I've "completed" playing Animal Well, an indie metroidvania developed by Billy Basso, and published by Bigmode. The game is nominated for best indie title in this year's TGAs, and it would probably take about 8~10 hours playing blindly to reach the credits rolling.
Overall, I'd say it's a pretty decent metroidvania, though it's mostly void of a narrative. The game relies upon you instinctually completing tasks and solving puzzles to progress. You play as a little... blob? Idk what else to call it. In metroidvania fashion, you'll start with nothing, and gradually expand your exploration capabilities with little tools, such as a frisbee disc, yoyo, bubble wand, etc. Many of the tools have multiple ways of utilization, and sometimes even a hidden property which you'll stumble across by accident.
I've used "completed" in this context, because while the credits rolled, this is one of those games with a substantial amount of post-game activity to partake in. The puzzles range from extremely easy, to pretty obscure and challenging. What's impressive is how much of this post-game content is layered on top of the game. The main quest has you seeking out four flames scattered across the map; however, the true search is for eggs. Yes, the game is basically a giant egg hunt metroidvania. Even once I thought I'd reached the "end," there was still an additional layer of content and puzzles to solve.
Collectively, I played about 15 hours, and if I were grading myself, I'd say I achieved about an 90% completion rate, excluding some of the challenge locked features. I don't know if I "loved" the game, but that's partially due to my tepidness on the genre overall. Even so, I thought they demonstrated a good utilization of all the basic hallmarks of the genre, including a deep world with many hidden puzzles, tricks, and secrets. Towards the end of last year, I played Tunic, and this reminded me a lot of that game's approach to puzzle design. The last metroidvania game I played was Metroid Dread several months back, and I enjoyed Animal Well a bit more than that.
I think this is probably an easy recommendation to make for metroidvania, or puzzle/exploration fans. For anyone else, there's a fun game here, but temper your expectations if you're seeking a grand narrative, or similarly grand gameplay elements.
Overall, I'd say it's a pretty decent metroidvania, though it's mostly void of a narrative. The game relies upon you instinctually completing tasks and solving puzzles to progress. You play as a little... blob? Idk what else to call it. In metroidvania fashion, you'll start with nothing, and gradually expand your exploration capabilities with little tools, such as a frisbee disc, yoyo, bubble wand, etc. Many of the tools have multiple ways of utilization, and sometimes even a hidden property which you'll stumble across by accident.
I've used "completed" in this context, because while the credits rolled, this is one of those games with a substantial amount of post-game activity to partake in. The puzzles range from extremely easy, to pretty obscure and challenging. What's impressive is how much of this post-game content is layered on top of the game. The main quest has you seeking out four flames scattered across the map; however, the true search is for eggs. Yes, the game is basically a giant egg hunt metroidvania. Even once I thought I'd reached the "end," there was still an additional layer of content and puzzles to solve.
Collectively, I played about 15 hours, and if I were grading myself, I'd say I achieved about an 90% completion rate, excluding some of the challenge locked features. I don't know if I "loved" the game, but that's partially due to my tepidness on the genre overall. Even so, I thought they demonstrated a good utilization of all the basic hallmarks of the genre, including a deep world with many hidden puzzles, tricks, and secrets. Towards the end of last year, I played Tunic, and this reminded me a lot of that game's approach to puzzle design. The last metroidvania game I played was Metroid Dread several months back, and I enjoyed Animal Well a bit more than that.
I think this is probably an easy recommendation to make for metroidvania, or puzzle/exploration fans. For anyone else, there's a fun game here, but temper your expectations if you're seeking a grand narrative, or similarly grand gameplay elements.
