Animal Well is shaping up to be the most acclaimed metroidvania since Hollow Knight

GamesActionAnimal WellAnimal Well is shaping up to be the most acclaimed metroidvania since Hollow KnightWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Bigmode)

Animal Well

One of the best-reviewed games of the year so far launchedon Steamtoday. In his 90%Animal Well reviewfor PC Gamer, Shaun said that the 2D metroidvania “may go down in history as one of the genre’s best,” and other critics agree. Here’s a smattering of the acclaim:

When heannouncedthe venture, Dunkey emphasized his record of trashing “soulless cash grabs” while lifting up indie games like Hollow Knight and Celeste, saying that he only wants to work with “the most passionate and creative people out there.” It’s only one game, but so far so good, looks like.

Animal Well creator Basso previously worked as a programmer for game studios including NetherRealm, and founded his indie studio, Shared Memory, in 2020. The studio is just him, plus assistance from self-described “business-y guy"Dan Adelman, a former indie dev liaison for Xbox and Nintendo who now independently provides business and marketing services for small developers.

A couple hours after launch, Animal Well is climbing Steam’stop sellers chart, and is number eight globally at the time of writing. Its Steam rating—an average that’sof great significancethese days—is sitting at “Very Positive” so far with about 300 reviews.

Polygon’s reviewer advises playing Animal Well without any foreknowledge, which I say as a warning that I’m going to give you a little bit of foreknowledge in the next paragraph, soback out now if you want to go in knowing nothing.

What none of the Steam reviewers who just started playing Animal Well may know yet, unless they’ve read our review or another one, is that the end is not the end. “The credits rolling in Animal Well just marks the end of one game and the beginning of another,” as Shaun put it in his review. And it’s that post-credits game that really elevates the whole thing.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

“Animal Well morphed from a fun-verging-brilliant indie metroidvania into something that now keeps me awake at night,” Shaun wrote.

On the Steam page, Brasso claims that “players will be discovering hidden puzzles for years.” Working en masse, players are pretty good at annihilating any mystery you put in front of them, but it’s a tantalizing promise—and it’s certainly not unheard of for secrets to be discovered years or even decades after a game’s release. A previously unknown variant of the Konami codewas just foundin a 25-year-old game, for instance.

Animal Well is availableon Steamfor $25 (currently on sale for $22.49), and is also available on PlayStation and Switch consoles.

More about actionAll Zenless Zone Zero 1.5 livestream codesAssassin’s Creed Shadows is delayed again ‘to better incorporate player feedback gathered over the past three months’LatestThe Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in AprilSee more latest►

More about actionAll Zenless Zone Zero 1.5 livestream codesAssassin’s Creed Shadows is delayed again ‘to better incorporate player feedback gathered over the past three months’

More about action

All Zenless Zone Zero 1.5 livestream codesAssassin’s Creed Shadows is delayed again ‘to better incorporate player feedback gathered over the past three months’

Zenless Zone Zero codes - Miyabi and section four

All Zenless Zone Zero 1.5 livestream codes

Image of Yasuke striking an enemy in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is delayed again ‘to better incorporate player feedback gathered over the past three months’

LatestThe Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in AprilSee more latest►

Latest

The Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in April

the last of us season 2 trailer

The Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in April

See more latest►

Most PopularMarvel Rivals’ latest update quietly killed the game’s burgeoning mod sceneSorry everyone, Minecraft 2 is cancelled, and it might be our faultTeam Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40KIs the new RTX 5070 really as fast as Nvidia’s previous flagship RTX 4090 GPU? Turns out the answer is yes. Kinda.Elden Ring: Nightreign is getting a closed network test, and I’m totally not fuming because PC players aren’t invited to the party, or anythingIf you’re a content creator and gamer looking for a CPU upgrade, this Ryzen 9 9900X deal will get you $90 offAMD is now reportedly making all-American Ryzen 9000 CPU dies at TSMC’s Arizona fabI tried a sim racing rig that generates ‘wind’ at CES 2025 and it’s claimed to help keep VR nausea at bayFinal Fantasy 14 communities panic as it turns out change to blacklisting, meant to help reduce stalking, also lets players use mods to track their altsTikTok’s time in the US may be ticking to a close as it makes a last stand in the Supreme Court, though Trump now says he ‘opposes banning’ itMSI intros cheaper ‘back connect’ Project Zero Intel motherboards for super-clean PC builds you might actually be able to afford

Most PopularMarvel Rivals' latest update quietly killed the game’s burgeoning mod sceneSorry everyone, Minecraft 2 is cancelled, and it might be our faultTeam Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40KIs the new RTX 5070 really as fast as Nvidia’s previous flagship RTX 4090 GPU? Turns out the answer is yes. Kinda.Elden Ring: Nightreign is getting a closed network test, and I’m totally not fuming because PC players aren’t invited to the party, or anythingIf you’re a content creator and gamer looking for a CPU upgrade, this Ryzen 9 9900X deal will get you $90 offAMD is now reportedly making all-American Ryzen 9000 CPU dies at TSMC’s Arizona fabI tried a sim racing rig that generates ‘wind’ at CES 2025 and it’s claimed to help keep VR nausea at bayFinal Fantasy 14 communities panic as it turns out change to blacklisting, meant to help reduce stalking, also lets players use mods to track their altsTikTok’s time in the US may be ticking to a close as it makes a last stand in the Supreme Court, though Trump now says he ‘opposes banning’ itMSI intros cheaper ‘back connect’ Project Zero Intel motherboards for super-clean PC builds you might actually be able to afford

Most Popular

Marvel Rivals' latest update quietly killed the game’s burgeoning mod scene

Sorry everyone, Minecraft 2 is cancelled, and it might be our fault

Team Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40K

Is the new RTX 5070 really as fast as Nvidia’s previous flagship RTX 4090 GPU? Turns out the answer is yes. Kinda.

Elden Ring: Nightreign is getting a closed network test, and I’m totally not fuming because PC players aren’t invited to the party, or anything

If you’re a content creator and gamer looking for a CPU upgrade, this Ryzen 9 9900X deal will get you $90 off

AMD is now reportedly making all-American Ryzen 9000 CPU dies at TSMC’s Arizona fab

I tried a sim racing rig that generates ‘wind’ at CES 2025 and it’s claimed to help keep VR nausea at bay

Final Fantasy 14 communities panic as it turns out change to blacklisting, meant to help reduce stalking, also lets players use mods to track their alts

TikTok’s time in the US may be ticking to a close as it makes a last stand in the Supreme Court, though Trump now says he ‘opposes banning’ it

MSI intros cheaper ‘back connect’ Project Zero Intel motherboards for super-clean PC builds you might actually be able to afford

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals