I am so ridiculously happy to see that so many other people feel the same way I do. This game really is something special. Also quick note, for those reminding me that you can cycle through items using the shoulder buttons, I know. That's what I'm saying is annoying. Cycling through ten items trying to find what I need always takes me way too long. I'd like assignable hotkeys or a selection wheel.

Honestly, this game is kinda like Halo 2 and Halo 3 combined

So happy for this is guy who spent 7 years on this. This must be one of his greatest days of his life

Arlo got that free loaf of Wonder Bread

“He may be resisting arrest, but I can’t resist wishlising Animal Well on Steam.” -Dunkey

Big publisher: we have to spend a million in marketing Dunkey: popo pipi promo video

Billy Basso worked so hard to make something truly special and he nailed it! This is a mastahpiece! Congrats to him and shout out to Dunkey for publishing and promoting it.

Tell the devs this review code has at least generated 1 sale. I’m excited

Arlo and Dunkey communities: 🤝

My body is ready to go Big Mode

I already had this on my radar for its aesthetics alone, but seeing such a glowing Arlo review makes it an immediate buy

This sounds a lot like the way Tunic made me feel and no game has ever leeched in to every corner of my brain like that. I'm sold.

This game was NOT on my radar. Now it’s a must-buy. Thank you Arlo!

This review convinced me Arlo would love to play Outer Wilds.

Excited to check it out! (Also, I'm putting this review in the "reasons Arlo REALLY needs to play Outer Wilds" bin)

I took your advice and paused right at the beginning of your video. I downloaded Animal Well and started playing-blind of any context. Later that day I found out I was positive for COVID. Bedridden and sick, I played the game for 4 days straight. I felt like was a kid home from school. This morning I beat the game. I am signing back on to tell you that I agree with every word of your review. Words escape me; I will deeply cherish this experience. Thanks for sharing!

This was my feeling when I first played tunic. That game was pure magic when I played it. I’m now VERYYY intrigued.

I cannot wait for the animal well remaster

A wonderful review. But what really sold me was the guy in the cowboy hat from VR chat recommending it to me.

This Game will make a Dunkillion Dollaros

It’s like Halo 2 meets Halo 3

I'm really excited for Arlo viewers who aren't Dunkey viewers to be absolutely baffled by this comment section Anyways wishlist Animal Well today for your free loaf of wonder bread

"Don't even watch this footage." Well, looks like I need to go get this game now

The way Arlo describes this game is exactly how I felt about Tunic when that first released, both are incredible gems that are just so addicting to explore and uncover.

Super worth mentioning that one guy (Billy Basso) made the ENTIRE GAME. Sound, graphics, the ENGINE, everything. Insane. Totally nuts.

This review sold me. Thanks, kind Arlo

May 9th, I heard that’s the day animal well comes out, it’s kind of like Halo 2 meets Halo 3

One of the coolest things about this game is the structure. Each of the major zones gives you one of the major items halfway through, but requires an item from another zone to fully complete.

after all these years, we finally get to finish the fight

Arlo, wonderful video, one of my fave reviews to listen to ever! Genuinely love that this review captures perfectly the feeling of what you are describing of the game, both really calming and incredibly exciting sounding! As I decided to not keep my eyes open to see the footage to avoid seeing even the early game gameplay in anyway like you stated and the way you described it makes it sound so incredibly awesome, while I don’t know specifics what I do know about the game now makes me want it so much! When I can I’ll buy this game!

Since you appreciated this so much I'd like to take the stand as a history teacher and let you know about the Knytt games series, which to me represent the starting point of indie combat less metroidvanias. The first of those games, "Within a deep forest" didn't feature the titular Knytt charachter but had a ball like protagonist that could mimic various types of substances to gain access to various parts of the map. The author, Nifflas, was one of the big indie developers of the 00's, maybe a bit less known today but deserving of recognition nonetheless.

As a Dunkey fan, I like also being an Arlington fan

animal well for goty babyyyyyyyyyyyyyy -dunkey (probably)

High, high praise indeed. A few months ago I played Tunic and fell in love with the quiet serenity of exploring and solving the world. I dare say this is going to be the next game that scratches that itch.

Your description of how the items work and how you are free to approach things in your own way reminds me of immersive sims... The biggest difference is that it's still puzzle-based on opposed to situation-based. I'll definitely have to check this one out!

to be honesty ive seen dunkey's promotional stuff but wasn't really planning on getting the game but seeing such high praise from arlo im going to give it a try, hope I have a similar experience to you!

Arlo, my monster, all I could think while watching this review is that you need to play Outer Wilds. Also this looks great and I'm buying it day one.

as someone who really loved tunic, how you talk about the secrets in this game gets me excited

Hey Arlo! Just your intro was enough to me to buy it. So far I'm really enjoying the experience. Thanks for the recommendation

Are you talking about Animal Well?

