Animal Well is one of the most generous helpings yet, having already spent a year piling up plates of delectable independent game dishes so quickly they’re tumbling over and smashing onto the floor, spilling smeared food over the carpet to be gobbled up by waiting dogs, cats, raccoons, and mice.
Even after the credits have rolled, there is still a ton of challenges, riddles, and mysteries to discover in the engrossing, non-combat Metroidvania. Nevertheless, it appears that players have progressed through its somewhat platforming and puzzle-solving far more quickly than the game’s lone developer had anticipated. Fortunately for all of us, even if it’s not a full sequel, developer Billy Basso is already planning a new game that will take place in the eerie zoo-niverse.
Basso had an AMA on the Nintendo Switch subreddit earlier this week. As PC Gamer pointed out, he revealed some interesting details regarding Animal Well’s progress, future goals, and, of course, a few hints at mysteries that haven’t been revealed completely.
A release date graphic for Spooky Metroidvania Animal Well is set on May 9.
Animal Well, a spooky Metroidvania, will be out on May 9.
On Rock Paper Shotgun, read more.
The developer acknowledged that players had completed the puzzles far more quickly than he had anticipated, even though there were still some unanswered questions. For example, Basso declined to discuss whether a specific item could be accessed without the need for glitches while hinting that other alleged secrets might just be false red herrings. I’m flattered that others find that interesting.
Players were able to solve the time capsule problem, one of the most intricate and challenging in the game, in the first week of play. This puzzle unlocks what some believe to be the genuine “final” ending. “I found it extremely impressive!”
Although Animal Well is expected to occupy gamers for some time to come—some players are currently finishing it in under four minutes—Basso is anticipating what may come next. The developer simply doesn’t know yet whether that might be a full Animal Well sequel, but the goal is to have his future game take place in the same animal-filled universe, at the very least.
“Animal Well won’t ever have any DLC. In response to a comment, Basso stated, “If I do work on something else related to it, it will be a new game,” adding that updates might be coming for things like “minor bug fixes.”
“I’m now planning to produce a game that will be in the same “universe” but may not be a straight sequel,” he revealed, expanding on the notion of a sequel to another. To a further query concerning a potential sequel, Basso curtly stated, “cannot say.”
In case you were wondering, Basso considers the slinky to be his favorite object and finds designing puzzles around it to be particularly fulfilling. A really good decision, even though the area with the rising platforms during the ghost dog chase made me want to step outdoors, take a deep breath of fresh air, and gaze at the scenery before attempting again.