Summary
There is no shortage of secrets inAnimal Well. This puzzling Metroidvania prides itself on becoming more and more cryptic the deeper you search. While rolling credits in the main game can be tricky enough, uncovering everything this game has to offer will take some serious brain power.
It’s highly possible that all of Animal Well’s hidden secrets haven’t been found by the community yet. But the ones that have been discovered already showcase just how deep the layers of mystery run for this game.
7Hidden Abilities
It Was With You The Whole Time
One of the many genius qualities of Animal Well is how you can use itsexcellent selection of items(or tools) for multiple different purposes. Some of these abilities are never explicitly telegraphed in the game’s main puzzles and only reveal themselves after some experimentation.
For example, the Bubble Wand can be used to continually ascend if you press the jump and item button at the same time (while already riding a bubble). Or you may ride on the Disc to soar over gaps and obstacles without a fear in the world — just watch out for any vines!
6Hidden Melodies
Mystery Music
The Animal Flute is an item in Animal Well that lets you play eight different notes that, at first, appear to only be useful for opening up fast travel points. It’s safe to say that those eight notes go a lot further than you may initially think.
Sprinkled throughout the world are different melodies for you to play on your Animal Flute that trigger a range of different events, unlocks, and mechanics. Some of these melodies are written in dark areas of a room, while others are shown through clever environmental clues. The more melodies you add to your repertoire, the more you realise the true power of the Animal Flute.
5Window Mover
Animal Well-Ception
This hidden secret is more of an Easter egg, but a pretty neat one if you want to try it out. Turns out, certain objects in Animal Well that move when the character interacts with them — such as vines and hanging lamps — are also affected by real world physics.
If you move around Animal Well’s gameplay window on your desktop, the vines and lamps will move along with it. The same goes for touching these objects on the Switch’s touch screen or doing the same with your mouse cursor.
4Hidden Items
Tools For Every Trade
If you’ve just completed a standard playthrough of Animal Well, then you’ve likely spent a fair bit of time playing around withitems like the YoYo, Slink, and Bubble Wand. But what about the Wheel, UV Lantern, or Bouncy Ball?
Nearly half of the game’s items are discovered through completing esoteric tasks or discovering hidden areas. These ‘side quests’ lead to some of the game’s most entertaining items, so it’s well worth putting in the time and effort to max out your inventory with everything it can hold.
3Mural Design
Pixel Art
Early on in Animal Well, you will likely come across a large electronic mural showing a bunny. Turns out, this mural can actually be interacted with — you just have to wait a while before that becomes possible.
Much later in the game, you may stumble across an item called the Remote. Using this item in the same room as the bunny mural will blast open a secret space that lets you change each pixel to one of four different colours. From here, you can let your inner-artist go wild.
2Hidden Eggs
No Simple Egg Hunt
While playing Animal Well, you are bound to come across different eggs in treasure chests tucked away in hidden sections all throughout the map. What you may not know is that there are64 of these eggs, and you need to collect all of them to get the game’s secret ending.
Luckily, finding these eggs is generally quite an enjoyable experience as you poke around the map and use your items in increasingly creative ways. You also get rewards after finding certain numbers of eggs — including items like the Animal Flute and Top — so there’s always an incentive to keep the hunt going.
1Hidden Bunnies
No Bunny Business Here
If you thought you had ticked every box on your Animal Well checklist after collecting all the eggs, then you would be sorely mistaken. Scattered throughout the game are hidden bunnies that need to be found and obtained if you are looking for completion. The problem is that finding these bunnies is no easy feat.
Some are hidden away behind challenging platforming sections, but in some ways, these are the easier ones to find. Others require you to interpret obtuse clues — with one particular solution literally requiring 50 different players to complete. Finding all of the bunnies is Animal Well’s greatest hidden secret. Want to know where to start? Why not let your character have a little nap?
