97 percent positive on Steam: An unassuming indie game is winning the hearts of gamers
Only very few people have heard of Animal Well – unless you are a fan of YouTuber Videogame Dunkey, who has become known for his witty game reviews. Last year, Dunkey founded his own label called Bigmode, with which he wants to act as a publisher for up-and-coming indie developers
And it seems that Bigmode and solo developer Billy Basso have done everything right in their collaboration, because Animal Well has hit Steam like a bomb.
Animal Well captures the hearts of gamers and the press
What kind of game is this anyway? Animal Well takes you into a mysterious game world in which you slip into the role of a small blob and explore an almost endlessly deep well. The game is a classic Metroidvania that focuses on exploration and solving puzzles.
There are no classic combat mechanics and difficult jump’n’run passages are also largely absent. However, the cozy atmosphere is occasionally interrupted because, as the name of the game suggests, the well is inhabited by all kinds of animals – and not all of them are happy about your visit.
In the boss battles, you must then successfully escape or otherwise outwit the angry animals before you can explore the world further and find out what secrets are hidden behind the statues, hieroglyphs and the like that can be found everywhere.
This game principle has been extremely well received by players and critics alike: Animal Well can currently boast a meta score of 91 rating points on Metacritic (), and the title even has a 97 percent positive rating on Steam after around 1,100 user reviews.
In case you’re curious: Animal Well is now available on Steam and costs 22 euros. You can also purchase the game for PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch, but there is no Xbox version
Which game Videogame Dunkey will release next is not yet known. However, since both Animal Well and Bigmode’s first title, the top-down shooter Star of Providence, have received excellent reviews on Steam, it will be interesting to see, as the YouTuber seems to choose his projects very carefully.
