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Animal Well | NSW, PS5, PC, SD | "This is really something special", whispers Winckle
Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2024 12:07 pm
by jawa_
Title Animal Well
Platform NSW, PS5, PC, Steam Deck
Release 9 May 2024
Developer Billy Basso / Shared Memory
Publisher Bigmode
Official game website ClickShared Memory wrote:Discover a mysterious, non-linear, interconnected world as you solve puzzles in over 250 rooms in whatever order you choose. Rely on your wits to avoid danger in this combat-free Metroidvania.
You'll encounter creatures both beautiful and unsettling, and have to decide what is safe and dangerous.
Manipulate a pixel-art world in surprising and meaningful ways and try to survive what lurks in the dark.
In Animal Well, there is more to the world than what you can see.
> Announcement Trailer (19-Apr-2023)
> Release date Trailer (17-Mar-2024)
Re: Animal Well | NSW, PS5, PC, SD | 9 May
Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2024 12:17 pm
by jawa_
^ I love the spooky styling and the lighting effects as seen in these GIFs :-).
Re: Animal Well | NSW, PS5, PC, SD | 9 May
Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2024 2:04 pm
by Jezo
This game really makes you feel like animals
Re: Animal Well | NSW, PS5, PC, SD | 9 May
Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2024 3:37 pm
by deathofcows
Jezo wrote:This game really makes you feel like animals
Re: Animal Well | NSW, PS5, PC, SD | 9 May
Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2024 5:44 pm
by ITSMILNER
This is on my radar, will be picking this up on Steam Deck
Re: Animal Well | NSW, PS5, PC, SD | 9 May
Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2024 6:16 pm
by jawa_
ITSMILNER wrote:This is on my radar, will be picking this up on Steam Deck
Yeah, when the announcement trailer was shown in the Nintendo Indie Direct last April it was my personal fave of the show. I'll look out for reviews but, right now, it does appear to be decent!
Re: Animal Well | NSW, PS5, PC, SD | 9 May
Posted: Thu May 09, 2024 2:13 pm
by Balladeer
10/10 in Nintendo Life, "flawless performance on the Switch". Sounds like it's reviewing well (ba-dum tish) elsewhere too.
(sighs, gets out wallet)
Re: Animal Well | NSW, PS5, PC, SD | 9 May
Posted: Thu May 09, 2024 3:12 pm
by jawa_
Balladeer wrote:10/10 in Nintendo Life, "flawless performance on the Switch". Sounds like it's reviewing well (ba-dum tish) elsewhere too.
(sighs, gets out wallet)
Five stars from Eurogamer, as well!
Edit:
Only an 8 from Push Square, though.
Disgusting, sack off the development team. ;-)Edit:
A 10 from Nintendo Life. Hmmn... maybe those devs ain't so bad, after all.
Re: Animal Well | NSW, PS5, PC, SD | 9 May
Posted: Thu May 09, 2024 6:20 pm
by deathofcows
Very excited. And I hear it's included with PS Plus premium or something?
But I love playing on Switch! Decisions. But either way sounds like a good answer
Re: Animal Well | NSW, PS5, PC, SD | 9 May
Posted: Thu May 09, 2024 10:44 pm
by Hound
Yeah this game is great so far
Re: Animal Well | NSW, PS5, PC, SD | 9 May
Posted: Fri May 10, 2024 1:56 pm
by deathofcows
It comes with PS Plus Extra but I bought it on Switch anyway like a sucker because I like the Switch feel and Sleep/Stop crispness and portability and I've tried it and no regrets
Re: Animal Well | NSW, PS5, PC, SD | 9 May
Posted: Fri May 10, 2024 2:22 pm
by PuppetBoy
Listening to The Back Page pod today and Matthew Castle was talking this up. I've just started an actual Metroid game on the Switch so I'll hold off for now but it's going on the wishlist for sure
Re: Animal Well | NSW, PS5, PC, SD | 9 May
Posted: Fri May 10, 2024 2:49 pm
by deathofcows
He compared it to Outer Wilds, Fez and The Witness on Twitter. Sniper shot into my Give A Sh*ts
Re: Animal Well | NSW, PS5, PC, SD | 9 May
Posted: Fri May 10, 2024 3:03 pm
by Jenuall
PuppetBoy wrote:Listening to The Back Page pod today and Matthew Castle was talking this up. I've just started an actual Metroid game on the Switch so I'll hold off for now but it's going on the wishlist for sure
Yeah Matthew is pretty reliable so his praise for this has got me interested.
