Hollow Knight: Silksong is one of the biggest games in years, which is impressive given it was primarily made by four people, costs 20 bucks, is ridiculously tough, and belongs to the most stereotypically indie genre: the 2D Metroidvania.

Every once in a while, one of these explore-em-ups breaks out in a big way, confirming for everyone making one (rightly or wrongly) that they are, indeed, on the right path. In 2018, it was the original Hollow Knight, which exploded in popularity a year after launch upon its Switch release.

Seven years later, the sequel is following in its outsized footsteps. But last year, another indie Metroidvania made a huge mark on the genre. 2024 was the year of Animal Well.

Hollow Knight: Silksong Takes The Crown Back From Animal Well

For other people, that is, not so much for me. Animal Well got a lot of prerelease buzz because it was the first game launched by the YouTuber Dunkey’s Bigmode, a publisher he started with the purpose of only releasing good games. He could do that, he said, because he plays a lot of games and knows what’s good. That pitch struck a lot of people as overly simplistic, so there were a lot of eyes on Animal Well to see if it could deliver the goods. Then it launched to rave reviews, proving that Dunkey could back up his talk.

Though no one has paid much attention to Bigmode’s follow-up Star of Providence, which launched to a muted reception back in February.

I picked Animal Well up on the strength of that chatter, expecting to get lost in its world. But then I started it up, spent five or six hours puttering around, running into puzzles, getting annoyed, going to explore elsewhere, running into another stumper, then closing the game with the intention of giving my brain some time to process.

I did that across several sessions, then eventually stopped coming back. I had a decent enough experience, but Animal Well left me feeling the opposite way Hollow Knight does. With Hollow Knight, I end sessions excited to get back and play more. With Animal Well, I ended sessions because I needed space before I could enjoy playing again.

Giving Up On Animal Well Doesn’t Mean Animal Well Is Bad

But bouncing off a game doesn’t actually say much, if anything, about its quality. I’m currently playing through Hollow Knight, a game that I initially reacted to just like Animal Well, playing for several hours then neglecting to return.

Back then, I gave up on a boss fight, which doesn’t bode well for my chances to click with Silksong on the first attempt.

Seven years later, though, I’ve changed and I fully feel the need to explore every inch of its bug-riddled world. And as I think back on Animal Well, I think of many aspects that I’m intrigued to see more of. The big pixelated animals standing around in certain chambers. The opaque items that were nevertheless fun to use — riding around on a frisbee was great fun. The focus on puzzle-solving to the complete exclusion of combat. Its blobby main character’s ballsy refusal to look remotely interesting.

Plus, every review indicated that, if you kept playing long enough, the game transformed from a straightforward Metroidvania into a bottomless well of secrets. I never got that far and it remains, to me, a mildly interesting 2D action-adventure game - and there are plenty of those to go around.

But I want to see what everyone else saw. No one wants to be the miner who gives up in frustration right before reaching a cache of diamonds, and yet, I have the sneaking suspicion that’s exactly how I left Animal Well.

I won’t get back to it immediately. After Hollow Knight, Silksong is obviously on the docket. But I do want to see what Animal Well’s world has to offer. Maybe it will make a good palette cleanser between Silksong boss attempts.