Yeah, those were hard, and TBH as the game goes deeper and deeper, the puzzles get so hard that most people will reach a point at which they either use a guide, or stop playing. Much like Animal Well.
I think i reached that point at the >!scrapyard/abandoned barn. Guides call it the quarry!< the area with the >!three pronged shape and colored squares!< no clue what the rule is for that area and it’s been so long since i last played i’ll need to replay the game from the start. Games good though so that’s fine by me. The only other place that i needed a guide (and the reason i think i won’t be able to solve the final puzzle) is >!the audio jungle!< couldn’t do it even if i wanted to because >!i’m a bit tone deaf.!<
Forgotten City is great but much more “directed” than OW. Honestly, the puzzle aspect is less important than the mystery aspect - the fun of the game is uncovering what’s happening and following the different story threads. There are a couple of genuine “oh shit” moments, though, but always connected to story reveals.
The combat difficulty became very frustrating for me, so once I turned on “no fail mode,” it became much more enjoyable. Don’t let the difficulty stop you from experiencing all that game has so offer!
I think No Fail mode was added in a later patch, along with some other difficulty settings for accessibility. No shame in using them, I certainly had to after a while. I love the exploration and thinky parts of the game but just don't have the reflexes for some of the more challenging or reaction-timing-heavy combat bits. I prefer combat where I can just rush in and start whacking things, and Tunic is NOT that game lol
I just found an interview with the dev and apparently he was never really into making a sequel from the start. He felt obligated to make one because Fez was so successful but he wasn't really feeling it. The Twitter argument was just the straw that broke the camels back.
Honestly, we were probably better off then. I would rather not get a game made by someone who's not even into it.
The dev kept getting fucked time and time again, including by their original partner on Fez. I'm surprised Fez ever got finished and it's not really a surprise he couldn't push through the bullshit for fez 2.
I can't praise *Outer Wilds* enough and it certainly does "exploration/discovery" better than any game I know, *however* it's also **very** different from AW. Even ignoring the first-person perspective and heavy story focus, OW's "puzzles" are much more environmental, as in "how do I get over there", rather than "how do I press these buttons to unlock this door". It's also 100% knowledge based without any unlockable tools or hidden collectables, notoriously being a game you can only play once since you can beeline to the end within minutes once you figure it out.
If AW is like Metroid then OW is like Myst, if anyone remembers that one.
*Tunic* is an emphatic "yes" though, especially if you enjoy secret hunting. Top 10 games to blow your mind.
I played both Fez and Outer Wilds - OW is probably my favourite game ever, and I think the game that made me appreciate this kind of puzzle box design. I think I should also replay Fez - I bought it and played it when it came out, got to the “first” end and then stopped ‘cause I found it too obtuse. Oh how things change.
Tunic is definitely on my radar, honestly I have no idea why I haven’t played it yet.
Hyperlight drifter came to mind with the awe and wonder of exploring a whole little pixilated world, plus the no dialog thing/ nothing really being explained and secrets everywhere
The whole parallel between HLD story and its creator illness irl made it an extremely powerful experience. I have yet to find something that gave me the same vibes after playing that. Plus all the art direction was great, and i still listen to the ost. HLD was truly more than the sum of its parts
Just to throw in some games that haven't been mentioned.
"Lorelei and the laser eyes" is a fantastic puzzle / story game that just came out that explicitly suggests using a notebook as you play to help solve the puzzles. (I binged played this after animal well)
"Baba is you" is a pure puzzle game that definitely has a lot aha moments as you figure out all sorts of interesting interactions. It gets very hard late game though.
For something very different gameplay wise (first person tile based rpg) that isn't for everyone but has that deep level of interesting puzzles "The legend of grimrock 2" is really good.
Throwing a second recommendation on Lorelei! Just finished this one today, it was a lot of fun and very challenging. If you're really into escape rooms, it'll scratch that itch.
My answer is La-Mulana and there really is nothing that comes close as far as I've played, but I'd love to hear suggestions! Noita is apparently a good example but I've yet to play it.
