Animal well? Uh yeah i sure hope so. All jokes aside Animal well is made by Billy Basso (and yet people still say Dunkey made the game) and published by Big mode. This game takes a very unique approach to game design with its "three layer" structure so I will follow suit by showing what each layer is like. Also my friend bought me this (shout outs to Lazybeat) so hence the checked box.

LAYER 1

Layer one is everything required to see the credits. The game starts off with you waking up from a flower and after quickly getting used to the controls (and stunning graphics) you start exploring and already in the first room are secrets ( one of them is a hidden wall :( ). And secrets are the a big part of the game. to aide you find many different abilities they seem useless at first glance like what could you do with a slinky. But you find that each tool has multiple uses and interacts with the games mechanics very differently where you can beat some puzzle with multiple different tools. The map for the most part isn't gated off to heavily which could be good or bad, but depends on personally choice. For me the freedom the game gives you is in my opinion the strongest aspect the game has, that and secrets. The game doesn't really have combat, more so running away from ghost animals, though the game tries to make up for that with puzzles. And to be fair the puzzles are very nice but finding them is frustrating. To actually beat the game is too find all 4 flames held by different animals and unlock to way to the final area. to find and beat the first layer is quite fun not to confusing and can be done in around 5-8 hours. if thats all you want out of the game it is a bit lacking but if you start to explore some more for hidden goodies that's where layer two starts.

LAYER 2

Layer two is comprised of finding the the eggs. Hidden all around the map are hidden eggs (Easter eggs). that you can give to the peacock. you are giving different rewards at 8,16,32, and 64 and for the first few the reward is tools. which here's the problem the tools are needed to beat layer one. So picture this someone is having trouble finding eggs because they don't have tools, and can't get tools because they can't find eggs. So if you do have trouble finding eggs it would lead to a vicious cycle that would drive some players away. that said finding the eggs is for the most part pretty fun because you kind of get a sense for how they're hidden. but some eggs are downright EVIL for example for one you need a optional tool and you need to know its interaction with a type of block that shows up in THREE rooms in the game. And sure you are Taught how it works with that block in the area you find it in but only if you hit by dumb luck. there are about maybe 8 of these types of eggs which really rubs me the wrong way. But if you don't care for finding them all, And just find them for fun, Then yeah it's great. and some of the secrets get even more devious, Welcome to layer three.

LAYER 3: MINOR SPOILER WARNING

Layer three is everything else the game has to offer. The easiest of which is the is the bonus tools hidden behind the circular recess doors. Some of them are needed to find eggs. they aren't too bad to find (expect the kangaroo). The other collectible are the bunnies. I am putting the note not all of them have been found at the time of writing. and by that i mean the whole community not just me, no one has found them all. there is a easy one that you can find taunting you at the start of the game, but the rest? ooh boy, one is found by doing a frame perfect jump, another by getting the true ending, I think one of them is by doing a ARG? And so many other secrets that have to be bunnies for example using the UV ray you can see all of the eggs have lines in them and the sign nearby is a code. my best guess is it's Morse code or some cipher, which that stuff
is not my jurisdiction, Who does he think I am MatPat? and some puzzle with a clock I don't know man this stuff is super cryptic. Luckily you only need to find one to get a achievement the one at the start of the game is the easiest. which I think it's a good compromise for people who want to 100 percent and people who want to find all the bunnies. that said the achievements aren't too hard to get if you know what they are.

FINAL THOUGHTS

So how far should you descend into the well? if you ask me layer two I believe would be the most enjoyable for most players. The game has such a sense of wonder to the well. this game is very good in most regards but I'd say Hollow Knight has it beat in the combat and atmosphere, while Animal Well has better puzzles and abilities. That said this Animal well is great but not perfect by any means. but I hope to see not only what Billy basso makes next and what Big Mode publishes next. My final verdict is a 9.0-9.1/10 Thank you for reading.