Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Jump to content

Animal Well

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Animal Well
Developer(s)Shared Memory
Publisher(s)Bigmode
Programmer(s)Billy Basso
Platform(s)
Release
  • Switch, PS5, Windows
  • May 9, 2024
  • Xbox Series X/S
  • October 17, 2024
Genre(s)Metroidvania, puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player

Animal Well is a Metroidvania video game developed by Billy Basso and published by Bigmode. The player controls a blob and explores a labyrinth filled with animals. The game was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Windows on May 9, 2024, and for Xbox Series X/S on October 17, 2024. It released to critical acclaim, and won several awards including Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction at the 28th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards.

Gameplay

[edit]

Animal Well revolves around exploration via nonlinear platforming and puzzle solving.[1] As in other Metroidvanias, the player collects gear which can be used to pass various obstacles. However, gear items often have many uses, not all of which are immediately obvious, encouraging out-of-the-box thinking.[2][3] The player is not able to fight, unlike similar games.[4] Basso has stated that the map is "not nearly as big as some games, but it aims to be much denser."[5]

Animal Well is mechanically organised into four "layers", each of which offer additional complexity. They were designed to cater to different types of players, ranging from casual to more inquisitive. The layers must largely be completed sequentially, though the first layer alone is designed to be an enjoyable conclusion to the game.[6] They are:

  1. A straightforward playthrough of the main areas, collection of the four flames, and completion of the main objective to reach the credits screen. The first layer is intended for all players.[6]
  2. Further puzzles to gain secret gear items, reach hidden areas, and explore the majority of the map. The second layer ends with a second credits screen. Intended for "discovery and secret-oriented players," only the second layer is necessary to reach 100% achievements or trophies.[6]
  3. Additional challenges which introduce alternate reality game (ARG) elements; one puzzle in particular required at least fifty players to collaborate to solve it, as each player of the game was only given a partial solution.[7] This culminates in a new secret area. It was intended for the wider community to solve collaboratively.[6]
  4. A puzzle involving items only unlockable through repeat playthrough challenges, such as speedrunning, which are maintained across save files. These collectively offer clues which lead to a final ending.[8] The final puzzles were intended to take potentially 10 years to solve;[9] in practice they were solved by the community in the first month after release.[10]

Development

[edit]
Billy Basso in 2024

Billy Basso began working on Animal Well in 2017.[11] Basso had previously worked at mobile developers such as Phosphor Games and NetherRealm Studios on multiplayer free-to-play games, which he has described as teaching him technical skills as well as that he would rather create single player games that "respected the player's time".[11][12] Basso's first priority when he started the game as a side project was the creating of gameplay systems, with the world crafted afterwards to justify the gameplay. To that end, he drew inspiration from games of his childhood that he saw as having similar ideas, such as Super Mario Bros. 2 and the Metroid and The Legend of Zelda series.[11] He was also inspired by Fez (2012), The Witness (2016), and Tunic (2022), for their sense of discovery and for hiding secrets in plain sight.[6] He soon had a 2D platformer with similar pixel graphics to the final game, along with the blob player-character. Basso did not have a planned game design, but instead created it as he developed the game.[11]

During the first year of development, Basso was inspired by things he saw on walks around Chicago, such as lawn ornaments or animal statues, as well as overgrown spaces. He found himself drawing animals, architectural spaces, and water and earth motifs in his personal artwork, and combined these into the game design. He knew that he did not want to have humans in the game, but felt that animals were universally relatable. A year into development, Basso named the game Animal Well as being descriptive but ambiguous, as he wanted to give players the feeling of mystery and of uncovering things in familiar places.[13] He then spent another year expanding the game; he created game mechanics first and then came up with puzzles that used their interactions.[14]

Basso did not use any existing game engine, instead building the game from scratch in C++ as he wanted to understand and be in control of the underlying game systems and only have elements in the code that applied to Animal Well.[11][15] He set several restrictions on himself when designing the game that led to the game's aesthetic and gameplay design, such as a lack of standard weapons resulting in the use of non-violent tools, a limited resolution causing unique lighting aesthetics, and no cutscenes forcing the environment to convey all information to the player.[16] Basso did much of the game's animation using procedural animation in code rather than traditional animation techniques, which resulted in what he felt was an "unsettling" effect.[15]

