In a year already stacking plates of delicious stand-alone game dishes so fast that they fall over and crash to the floor, spilling splattered food onto the carpet to be vacuumed up by waiting dogs/cats/raccoons/mice, animal pit It's one of the most generous portions yet. The captivating, combat-free. metroidvania It's rich with a delightful variety of challenges, puzzles, and secrets to find even once you've seen the credits. Still, it turns out that players have been making their way through its more modern platforming and puzzle-solving much faster than its solo developer intended. Luckily for all of us, creator Billy Basso is already thinking about a new game set in the changing zoo-niverse, even if it's not a full sequel.
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Earlier this week, Basso took the Nintendo Switch subreddit for an AMA (well described, PC gamer), dropping some fun tidbits about Animal Well's development, plans for the future, and of course, some sneak peeks at secrets that haven't been fully uncovered yet.
Although some mysteries remain, with Basso refusing to comment on whether a particular item can be reached without using glitches, while teasing that other supposed secrets could be mere red herrings, the developer admitted that players had solved the puzzles much faster than what I expected: “They have been resolving them much faster than I expected. “I feel very flattered that people care so much.”
In the case of time capsule – one of the most elaborate and difficult puzzles in the game, unlocking what some suspect is its true “final” ending – players were able to solve it within the first week. Basso expressed his relief that the solution was found without reverse engineering by data mining the game files, saying, “I found it extremely impressive! (…) They just legitimately resolved it much faster than I ever imagined.”
While Animal Well is likely to keep players busy for a while, even as some people are now run it at full speed in less than four minutes – Basso is looking ahead. In terms of whether it could be a full sequel to Animal Well, the developer just isn't sure yet, but the goal is for their next game to be set in the same creature-filled world, at least.
“There will never be any DLC for animals. If I work on something else related to it, it will be a new game,” Basso confirmed in a comment, clarifying that there could be updates for “minor bug fixes” and the like. He then expanded on the idea of a sequel by revealing: “I'm currently planning to make a game that will be in the same “universe” but that may not be a direct sequel.” (“I can’t say,” Basso bluntly responded to another question about a sequel.)
Whatever comes next could at least build on the story that can be found in the first game, and Basso said he focused on gameplay and visuals as the game's “top priority.” platform game – something that comes through in its minimalist storytelling and world-building – but teased that “there's a story I had in mind while making the game, including some very specific details that the community hasn't put together yet.” Then you better get back to solving those puzzles!
Ah, if you're wondering: Basso's favorite item is the seductive, having found some of the puzzles designed around it among the most satisfying to design. A very good choice, even if the Raised platform room during the ghost dog chase. It brought me to the point of needing to get outside, look at nature, and take a deep breath of fresh air before trying it again.
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