If it's on PS Plus I'll definitely give it a go, although I do think it would be ideal for Switch/Steam Deck really
Re: Animal Well | NSW, PS5, PC, SD | 9 May
Posted: Sat May 11, 2024 6:10 pm
by Balladeer
TBP fans unite! You have nothing to lose but your dignity. (Incidentally I am very active on the TBP Discord where I exist mostly as a punching bag for Samuel. I've seen Jen on there occasionally.)
I've barely started this, but the vibes are impeccable. The game also seems quite open from the off, unless I've missed something. I've got abubble blower as my first item after the obvious one, but I imagine folks will have all sort of different things.
Re: Animal Well | NSW, PS5, PC, SD | 9 May
Posted: Sat May 11, 2024 11:18 pm
by OldSoulCyborg
Usually I'm a fan of dogs, but all of the ones in this game can strawberry float off.
Transfering the mock disc over to the M. disc shrine was more than a little tense. strawberry float that ghost dog. (spoiler for a thing you need to do to finish the dog area)
The shadow dogs in the 5th area are also bastards. (late-game (I think) spoilers)
Also strawberry float the
ostrich.
The
kangaroo, too.
Collected
40+ eggs so far, and have 8 items
across 3 rows. 
Not sure what I'm missing from the top row. I'm assuming the first two rows of items are the main ones, the ones you're "supposed" to get no matter how much extra stuff you finish, so missing one of those would mean (if my assumption is correct) that I've accidentally sequence broken the game in some way.
Re: Animal Well | NSW, PS5, PC, SD | 9 May
Posted: Mon May 13, 2024 3:55 am
by deathofcows
OldSoulCyborg wrote:Usually I'm a fan of dogs, but all of the ones in this game can strawberry float off.
Transfering the mock disc over to the M. disc shrine was more than a little tense. strawberry float that ghost dog. (spoiler for a thing you need to do to finish the dog area)
The shadow dogs in the 5th area are also bastards. (late-game (I think) spoilers)
Also strawberry float the
ostrich.
The
kangaroo, too.
Collected
40+ eggs so far, and have 8 items
across 3 rows. Not sure what I'm missing from the top row. I'm assuming the first two rows of items are the main ones, the ones you're "supposed" to get no matter how much extra stuff you finish, so missing one of those would mean (if my assumption is correct) that I've accidentally sequence broken the game in some way.
You're gobbling through it!
But it is very moreish.
I'm on 6 items and am in the
5th? area - the one after the 4 flames.Great vibes and design and playability. Items are fun and snappy and sometimes surprising.
And I hear there's More Mysteries than just the main game route so keen to see what's up with that. So far everything's been fun but nothing given me much pause to solve so far.
If it turns out I can no longer get the chest/?egg from the
Ostrich-Factory bit I'll be bit miffed!
Re: Animal Well | NSW, PS5, PC, SD | OSC opines "Usually I'm a fan of dogs, but..."
Posted: Mon May 13, 2024 9:01 am
by Holpil
I'm playing this on Steam Deck, but via PS5 using remote play (Chiaki). Managing alright with the jump/bubble timing bits so far.
It's lovely isn't it? The sort of game where I think 'I wish I'd thought of this and then spent 7 years developing it' (I couldn't even if I wanted to).
The lighting effects in particular make you stop and wonder how he achieved them.
Re: Animal Well | NSW, PS5, PC, SD | OSC opines "Usually I'm a fan of dogs, but..."
Posted: Mon May 13, 2024 10:00 am
by Balladeer
The lighting is glorious. And it does all run very nicely even on Switch.
Just to say, though: the giant cat-dog ghost thing and the dog that crawls through pipes just above it can both get stuffed.
Re: Animal Well | NSW, PS5, PC, SD | OSC opines "Usually I'm a fan of dogs, but..."
Posted: Mon May 13, 2024 10:05 am
by Winckle
This is really something special. I hope the developer is getting his rewards for this because he has made a masterpiece here.