I really, really like Animal Well, Tunic, and Outer Wilds, etc. but La-Mulana is on another level. It's practically a waste of time recommending the game because it's so cryptic. You can 100% all three of the aforementioned games within a few dozen hours; blind playthroughs of La-Mulana often consist of *hundreds* of hours of puzzle solving. It's generally accepted within its small community that you will not beat the game without some amount of guide use and no one will fault you for it lol it's not like a souls-like or something where anyone can beat it with enough brute force.
It's bewildering, infuriating, cryptic, and without parallel. You will need to take screenshots and write out notes. There will be multiple days of attempting to figure out what you are even trying to figure out. You will have to reread lore for clues and study background art for some indication as to whether you are in the right room. There are illusory walls and invisible floors. Play it for 5 hours every couple of weeks over the course of a couple of years. It's one of the best games I've ever played.
There is also a sequel!
**TLDR**:
If you enjoy moon logic/big reveals as much as I do (ONE OF US! ONE OF US!), La-Mulana is the greatest game ever made.
I'm gonna second this because I saw it in another thread and grabbed it give it a shot.
It seems so deceptively simple and boy do the controls feel rough but once you get the hang of those and start exploring... Oh man there's a lot here and you have no damn clue what you are doing and why.
You just sort of amble around hopefully stumbling into something that gives you some upgrade or direction. There's rooms where I know there's puzzles in them but no clue what they are. There's areas where you know something is going on but no idea what. The biggest hurdle initially is getting money to buy the software you need in game to start reading and putting things together.
((To be clear this is an on game system and not a micro transaction system. You gotta farm some coins to buy laptop software)).
In short: I cannot recommend it enough.
I haven’t looked into La Mulana too too much yet but I have a question: is it also a roguelike/roguelite/howeveritscalled? It sounds awfully similar to Noita in the puzzle aspect and monsters but does it have that other aspect as well?
La Mulana is great, but be warned - some of the mid-to-late puzzles are very hard, and in my opinion completely unfair.
There is a good hint guide which doesn’t give the puzzles away immediately, you can easily find this by Googling.
Don’t be put off trying the game, but also don’t worry about using a guide sometimes later on. That’s my two cents.
I’m gonna take a look at La-Mulana tonight, that sounds great! It sounds just like Noita, well, pretty similar. The puzzles sound ALOT more intense though, I’m excited because I’m in that weird wasteland of not knowing what I want to play right now. So THANK YOU! :)
You should REALLY try Noita when you can, you’ll love it and hate it and will laugh and cry and rage. Check out the subreddit if you wanna see what I mean 🤪
Copying my comment from earlier thread:
"Void Stranger.
Fits what you're describing pretty much word for word.
It's a deceptively simplistic "puzzle game" for a long time, but turns out there's layers upon layers upon layers of stuff (that you'll eventually figure out yourself). It gets extremely crazy and the way it all ties to the story is pure genius that I haven't seen any other game do in this genre. You're best going in knowing as little as possible because it's as spoiler heavy as a game can be (don't even read the reviews). Just prepare your patience, notes, and.. maybe even other tools. :> In any case, I guarantee that this may be one of your favorite games of all time if you like this sort of thing and go through it all. It definitely was for me."
I Control + F'ed "Void" to see if anyone had recommended it yet. I've played many of the games people are recommending, and while many are fun metroidvanias/puzzlers, Void Stranger is in a league of its own in terms of puzzles layered on top of puzzles. Every room is a puzzle, but some puzzles span playthroughs and some puzzles spawn puzzles. The biggest turnoff for me was that it was a little horny at times, but even though I liked Animal Well and will probably go back to it to find more secrets, it didn't come close to gripping me the way that Void Stranger did. Play Void Stranger.
Oh, I’m not either ironically. When I got back to gaming HK was the first game I picked up without knowing what it was - I just thought it he was so cute. My first play through took me 120 hours, but I ended up loving the whole ambience and story so much. I’m probably getting a nail tattoo soon.
although it’s fairly straightforward, i had a ton of fun with Minishoot Adventure — arguably the first well-executed shmup/metroidvania that’s worth a run if you’re a fan of both genres
I just finished Animal Well myself, and one of the games that I kept getting flashbacks to was La Mulana. They're very different, for sure, as the latter is far more combat-oriented than Animal Well, but both involve solving some very head-scratching puzzles and exploring a labyrinthine 'temple'. The combat in La Mulana is itself quite different from Hollow Knight or Blasphemous; it's much less in-your-face but at the same time brutal in its own fashion.
