What you need to know
- The latest indie hit to blow up on Steam is Animal Well, a new Metroidvania that launched on Steam, PS5, and Nintendo Switch on Thursday. The game released to rave reviews, with 15 positively scored critic reviews and a 91/100 "Universal Acclaim" score on Metacritic.
- Created by solo developer Billy Basso and published by YouTuber videogamedunkey's company Bigmode, Animal Well features a "dense, interconnected labyrinth" that players will have to explore and survive in by cleverly using items and the environment to their advantage.
- The game's focus is largely on solving puzzles and unraveling secrets, as you play as a small blob-like character that can't directly fight back much against the "beautiful and unsettling creatures" that inhabit Animal Well's world.
- Sadly, Animal Well has missed Xbox at launch, and at the time of writing, it's unclear if the indie will come to Microsoft's consoles in the future.
- From now until May 23, Animal Well is available for a 10% launch discount that knocks the price down from $24.99 to $22.49.