Animal Well is a flawless game, or at least flawless by merit of what it seems to want to accomplish: a non-combat action platformer / puzzler. It executes this not only well, but exceptionally well, consistently. It's not a game for everyone, but it is a game for every metroid fan, and it's hard to imagine any gamer not at least appreciating the design on display. What impresses me most with this game is the pacing, because this is often the leading detriment to games of this genre. But Animal Well is possibly the most well paced metroidvania I've played, with exploration that keeps opening up, puzzles that never bore, and mechanics that remain engaging thanks to its item progression. The items aren't just keys, they're dynamic and fun. Even obtaining some of them is a unique process. The audiovisual atmsophere is wonderful as well. It strikes a balance of pretty and grim, often somewhat cute, yet a threat of strangeness and danger is pervasive throughout. You're a newborn something in a dark place full of beasts and spirits, and while not every creature wants to kill you, nothing seems to welcome your presence. Except maybe the duck. He seems chill like that.

Great review Arlo!! Hit the nail on the head on how Ive been feeling about the game. One thing, and I dont know if it wasnt in the game when you played it, but there IS a menu to select the specific item you need. I found it to be VERY helpful late game.

this game really makes you feel like special

I know nothing about this game, never heard of it, but the gorgeous visuals alone make me want to experience it. The pixel art and lighting is top tier

Seeing people in the comments describe this game as sounding similar to Tunic, Rain World, and the Outer Wilds. All games that are beloved by many. Good signs.

If nothing else, given my own background in game development. I love the graphical style and th attention to detail. The moving grass and the pixel shader just works wonders. Makes every pixel lopk gorgeous

I love how arlo writes his reviews; they do a really good job of selling you the game if it's positive. the last game I got based off of his review was bug fables and I ADORE that game. can't wait to pick this game up when I have the time.

Arlo if you liked this game so much, you will love rain world and rain worlds dlc

"Why is everyone spouting what's obviously memes from that dunkey vid-" *published by dunkey's new company Bigmode* "Ohhhhhhhh. Okay that's fair then. I hope it succeeds!"

Throughout the review I kept thinking of Toki Tori 2+ . A "combat-free" metroidvania focused on puzzles where your relatively simple abilities have surprising utility, especially as you learn new songs and figure out how different things respond to them. It does indeed do that thing where when you return to the very first room in the game you have new knowledge that will allow you to progress in a completely new direction that didn't occur to you at the very start of the game.

Environmental Station Alpha. That's the game which set the stage for Animal Well, in my world. I knew the two would be of the same feather the first time I saw the Animal Well teaser trailer. It isn't quite as visually arresting, but Baba Is You creator Arvi Teikari really created something special with ESA. If you finish Animal Well wanting more, check it out!

Hey Arlo, I really love your video and often resonate with the feelings they emit. So thank you

I was going to play this anyway (big dunk fan) but you just made me 100x more excited. I tend to feel the same way as you about games most of the time, by far more than any other reviewer, so this has me ridiculously hype to play after work today

Arlo, regarding that intro about how special this game is I am 100% with you. This game didn’t really hook me at first besides knowing Dunkey was backing it for his new company. Over the last months hearing people talk about it the hype creeped up on me as I’ve heard more people talk about it.l I just got back from a standard soul crushing day at work (I mean really soul crushing) and downloaded the game immediately. I am as hyped right now as I was for Super Mario Odyssey. This is one of those games that just has heart and it’s easy to tell. I love the visual style too. Can you believe one guy made EVERYTHING in the game INCLUDING the game engine itself? Pretty amazing. Those games that just 1 person makes often feel the most personal and different. Small teams can capture that energy as well but just one dev for all of production and programming hits different.

my favorite thing about the game is how optimized it is. like the steam spec requirements are unbelievably low and that’s AMAZING

ive put roughly 8 hours into the game now and arlo was absolutely correct, best indie metroidvania i've played since hollow knight, what an experience, one of those games that you just gotta play to really appreciate.

this game REALLY makes you feel like a well

My concern with going into this was it'd be a short cute game. I'm 13 hours in and still have more to do, though I'm still chasing many secrets rather than B-lining the "end". I've seen people rolling credits in 5 hours, but there are others with 60-100+ hours in steam reviews who are still discovering secrets. This game feels deep

Nice to hear youre passionate about an indie game. I love games that remind you of why you loved gaming in the first place. Just downloaded this last night and it's great.

i love when arlo videos come out they always make my day

I wishlisted this game and got free bread

The game didn’t really catch my eye initially, but your description of the puzzles and discoveries makes me think of Tunic which is one of my all time favorite games just for the puzzles alone. I think you’ve sold me on this game.

nice, glad to hear that this should be a great playthrough. the promos caught my eye and i was stoked to see it immediately drop on PS+.