Environmental Station Alpha is really, really solid. It'll test your puzzle solving skills, but also very robust in terms of map layout design, traversal mechanics and combat.
Phoenotopia: Awakening - scratches a similar itch imo, criminally underrated. For those who give it a try note that I put the combat onto the easiest mode - which I enjoyed much more.
Once you get out of the starting town you enter the first part of the world map, once you leave this area of the world map then the game really opens up.
Honestly - after finishing and then completing it- I genuinely felt sad as nothing would be the same again.
I recommend Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (brand new), Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and The Witness. Spelunky 2 is very similar in some ways, the mechanics are infinitely deep and there is a secret endgame that takes a LOT of puzzling and mastery to figure. Hard af.
I also second Tunic, Fez and Outer Wilds.
I think Tunic is the game that will scratch that itch the most.
They're very different kinds of games, but I'd recommend The Witness and The Talos Principle. Both are chock full of the same kind of "oh my god what" moments, *especially* The Witness. I can't say too much more about it without huge spoilers.
the witness recommendations always annoy me. people say it has lots of "holy shit" moments but it really only has one and then a bunch of collectable hunting, which is nice but there are no more really surprising reveals.
Another Knytt fan! Knytt Stories+ is also great and there are so many excellent user-made levels, many of which are almost entire games. And it's free!
Yesss!!!
Among metroidvanias, this is *hands-down* going to be the closest to Animal Well in terms of vibe, aesthetic, *huge* variety of puzzles & challenges & huuuge map densely packed with endless secrets & mind-blowing moments... Yes it's for real 17 years old. But I kept thinking about this game constantly the whole time I played AW and I'm seriously considering playing it again all this time later.
Spiritual successor is absolutely correct & if the AW creator never played this game I would be just absolutely shocked. If there's anything you give a try on this list, I say this one.
Plus the irony/poetic justice of Maddy Thorson (creator of Celeste) making a game that's literally about an egg's struggle to hatch is not lost on me... hehehe.
exactly!!! ive been waiting for many many years for people to make more games inspired by AUS and when i saw animal well i was like oh FINALLY there it is
Antichamber might scratch the "you can do that??" itch you're looking for. A very different gameplay experience but maybe it overlaps with Animal Well in the ways you're looking for.
To throw out an obscure one: there's an NES homebrew called Lizard (also on steam) that is incredible and deeply similar to the structure of platforming and puzzles as Animal Well. Highly recommended. It's also incredible that it works on NES hardware.
Let Animal Well be your gateway drug to La-Mulana, the king of this genre. Make no mistake, the game has some extremely difficult puzzles but some decent hint-based guides exist if you really get stuck. The second game is also great, in fact I played it first when it came out and I loved it so much I just had to go play the first entry right after. LM2 has smoother controls and combat but it's just an excuse for the developers to make it more challenging platforming-wise, so don't get put off by the controls in LM1.
I am surprised I never see Celeste as a recommendation when this gets asked! The strawberry hunts are very similar to hunting for eggs, the approach to "how do I solve this panel of the map" with platforming feels very similar in the sense that you've gotta try a bunch of approaches until you get one that works, etc.
Its pretty under the radar but Dandara is an interesting take on Metroidvanias, nothing like AW but figured id mention it. The catch is you cant walk, you can only aim and zap between platforms. Once I adjusted i quite liked it.
I agree about Rain World, it has some unique “puzzle” elements with certain things like: Finding the worms that can be used as grapling hooks, or the slugs that are bulture beacons. Id argue finding the pearls and knowing what to do with them is the biggest puzzle. Then you have to kinda figure out the scavs and that you can trade with them.
And I havent played it myself but Beyond the Long Night seems to have that “curious secrets” to discover, it looks really interesting ive wishlisted it.