In December 2019, Basso showcased the game for the first time at an International Game Developers Association event, where it received positive attention.[17] At that point, given how much effort he was putting into it, he wanted the project to result in a completed product. He found, however, that he did not enjoy marketing the game or posting about it. In early 2021, he emailed Dan Adelman, who handled business management and marketing for several indie titles by small teams, such as Axiom Verge 2 (2021).[13] Adelman was surprised by how far along the game was and intrigued by the project, and joined Basso to form Shared Memory.[18] Basso moved to working on the game full time, and in February 2022 the game received previews from IGN and the PlayStation blog.[18][19][20]

In June 2022, Animal Well was showcased at the Day of the Devs indie game festival;[21] this led to an increase in attention from players, including hundreds of people joining the game's Discord server to collaboratively solve the puzzles in the game's announcement video.YouTuber Jason Gastrow (videogamedunkey) made a video about the event highlighting the game which drove more interest.[18] It also led to Gastrow's wife Leah contacting Shared Memory and mentioning that the pair were planning to launch an indie game publishing company, Bigmode. Basso had intended to self-publish the game, primarily to avoid losing any creative control, but after meeting with the pair agreed to partner with Bigmode as their first game.[22]

As attention on the game increased, Basso increased its scope, even when Adelman suggested that the game was nearing a complete state. Basso was committed to not adding any additional content to the game after release, as he wanted it to be a single artifact with a start and an end like his inspirations.[23] He did not want parts of the game world to be locked away until players found an item, which meant that players could find areas at many points in the game and they could each involve multiple game mechanics. As a result, as he added new mechanics, existing areas had to be reworked to account for them, resulting in Basso creating around three times as many rooms as were included in the final game.[24] Adelman and the Gastrows playtested new builds of the game with little direction from Basso; he told them some secrets to ensure they were tested, but kept others a mystery. He created some puzzles to be as difficult as he could make them, as he was worried that players were already solving puzzles just from seeing preview videos, but was convinced by Adelman to make others less "evil" and obscure.[23]

Animal Well was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Windows on May 9, 2024, and for Xbox Series X/S on October 17, 2024.[25][26] Basso was surprised by level of widespread appeal by players as he thought it would be more of a niche game. He also thought some puzzles would take players years to solve, but they were solved in the first month due to community collaboration between thousands of players.[27]

Reception

[edit]

Animal Well received "universal acclaim" 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.[28] 98% of critics recommended the game, according to OpenCritic.[29]

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".[30] Christian Donlan from Eurogamer lauded the game's immersive exploration, calling it "an astonishingly rich Metroidvania".[32]

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".[34] Shaun Prescott from PC Gamer also gave it a 90, calling it "a sleep-destroying puzzle metroidvania of baffling depth".[39] 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".[36]

The game was also noted for its extremely small file size compared to many other 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.[43]

Awards

[edit]
Year Ceremony Category Result Ref.
2024 Golden Joystick Awards Ultimate Game of the Year Nominated [44][45]
Best Indie Game Nominated
PC Game of the Year Nominated
The Game Awards 2024 Best Independent Game Nominated [46]
Best Debut Indie Game Nominated
UCG Game Awards Independent Game of the Year Won [47]
Best Artistic Expression (Independent Game) Nominated
2025 28th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Adventure Game of the Year Nominated [48][49]
Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game Nominated
Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction Won
Outstanding Achievement in Game Design Nominated
Independent Games Festival Seumas McNally Grand Prize Honorable mention [50]
Excellence in Design Honorable mention
Excellence in Audio Honorable mention
Game Developers Choice Awards Game of the Year Honorable mention [51]
Best Audio Pending
Best Debut Pending
Best Design Pending
Innovation Award Pending
Best Technology Honorable mention
Best Visual Art Pending
21st British Academy Games Awards Game Design Pending [52]
Audio Achievement Pending
Debut Game Pending
New Intellectual Property Pending

