Animal Well

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Animal Well
Single-player

Animal Well is a 2024

Windows
on May 9, 2024. It released to critical acclaim.

Gameplay

Animal Well revolves around exploration via nonlinear platforming and puzzle solving.[1] The developer stated that the map is "not nearly as big as some games, but it aims to be much denser."[2]

Development and release

Animal Well was developed by Billy Basso, a professional game programmer from

flip screen" Commodore 64 games, Super Mario Bros. 2 and 3, The Witness, Tunic, and Fez.[3][5][4][6]

Basso developed the engine from scratch in

fluid simulations for smoke and water, normal mapping, and dynamic lighting, all rendered in different layers.[7][8] The game runs at an internal resolution of 320×180.[7]

Basso worked with Dan Adleman for marketing. He eventually partnered with

Windows on May 9, 2024.[10]

Reception

Animal Well was praised by critics for the Windows and Nintendo Switch versions based on 31 and seven reviews respectively while receiving "generally favorable" reviews for the PlayStation 5 version based on 14 reviews, according to review aggregator website Metacritic.[11] 98% of critics recommended the game according to OpenCritic.[12]

Jamie Moorcroft-Sharp of Destructoid praised the game for its expansive content and multitude of secrets, giving it a perfect score and stating that Animal Well is "packed with more things to do and secrets to find than most other games".[13] Christian Donlan from Eurogamer lauded the game's immersive exploration, calling it "an astonishingly rich Metroidvania".[14]

Richard Wakeling from GameSpot highlighted the game's unique take on traditional items, visual design, and neon-soaked world, awarding it a score of 90 and noting that the game "might look antiquated and familiar at first glance, but this well is cavernous and unpredictable".[15] Shaun Prescott from PC Gamer also gave it a 90, calling it "a sleep-destroying puzzle metroidvania of baffling depth".[17] Rebekah Valentine from IGN awarded Animal Well a 9/10, describing it as "a beautiful, multi-layered puzzle box that's both fun to simply play around with, and an utter delight to slowly crack open".[18]

The game was also noted for its extremely small file size compared to many other modern games, with the PC version at around 33 MB. While the PlayStation 5 version is over 100 MB, most of that size can be attributed to a single high resolution image used in the console's UI.[20]

References

  1. ^ Peltz, Jon (June 27, 2022). "Animal Well preview: a beautiful pixelated Metroidvania". NME. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  2. PlayStation.Blog
    . Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c prankster101 (September 30, 2022). "Interview with Billy Basso of Animal Well". Prankster101 Productions. Retrieved May 24, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ a b c Fuller, Matt (May 7, 2024). "Interview: How Animal Well is using secrets and mysteries to be a different kind of Metroidvania". Thinky Games. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  5. ^ Extension, Time (May 9, 2024). "The Making Of: Animal Well, 2024's Most Unique Metroidvania". Time Extension. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Hermanson, Nate (September 18, 2023). "Billy Basso on creating mysterious and mind-blowing Animal Well - PAX West 2023 hands-on/interview". Video Games Are Good. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Kerr, Chris (February 22, 2022). "Creature feature: The surreal pixel art and animation of Animal Well". Game Developer. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  8. ^
    PlayStation.Blog. Archived
    from the original on July 20, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  9. Rock, Paper, Shotgun
    . Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  10. ^ Romano, Sal (March 17, 2024). "Animal Well launches May 9". Gematsu. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d "Animal Well". Metacritic. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  12. ^ a b "Animal Well Reviews". OpenCritic. May 9, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  13. ^ a b Moorcroft-Sharp, Jamie (May 9, 2024). "Review: Animal Well". Destructoid. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  14. ^ a b Donlan, Christian (May 9, 2024). "Animal Well review - this one gets deep". Eurogamer. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  15. ^ a b Wakeling, Richard (May 9, 2024). "Animal Well Review - Going Deeper". GameSpot. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  16. Sunrise Publications
    . p. 76.
  17. ^ a b Prescott, Shaun (May 9, 2024). "Animal Well review". PC Gamer. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  18. ^ a b Valentine, Rebekah (May 9, 2024). "Animal Well Review". IGN. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  19. ^ Bowie, Nile (May 9, 2024). "Animal Well Review". Nintendo Life. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  20. ^ Bailey, Dustin (May 14, 2024). "In an era of 100GB games, breakout Metroidvania hit Animal Well is only 34MB - so small that its 4K PS5 background is 'likely larger than the game'". GamesRadar+. Retrieved May 21, 2024.

External links

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