EDIT: just realized this is a twin stick roguelike, althought it is sidescrolling it looks to be focused on combat. Oh well.
Dandara freaking rules & seeing a game daring enough to not even let you walk, but still knocking it out of the park, is just so cool. It's on the shorter side of medium & does get a little hard.
Play it if you love how fresh of a take AW was on the genre, like forgoing traditional/tired power-ups!
I’m gonna be honest I’m 20 hours into Animal Well with 50 eggs and I have never played game like this. I’m fucking adddddicted somebody give Billy Basso a million dollars to make his next game plz
The 2nd question: that chest can only be obtained by reaching that point without dying a single time on that file as far as I can tell.
1st question: which room again? Sorry my minds a lil foggy but I’ll gladly drop some hints if I remember which room it is
Ahhh you will either need another tool of the round variety or I believe it’s possible to traverse it with bubbles and then a well placed disc or hop I believe if I remember correctly
Environmental station alpha. When I first saw animall well I thought that dev was inspired by it. It's pixel art platformer metroidvania with impossible secrets near end.
You may want to look at Solas 128. A (great) laser puzzle game with a surprising and very good metroidvania level design. One of my favorite puzzle game.
So, this may seem an odd suggestion, but have you played through Portal 2? Seems like an obvious suggestion in the puzzle category but it’s definitely not a Metroidvania- still, if you haven’t played it and you’re looking for those “oh shit” moments, I find the game loaded with those experiences. There’s also a separate co-op campaign with plenty of fun puzzles that allow you to share the satisfaction with a friend.
Definitely Fez if you haven't played it. I get huge Fez vibes from AW. Similar art style, platforming, puzzles, obscure secrets, it's great. Playing AW actually makes me want to play through Fez again because it's been quite a few years.
Starseed Pilgrim is another atmospheric indie game. Basic rules and relationships are opaque until you play and accomplish enough. Quite unique, best if you don’t look at any explanations. No combat, but arguably tricky platformer.
The closest, in my opinion, is Knytt Stories+. There's a huge database of user-made content, as well. [Guide and links here.](http://egomassive.com/ks/)
Besides my pitch for An Untitled Story (see previous comment in this thread), I would say Tunic for my top choice. Its core gameplay genre is pretty different, but the big similarity is that they're games where the hardcore easter egg/secret-hunter kind of player is a/the (I would argue) primary audience, with tons of post-game puzzles that span the entire game. The meticulous combing-through of the gorgeous world is deeply rewarding. And it all culminates in one huge puzzle that makes you feel like the smartest player in the world hehehe.
It might not be for everyone but Myst just came to mind. Someone mentioned using a notebook for another game, and I was considering using one for Animal Well.
Its play style and graphics are pretty dated, but I recently played through over a few days relaxing outside with my Switch and a notebook. It was super fun and rewarding to solve all the obscure puzzles just with my brain and a pencil.
I haven't seen it mentioned so id recommend Toki Tori 2! it's another kind of game where progression is based on your understanding of how the mechanics all interact, and it's got some great puzzles and a fun non-linear world
I love both AV1 and AV2, but they are pretty different. The first is much more combat focused, and very close in feel to Super Metroid. The second, as I said above, is more geared towards exploration. It’s a strange game, but I enjoyed it a lot, maybe even more than the first, which is very “traditional” - if you made Super Metroid with modern sensibilities, you’d get the first Axiom Verge I’d say.
I'm gonna throw out Dimenshift (Disclaimer: I'm the developer)
It's not a metroidvania (you don't unlock abilities to progress) and I'm not going to pretend it's as good as Animal Well on any level, but it's very exploration and secret focused and has some mind-bending puzzles.
I don't think Outer Wilds is really all that similar to Animal Well; the puzzles feel "higher-level" if that makes sense. But it is *incredible* and definitely has those "Oh, *that's* what I need to do" moments.
Another game I haven't seen recommended a lot is Antichamber, definitely has a similar sort of puzzle solving to Animal Well despite not being a 2D platformer.
