
Much, much better than Celeste. Reminded me a bit of a 16-bit classic Fury of Furries.
Discovering new uses for the limited number of items or how different mechanisms are connected felt really satisfactory!
I love that there are no weapons, no crafting, no levelling, no inventory management, no shops, no frame-exact platforming, no dashes nor double jumps.
Much, much better than Celeste. Reminded me a bit of a 16-bit classic Fury of Furries.
Discovering new uses for the limited number of items or how different mechanisms are connected felt really satisfactory!
Trilobit
Gold Member
Wow, this game was a real surprise for me. It's one of the best games I've played. I love how it doesn't tell you anything about what you're supposed to do, but the level design is so good that you don't feel aimless. I've beaten the final boss, but I'm going to try and 100% as I love to solve the puzzles. This is like a love letter to classic platform adventures.
Edit: I hope the developer makes a sequel/new game that goes more in the direction of Dizzy and Tomba! as I think this guy is one of few who understands those kinds of puzzles.
Edit: I hope the developer makes a sequel/new game that goes more in the direction of Dizzy and Tomba! as I think this guy is one of few who understands those kinds of puzzles.
Last edited:
Maiden Voyage
Gold™ Member
I’m a 0% plot kind of guy so the dev nailing the atmosphere without text was a real joy. Not enough games out there like it. This one is probably my GOTY.
Trilobit
Gold Member
I'm also pretty much leaning it to being my GOTY. I love how much thought has been put into details. Like at one part I was thinking "hmm, I wonder if I can bounce the disc between these blocks and ride with them in there" expecting it probably not going to work, but it did and the developer had put a chest there. The mechanics are also so polished and bugfree that you can only blame yourself if you fail at something. I hope Billy Basso isn't the kind of developer that now wants to do a racing RPG all of a sudden instead of pushing himself to making a stellar sequel. I was a bit disappointed with the A Short Hike dude when he didn't make a bigger and longer sequel to his game instantly lol.