I was sold 2 minuted in, and now that I've watched the whole thing, I'm completely enchanted. So exciting!

I could listen to this man tell me about anything for hours

The developer for this game was formerly an instructional designer (it's what I do too) so it makes a lot of sense that he would really lean into how the game teaches and prompts the player based on intuitive function.

Towards the end, when you encountered the ostrich, I had a laugh just by how you entered the room twice. Then you went the other way. I could almost hear the 'wtf!' followed by 'uuuh'

I guess I shouldn't be too surprised it is this good. Dunkey has long had an eye for special games and a way of describing what makes them so special. Glad the developer was able to get his publishing. Happy for Dunkey, Leah, and all them.

“Its a metroidvania without combat” … so its like the best puzzle levels in Mario Maker 1/2 😮 Im sold. Actually just checked ps plus extra and its avaliable for download so im beating the game through that. Thanks for the review! I didnt know this existed or that it was tied to Big Mode aka Dunkey!

You convinced me to check this one out. It sounds wonderful!

CANNOT WAIT to play this game. Have to wait until I get paid on Tuesday (sadly) but I’m BEYOND hype to dive into this

Im only at the beginning of the video and you already made me go from "this looks interesting" to "ok im listening", your reviews have too much power!

I really like the BGM you used in this one arlo

Been excited to see how this game shapes up, since I frist saw a trailer. I'm glad it seems to be as good as I had hoped and can't wait to play this. It's so nice to be excited for games for a change.

Actually really looking forward to playing this now, what an excellent review! Thank you monster man :)

If Bowser's Big Bean Burrito was an entire game.

Where is my free wonder bread?

Great review! If I didn't already have it wishlisted, I'd be sold. This game looks beautiful and sounds wonderful to play. I love when a game is just a great overall exeprience.

Especially at 2:54, the reflection effects are a great application of a distortion map approach!

On one hand, I'm really glad dunkey promoted this game and that he helped it's success. On the other hand, no matter how good the game is it's going to be known as the dunkey game even though it seems to be much more than just the dunkey game.

I am totally going to check this out. There is no reviewer I trust more than Arlo! ❤

This sold me on it for sure. To hear such glowing praise is really reassuring, it didn’t seem like my type of game when I first heard about it but it doesn’t have to be right up my alley to be a fantastic experience

I've been waiting this game to release for very long. The artstyle inmidiately hooked me and and the atmosphere seemed unparalleled. Also, as a beginner gamedev who has had this dream game idea about a metroidvania without combat, where you mostly interact with nature and it's surroundings, for years; this game has every chance of finding a special place in my heart.

Fans of Halo 2 and 3 are gonna like this

This is really high praise for such a random little indie game. Feels too good to be true. Maybe I'll check it out

i've been so excited to play this. I'm glad it turned out well.

This is the first I’ve heard of this game but after your review I really want to check it out

Seeing this made me realize how dunked also was just showing mostly the first level. Wow that means we have no idea all that this game has in store for the player

Isn't this the game that`s Halo 2 and Halo 3 combined?

This sounds exciting, I’ll definitely check it out on this review alone.

Thank you for making me aware of this game, it is phenomenal! :D

>starts vid >stops it a minute in >buys the game myself I'll be back to watch this vid after, Arlo, promise. But the way you said that made me have to give it a blind go [Edit May 23rd]: glad i went in blind! Awesome game

I'm just imagining videogamedunkey standing behind Arlo with a gun to his head for the whole review 😭

Well, you sold me. I’m picking it up. Thanks, Arlo!

The way Arlo talks about Animal Well is the way I talk about Outer Wilds, for similar reasons. I am now hungry for this game and nearly certain it would be up my alley. So... To the eShop! This mix of exploration, puzzles and discovery is a heady one and I'm angling for another fix.

dunkey: yea our strategy is we're just gonna publish GOOD games everyone: lmao thats dumb youre dumb animal well: *is good game* dunkey: yea what now huh

If you dont have Animal Well on your Steam wishlist don't call yourself a gamer.

Thank you, Arlo. Your video has convinced me to buy this game. It wasn't on my radar at all, and suddenly I was seeing an influx of comments about Halo 2+3, and bread, and references to Dunkey. I figured there was a meme I wasn't privy to. I love Dunkey's content, he's hilarious. I saw he had a video about this. But like with all of his videos, I always assume anything coming out of his mouth is satirical or a meme. But you Arlo, you I know I can take seriously.

There were moments for me where I thought to myself "how in the world was I supposed to figure THAT out??" In the first part of the game it was relatively scarce, but in the second part it became a common problem.