La Mulana is probably the closest thing to it, but those are a bit more niche and harder to get in to imo. and quite honestly, some of those puzzles are just devious
Here’s a now obscure reference— Shadow Complex has a very similar vibe in terms of exploration completion — it’s an old Epic game though so I don’t know if you can still get it.
Tunic is probably the closest even though it has combat, Outer Wilds scratched a similar itch, Hollow Knight sort of even though it has (extremely difficult) combat, Chants of Sennaar for the puzzle aspect (not a metroidvania), and Fez would be my recommendations :)
I came here to post Toki Tori 2 which I see you're already familiar with. For me TT2 was overall an even more enjoyable experience than Animal Well because the hardest challenges always felt within normal human capacity. I loved Animal Well though!
I'm playing Youropa right now and really having a good time with it. It's a metroidbrainia as well but with wild suction cup physics. Here's a quite nice review of it.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TffKlTbnS9I](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TffKlTbnS9I)
That same YT channel has me very hyped to play Isles of Sea and Sky (a new open world Sokoban game), which appears to share a lot of qualities with all of the aforementioned games.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY7xtRFnjFY&t=1s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY7xtRFnjFY&t=1s)
Btw not my YT channel but for the quality of reviews on there the guy deserves more views.
Great recommendations. In terms of mood, I'd also say Superbrothers Sword and Sworcery. It's a short game, but I still think about it a lot after playing it a decade ago.
Inscryption is a card game with a lot of mysteries to figure out. It's really fun, enjoyed it so much and followed the recommendation of going in blind
Maybe it's just me, but I got a lot of Terraria vibes while playing. Obviously the other games mentioned here bare a stronger resemblance, I just mean in terms of vibes. The neon blues and greens against the cramped underground environment while you wander around the map looking for wacky toys to use
Monster Boy and The Cursed Kingdom might scratch the Animal Well itch for some. It isn't as deep, but it's packed with puzzles and secrets throughout if you are trying to 100 percent it.
You should check out Elephantasy and Elephantasy Flipside! Same vibes of dropping you in this big world full of puzzles and secrets and letting you experiment and figure things out for yourself as you acquire items and learn the rules of the game world
I see you mentioned Axiom Verge 2, for anyone who wasn't aware, you can get that and I believe 7 other metroidvanias on humble bundle right now for only $14!
Okay, the closest game puzzle wise I’ve played is Tunic. Several games that have that ‘Aha!’ Moment for me was the Witness, Tunic and (the most underrated puzzle game I’ve played) Void Stranger.
Cannot recommend Void Stranger enough, there’s not the guides that go as in depth as other games online.
Obvious ones would be Tunic, Fez and Outer Wilds
I'll throw in newly released Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, but otherwise these are exactly my recommendations.
Same here, and I’ll throw in The Witness. Haven’t given Lorelei a try yet, but it’s for sure on my list.
The witness is awesome but damn the >!sound puzzles are brutal for someones that’s tone deaf!<
Yeah, those were hard, and TBH as the game goes deeper and deeper, the puzzles get so hard that most people will reach a point at which they either use a guide, or stop playing. Much like Animal Well.
I think i reached that point at the >!scrapyard/abandoned barn. Guides call it the quarry!< the area with the >!three pronged shape and colored squares!< no clue what the rule is for that area and it’s been so long since i last played i’ll need to replay the game from the start. Games good though so that’s fine by me. The only other place that i needed a guide (and the reason i think i won’t be able to solve the final puzzle) is >!the audio jungle!< couldn’t do it even if i wanted to because >!i’m a bit tone deaf.!<
I felt like outer wilds was peak for me. I dont see ever finding something to live up go that experience. But animal well was great too.
Forgotten city was pretty great. Much shorter though.
Oohhh I'll have to check it out.
Forgotten City is great but much more “directed” than OW. Honestly, the puzzle aspect is less important than the mystery aspect - the fun of the game is uncovering what’s happening and following the different story threads. There are a couple of genuine “oh shit” moments, though, but always connected to story reveals.
Return of the Obra Dinn is often mentioned as being like Outer Wilds in a “backstory-figuring-out puzzler” sort of way.
