Year: 2024
Platform: PlayStation 5
Developer: Billy Basso
Genre: Adventure
Review Date: 12/8/24
Rating: **

"Animal Well" is a charming throwback to the 8-bit platforming genre. The narrative (if you can call it that) is purposely vague, and the player is simply a small and defenseless blob. Utilizing the tried and true Metroidvania formula, you have to find all of the tools and keys for progressing through a subterranean labyrinth to reach an unspecified goal. Presumably to escape the well? I don't know because I didn't last long enough and put it away after only an hour.

Normally, I wouldn't bother writing a review for a game I spent so little time with, but I wanted to record my thoughts. I really wanted to like the game, and while I love the artwork and overall aesthetic, it's just too damn hard to play. The controls are relentlessly unforgiving and it's way too easy to accidentally use critical inventory items, which are scarce to begin with. What really ruined the experience for me was the jumping. I spent 15 minutes on a single jump and actually got blisters in the process, so when I had to traverse that area again, I said "HELL, NO." Full stop. Maybe it's because I'm a gamer of a certain age and I just don't have the coordination and reflexes that I used to, but I found the game to be unreasonably difficult, especially right at the beginning when you're still struggling with how to play in the first place and trying to determine what the objective is. Maybe it's an indication that my gaming days are coming to an end.