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Peltz, Jon (June 27, 2022). "Animal Well preview: a beautiful pixelated Metroidvania". NME. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  2. ^ Frushtick, Russ (May 9, 2024). "Animal Well is the ultimate scavenger hunt, just don't spoil it for yourself". Polygon.
  3. ^ Stone, Thom (June 19, 2024). "Animal Well Review". Gamecritics.com.
  4. ^ Valentine, Rebekah (May 9, 2024). "Animal Well Review". IGN.
  5. ^ Basso, Billy (February 10, 2022). "The secrets of Animal Well, coming to PS5". PlayStation.Blog. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d e 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.
  7. ^ Valentine, Rebekah (May 10, 2024). "Animal Well Contains a Hidden Puzzle That Requires at Least 50 People to Complete". IGN.
  8. ^ Monbleau, Timothy (June 11, 2024). "Every Layer Of Animal Well (And How To Solve It), Explained". Kotaku.
  9. ^ Evans-Thirlwell, Edwin (August 1, 2022). "'I'm doing puzzles that may take 10 years to solve': Animal Well, a mysterious video game time capsule". The Guardian.
  10. ^ "haseverythinginanimalwellbeenfoundyet". haseverythinginanimalwellbeenfoundyet.com.[better source needed]
  11. ^ a b c d e Basso, Billy; Adelman, Dan; Gastrow, Jason; Gastrow, Leah (February 27, 2025). The Making of Animal Well | Documentary (Video). Second Wind. Event occurs at 7:00–12:00. Retrieved March 10, 2025 – via YouTube.
  12. ^ Basso, Billy; Adelman, Dan; Gastrow, Jason; Gastrow, Leah (February 27, 2025). The Making of Animal Well | Documentary (Video). Second Wind. Event occurs at 2:00–7:00. Retrieved March 10, 2025 – via YouTube.
  13. ^ a b Basso, Billy; Adelman, Dan; Gastrow, Jason; Gastrow, Leah (February 27, 2025). The Making of Animal Well | Documentary (Video). Second Wind. Event occurs at 12:00–17:00. Retrieved March 10, 2025 – via YouTube.
  14. ^ Basso, Billy (December 12, 2024). Animal Well Dev Answers Your Burning Questions (Video). Second Wind. Retrieved March 10, 2025 – via YouTube.
  15. ^ a b Kerr, Chris (February 22, 2022). "Creature feature: The surreal pixel art and animation of Animal Well". Game Developer. Informa. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  16. ^ Bell, Loewell (December 28, 2024). "Best Of 2024: The Making Of Animal Well, 2024's Most Unique Metroidvania". Time Extension. Hookshot Media. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  17. ^ "Holiday Mixer". IGDA Chicago. International Game Developers Association. December 12, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  18. ^ a b c Basso, Billy; Adelman, Dan; Gastrow, Jason; Gastrow, Leah (February 27, 2025). The Making of Animal Well | Documentary (Video). Second Wind. Event occurs at 17:00–22:00. Retrieved March 10, 2025 – via YouTube.
  19. ^ Marks, Tom (February 10, 2022). "Animal Well Is a Delightfully Unconventional Take on a Puzzle Platformer". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  20. ^ Basso, Billy (February 10, 2022). "The secrets of Animal Well, coming to PS5". PlayStation.Blog. Sony Interactive Entertainment. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  21. ^ Wheeler, CJ (June 9, 2022). "Everything that happened at Day Of The Devs 2022". Rock Paper Shotgun. Gamer Network. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  22. ^ Basso, Billy; Adelman, Dan; Gastrow, Jason; Gastrow, Leah (February 27, 2025). The Making of Animal Well | Documentary (Video). Second Wind. Event occurs at 22:00–27:00. Retrieved March 10, 2025 – via YouTube.
  23. ^ a b Basso, Billy; Adelman, Dan; Gastrow, Jason; Gastrow, Leah (February 27, 2025). The Making of Animal Well | Documentary (Video). Second Wind. Event occurs at 27:00–32:00. Retrieved March 10, 2025 – via YouTube.
  24. ^ Jones, Ali (May 16, 2024). "Solo dev behind breakout Metroidvania hit Animal Well says his game has 256 encounters, but he had to cut at least 500 of them during development". GamesRadar+. Future. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  25. ^ Romano, Sal (March 17, 2024). "Animal Well launches May 9". Gematsu. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  26. ^ Lynn, Lottie (October 17, 2024). "Everything announced in Microsoft's October Xbox Partner Preview". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  27. ^ Basso, Billy; Adelman, Dan; Gastrow, Jason; Gastrow, Leah (February 27, 2025). The Making of Animal Well | Documentary (Video). Second Wind. Event occurs at 32:00–40:00. Retrieved March 10, 2025 – via YouTube.