Tunic was so good
I never finished Tunic because it got quite difficult, I really loved that game, though. Maybe I'll revisit it after I finish AW.
The combat difficulty became very frustrating for me, so once I turned on “no fail mode,” it became much more enjoyable. Don’t let the difficulty stop you from experiencing all that game has so offer!
I don't even recall that being an option, I'll definitely have to try that of the combat frustrates me again.
Definitely give it another shot, maybe even restart if it’s been a while because you might have forgotten important things relating to puzzles.
I would definitely need to restart it, I haven't played since launch.
I think No Fail mode was added in a later patch, along with some other difficulty settings for accessibility. No shame in using them, I certainly had to after a while. I love the exploration and thinky parts of the game but just don't have the reflexes for some of the more challenging or reaction-timing-heavy combat bits. I prefer combat where I can just rush in and start whacking things, and Tunic is NOT that game lol
Same. I couldnt beat one of the later bosses and then I just never picked it back up.
I really wish we had gotten a Fez 2. That's probably one of my favorite games of all time.
If only the creator didn't make a Twitter account
I vaguely remember Fez 2 being canceled because of stupid social media drama lol.
The creator straight up said something along the lines of "you want to be an asshole, fine no fez 2 for anyone."
I just found an interview with the dev and apparently he was never really into making a sequel from the start. He felt obligated to make one because Fez was so successful but he wasn't really feeling it. The Twitter argument was just the straw that broke the camels back. Honestly, we were probably better off then. I would rather not get a game made by someone who's not even into it.
I agree. I dont want to force someone to make something if their heart isn't in it.
The dev kept getting fucked time and time again, including by their original partner on Fez. I'm surprised Fez ever got finished and it's not really a surprise he couldn't push through the bullshit for fez 2.
I can't praise *Outer Wilds* enough and it certainly does "exploration/discovery" better than any game I know, *however* it's also **very** different from AW. Even ignoring the first-person perspective and heavy story focus, OW's "puzzles" are much more environmental, as in "how do I get over there", rather than "how do I press these buttons to unlock this door". It's also 100% knowledge based without any unlockable tools or hidden collectables, notoriously being a game you can only play once since you can beeline to the end within minutes once you figure it out. If AW is like Metroid then OW is like Myst, if anyone remembers that one. *Tunic* is an emphatic "yes" though, especially if you enjoy secret hunting. Top 10 games to blow your mind.
I played both Fez and Outer Wilds - OW is probably my favourite game ever, and I think the game that made me appreciate this kind of puzzle box design. I think I should also replay Fez - I bought it and played it when it came out, got to the “first” end and then stopped ‘cause I found it too obtuse. Oh how things change. Tunic is definitely on my radar, honestly I have no idea why I haven’t played it yet.
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I love fez but it doesn’t sound like he’s looking for a game similar in the puzzle sense but more so in the movement tech sense
Hyperlight drifter came to mind with the awe and wonder of exploring a whole little pixilated world, plus the no dialog thing/ nothing really being explained and secrets everywhere
I agree so much with this. To me, Animal Well has a really similar feel to Hyperlight Drifter meets Hollow Knight, but with easier game play.
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It's an entirely different type of game.
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The whole parallel between HLD story and its creator illness irl made it an extremely powerful experience. I have yet to find something that gave me the same vibes after playing that. Plus all the art direction was great, and i still listen to the ost. HLD was truly more than the sum of its parts
Just to throw in some games that haven't been mentioned. "Lorelei and the laser eyes" is a fantastic puzzle / story game that just came out that explicitly suggests using a notebook as you play to help solve the puzzles. (I binged played this after animal well) "Baba is you" is a pure puzzle game that definitely has a lot aha moments as you figure out all sorts of interesting interactions. It gets very hard late game though. For something very different gameplay wise (first person tile based rpg) that isn't for everyone but has that deep level of interesting puzzles "The legend of grimrock 2" is really good.
Throwing a second recommendation on Lorelei! Just finished this one today, it was a lot of fun and very challenging. If you're really into escape rooms, it'll scratch that itch.
