Key Takeaways
- Shared Memory’s upcoming metroidvania game Animal Well arrives on May 9 for PC, Switch, and PS5.
- The game will be the debut title for indie game publisher Bigmode.
- Animal Well is said to be packed with countless secrets, as well as multiple items to experiment with and multiple ways around obstacles..
Ever since its announcement, developer Shared Memory’s upcoming metroidvania game Animal Well has captivated a good chunk of the gaming world, thanks to a combination of its visuals, puzzles, and the sheer amount of secrets that it claims to possess. Things got even more interesting a year later when it was announced that the game would become the debut title for Bigmode, a new indie game publisher created by Jason “dunkey” Gastrow. And now, roughly a year after that, we finally get the news that we’ve all been waiting for: The release date for Animal Well, now set to arrive this May.
Well, Well, Well…
The news came in the form of a new trailer for Animal Well, which you can check out at the link here. In it, we see more of our little blob protagonist and the dark, labyrinthine, pixelated world that they inhabit, which is also home to a large amount of animals (as the title would suggest). Unfortunately, everything from dogs to ostriches, chameleons, and even giant cat ghosts seemingly want our hero dead, and so they need to hunt for a variety of tools to order to get past them and make it through the numerous caverns, one way or another. Yo-yos and frisbees can distract enemies, bubble wands can create stepping stones, and dynamite can…well, that one is sort of self-explanatory.
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As mentioned in our preview of Animal Well at last year’s BitSummit, though, none of these items are actually needed to progress, though. They can certainly help (especially when it comes to finding secrets), but there are multiple ways of solving the puzzles behind the challenges offered in each area. The end result appears to be a rather unique twist on the genre, which when combined with the surreal, eye-catching visuals and intriguing atmosphere, ends up making for what could easily be one highly captivating game.
For those of you who can’t wait and want a chance to check out Animal Well before it’s release in a couple of months, the game will be showcased at PAX East next weekend, at Booth #11037. So if you’re attending the show, make sure to drop by and give the game a spin. For those who would prefer to wait, though, Animal Well will come out on May 9 for the PC, Switch, and PS5, and looks to hopefully be another stellar hit game in a year that already feels packed full of them.