  28. ^ a b c d "Animal Well". Metacritic. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  29. ^ a b "Animal Well Reviews". OpenCritic. May 9, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  30. ^ a b Moorcroft-Sharp, Jamie (May 9, 2024). "Review: Animal Well". Destructoid. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  31. ^ Colantonio, Giovanni (May 9, 2024). "Animal Well review: must-play Metroidvania is full of rewarding secrets". Digital Trends. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  32. ^ a b Donlan, Christian (May 9, 2024). "Animal Well review - this one gets deep". Eurogamer. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  33. ^ Wacholz, Charlie (May 2024). "Animal Well Review". Game Informer. Vol. 34, no. 366. Sunrise Publications. p. 76. Archived from the original on May 9, 2024.
  34. ^ a b Wakeling, Richard (May 9, 2024). "Animal Well Review - Going Deeper". GameSpot. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  35. ^ Bailes, Jon (May 9, 2024). "Animal Well review: "An endlessly inventive Metroidvania with unfathomable depth"". GamesRadar+. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  36. ^ a b Valentine, Rebekah (May 9, 2024). "Animal Well Review". IGN. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  37. ^ Bowie, Nile (May 9, 2024). "Animal Well Review". Nintendo Life. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  38. ^ Hilhorst, Willem (May 9, 2024). "ANIMAL WELL (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  39. ^ a b Prescott, Shaun (May 9, 2024). "Animal Well review". PC Gamer. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  40. ^ Tailby, Stephen (May 9, 2024). "Mini Review: Animal Well (PS5) - Mysterious Metroidvania a Pure Puzzle Box on PS Plus". Push Square. Gamer Network. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  41. ^ Denzer, TJ (May 9, 2024). "Animal Well review: A deep and rich well". Shacknews. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  42. ^ Parkin, Simon (June 8, 2024). "Animal Well – beautifully wrought indie underground adventure". The Guardian. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  43. ^ 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.
  44. ^ West, Josh (October 4, 2024). "Astro Bot and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth lead the shortlist for the Golden Joystick Awards 2024, nudging out Helldivers 2 and Balatro for the most nominations". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on October 4, 2024.
  45. ^ Gardner, Matt (November 4, 2024). "2024 Golden Joysticks Unveils Intriguing Game Of The Year Shortlist". Forbes. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  46. ^ Maas, Jennifer (November 18, 2024). "Game Awards Nominations 2024: 'Astro Bot,' 'Final Fantasy VII Rebirth' Lead With 7 Nods Each". Variety.
  47. ^ "UCG游戏大赏2024全奖项提名公开！" [All the nominations of the UCG Game Awards 2024 have been announced!]. Ultra Console Game (in Chinese). December 27, 2024. "UGA2024圆满结束！全奖项获奖游戏和厂商公开！" [The UGA2024 has successfully concluded! The award-winning games and publishers for all categories have been announced!]. Ultra Console Game (in Chinese). January 15, 2025.
  48. ^ Welsh, Oli (January 10, 2025). "Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a GOTY front-runner at the DICE Awards". Polygon. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  49. ^ "28th Annual DICE Awards Results". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
  50. ^ Colantonio, Giovanni (January 15, 2025). "The 2025 Independent Games Festival nominee list features some shockers". Digital Trends. Archived from the original on January 16, 2025.
  51. ^ Yang, George (January 28, 2025). "Game Developers Choice Awards 2025 Nominees Revealed". GameSpot. Archived from the original on January 28, 2025.
  52. ^ Szalai, Georg (March 4, 2025). "BAFTA Games Awards: 'Senua's Saga: Hellblade II,' 'Astro Bot,' 'Still Wakes the Deep' Lead Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Animal_Well&oldid=1280007449"