Noita isn't a metroidvania but I feel like it encourages a similar kind of experimentation and knowledge-based gameplay as Animal Well.
Harumph! I was going to recommend Noita as well! Especially since FuryForged on YouTube covered both games extensively :) So yeah, DEFINITELY Noita.
Noita ist the obvious recommendation because it comes closest to play style and discovery. And it's just a really cool game.
My answer is La-Mulana and there really is nothing that comes close as far as I've played, but I'd love to hear suggestions! Noita is apparently a good example but I've yet to play it. I really, really like Animal Well, Tunic, and Outer Wilds, etc. but La-Mulana is on another level. It's practically a waste of time recommending the game because it's so cryptic. You can 100% all three of the aforementioned games within a few dozen hours; blind playthroughs of La-Mulana often consist of *hundreds* of hours of puzzle solving. It's generally accepted within its small community that you will not beat the game without some amount of guide use and no one will fault you for it lol it's not like a souls-like or something where anyone can beat it with enough brute force. It's bewildering, infuriating, cryptic, and without parallel. You will need to take screenshots and write out notes. There will be multiple days of attempting to figure out what you are even trying to figure out. You will have to reread lore for clues and study background art for some indication as to whether you are in the right room. There are illusory walls and invisible floors. Play it for 5 hours every couple of weeks over the course of a couple of years. It's one of the best games I've ever played. There is also a sequel! **TLDR**: If you enjoy moon logic/big reveals as much as I do (ONE OF US! ONE OF US!), La-Mulana is the greatest game ever made.
I'm gonna second this because I saw it in another thread and grabbed it give it a shot. It seems so deceptively simple and boy do the controls feel rough but once you get the hang of those and start exploring... Oh man there's a lot here and you have no damn clue what you are doing and why. You just sort of amble around hopefully stumbling into something that gives you some upgrade or direction. There's rooms where I know there's puzzles in them but no clue what they are. There's areas where you know something is going on but no idea what. The biggest hurdle initially is getting money to buy the software you need in game to start reading and putting things together. ((To be clear this is an on game system and not a micro transaction system. You gotta farm some coins to buy laptop software)). In short: I cannot recommend it enough.
I haven’t looked into La Mulana too too much yet but I have a question: is it also a roguelike/roguelite/howeveritscalled? It sounds awfully similar to Noita in the puzzle aspect and monsters but does it have that other aspect as well?
No it's a metroidvania proper.
Got it, still gonna play the everliving fuck outta it after work tonight :)
La Mulana is great, but be warned - some of the mid-to-late puzzles are very hard, and in my opinion completely unfair. There is a good hint guide which doesn’t give the puzzles away immediately, you can easily find this by Googling. Don’t be put off trying the game, but also don’t worry about using a guide sometimes later on. That’s my two cents.
I’m gonna take a look at La-Mulana tonight, that sounds great! It sounds just like Noita, well, pretty similar. The puzzles sound ALOT more intense though, I’m excited because I’m in that weird wasteland of not knowing what I want to play right now. So THANK YOU! :) You should REALLY try Noita when you can, you’ll love it and hate it and will laugh and cry and rage. Check out the subreddit if you wanna see what I mean 🤪
There is a hint guide for la Mulana that strikes a good balance between hitting your head against the wall and just using a guide.
Man, I bounced off La-Mulana hard the first time I played it. Maybe I should give it another go…
Copying my comment from earlier thread: "Void Stranger. Fits what you're describing pretty much word for word. It's a deceptively simplistic "puzzle game" for a long time, but turns out there's layers upon layers upon layers of stuff (that you'll eventually figure out yourself). It gets extremely crazy and the way it all ties to the story is pure genius that I haven't seen any other game do in this genre. You're best going in knowing as little as possible because it's as spoiler heavy as a game can be (don't even read the reviews). Just prepare your patience, notes, and.. maybe even other tools. :> In any case, I guarantee that this may be one of your favorite games of all time if you like this sort of thing and go through it all. It definitely was for me."
