It's Critter Time!

Have we all heard of Animal Well? Studies show it has potentially the highest ratio of animals to wells in all videogames. Released in 2024 after a seven-year development cycle, largely built by one guy, Billy Basso, Animal Well takes after many other metroidbrainias of the modern era (Fez, Tunic, etc.) and presents a lushly detailed world where progression is broken up into different layers of complexity. As players descend through each layer, puzzles become more cryptic, involved, and may necessitate community efforts to find wherever the end lies.

The LP

Alright y'all, it's been a little bit since I've done a proper Let's Play, I'll be real, but I want to do something special for this one. I could simply run through the game, finding each puzzle, waiting for a few seconds, and then telling you what the solution is, finding every secret as efficiently as possible, that old jig. But why should I have all the fun?

I'd like to invite everyone else to join me in completing Animal Well. No, you won't need to play the game yourself; instead, you're going to give me directions. Where I go in the world, what screens I visit, what corners I poke at, markers on the map, anything you want me to do, I'll do it and see what happens. Of course, I may step in if we get close enough or if there are puzzles that aren't getting solved at all, but I believe in the power of the people, I think you'll steer me in the right directions.

Naturally, this invitation is for people who have not played Animal Well before. If you've already played through a particular layer, please don't spoil it for anyone who's seeing the game with fresh eyes.

Episodes

Episode 1

What have we learned so far?

Layers

The game is separated into distinct "layers", where a player can engage only with a certain set of mechanics and goals of a certain level of complexity at their discretion. A player may overlap with multiple layers in their playthrough but they can stop when they feel satisfied (e.g. cubes and anti-cubes in Fez).

Layer 1: Find The Four Flames

As the game begins, four flames vanish from sight. Within the first few minutes of gameplay, we find a map showing their locations, and a room with four large statues, each with a receptacle at its base, four branching pathways leading out from the centre. It stands to reason that something important will happen upon seeking out all four of the flames.

Layer 2: Egg Hunt

Entering a disguised hole in a wall, we find a chest with an egg inside. Near the central room of the well, the egg sits on one of several shelves guarded by a peacock, with room for 63 others. Since the chest containing the egg was in a hidden room, it stands to reason this is a part of a new layer, deeper than the primary objective of finding the flames.

Layer 3: ????
To be discovered…

Hi FT! This lp is going to be awesome!!

After seeing the first couple episodes I just had to hop in seeing you make the clover egg to eat it was just to funny!
I suggest that you don't follow suggestions that will get you killed. Just in general
Also maybe try jumping into vines every so often you know for fun.