Side-Scroller Metroidvania Title Animal Well Launches Early May

Publisher BIGMODE, led by YouTube content creator Jason “Dunkey” Gastrow, has announced the release date of its upcoming Metroidvania pixel-art title Animal Well.

Developed by Shared Memory, the game will be out on 9 May for PC, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.

“I started development on Animal Well seven years ago and spent the majority of my evenings and weekends since that time working on it,” said solo developer Billy Basso in a statement. “I quit my day job about two years ago to finish the game and couldn’t be prouder of how the game turned out. This has been my passion for a long time, and I’m so excited to finally share it with the world.”

Key features and trailer are below:

Explore: Illuminate the Dark

• Dense atmospheric puzzle box world with attention paid to every detail.
• Light candles for safety and gradually fill out your map.
• Nonlinear—explore and collect items in whatever order you choose.
• Tons of secrets.

Solve Puzzles: Observation is Rewarded

• Enemies, environments, and items interact in surprising and systemic ways.
• All items have multiple uses.
• Learn how innocuous details can become meaningful.
• The main game is just the beginning. Players will be discovering hidden puzzles for years.

Survive: Tread Carefully

• You must assess for yourself what is safe and dangerous.
• Focus on tension and suspense rather than action.
• You are disempowered, but can make clever use of your environment and items.