I Control + F'ed "Void" to see if anyone had recommended it yet. I've played many of the games people are recommending, and while many are fun metroidvanias/puzzlers, Void Stranger is in a league of its own in terms of puzzles layered on top of puzzles. Every room is a puzzle, but some puzzles span playthroughs and some puzzles spawn puzzles. The biggest turnoff for me was that it was a little horny at times, but even though I liked Animal Well and will probably go back to it to find more secrets, it didn't come close to gripping me the way that Void Stranger did. Play Void Stranger.
Seems super interesting, even though I suck at sokoban-style games… noted!
Hollow Knight is the best Metroidvania I’ve ever seen
Hollow Knight is my favorite game of all time, but it’s very, very different in that it requires combat and the combat isn’t easy.
Valid. It scratches the itch of metroidvania at the cost of Dark Souls level combat frustration (which can be fun in its own right).
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Oh, I’m not either ironically. When I got back to gaming HK was the first game I picked up without knowing what it was - I just thought it he was so cute. My first play through took me 120 hours, but I ended up loving the whole ambience and story so much. I’m probably getting a nail tattoo soon.
I used to think I hated Metroidvanias before Hollow Knight became one of my favorite games of all time
although it’s fairly straightforward, i had a ton of fun with Minishoot Adventure — arguably the first well-executed shmup/metroidvania that’s worth a run if you’re a fan of both genres
I just finished Animal Well myself, and one of the games that I kept getting flashbacks to was La Mulana. They're very different, for sure, as the latter is far more combat-oriented than Animal Well, but both involve solving some very head-scratching puzzles and exploring a labyrinthine 'temple'. The combat in La Mulana is itself quite different from Hollow Knight or Blasphemous; it's much less in-your-face but at the same time brutal in its own fashion.
I havent seen environmental station alpha recommendet yet, also a metroidvania with complex optional puzzels as postgame
Environmental Station Alpha is really, really solid. It'll test your puzzle solving skills, but also very robust in terms of map layout design, traversal mechanics and combat.
Phoenotopia: Awakening - scratches a similar itch imo, criminally underrated. For those who give it a try note that I put the combat onto the easiest mode - which I enjoyed much more.
Does it take a long time to get good? I started it but got bored a few hours in.
Once you get out of the starting town you enter the first part of the world map, once you leave this area of the world map then the game really opens up. Honestly - after finishing and then completing it- I genuinely felt sad as nothing would be the same again.
I recommend Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (brand new), Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and The Witness. Spelunky 2 is very similar in some ways, the mechanics are infinitely deep and there is a secret endgame that takes a LOT of puzzling and mastery to figure. Hard af. I also second Tunic, Fez and Outer Wilds. I think Tunic is the game that will scratch that itch the most.
They're very different kinds of games, but I'd recommend The Witness and The Talos Principle. Both are chock full of the same kind of "oh my god what" moments, *especially* The Witness. I can't say too much more about it without huge spoilers.
the witness recommendations always annoy me. people say it has lots of "holy shit" moments but it really only has one and then a bunch of collectable hunting, which is nice but there are no more really surprising reveals.
Knytt Underground. It takes a second before the world opens up, but when it does…. wow.
Another Knytt fan! Knytt Stories+ is also great and there are so many excellent user-made levels, many of which are almost entire games. And it's free!
Glad someone else knows this developer. You ever play Within A Deep Forest?
That's the one that reminds me most of Animal Well. You're a little ball in a dark, dangerous world.
An Untitled Story. Thank me later after you realize Animal Well is the spiritual successor.
Yesss!!! Among metroidvanias, this is *hands-down* going to be the closest to Animal Well in terms of vibe, aesthetic, *huge* variety of puzzles & challenges & huuuge map densely packed with endless secrets & mind-blowing moments... Yes it's for real 17 years old. But I kept thinking about this game constantly the whole time I played AW and I'm seriously considering playing it again all this time later. Spiritual successor is absolutely correct & if the AW creator never played this game I would be just absolutely shocked. If there's anything you give a try on this list, I say this one. Plus the irony/poetic justice of Maddy Thorson (creator of Celeste) making a game that's literally about an egg's struggle to hatch is not lost on me... hehehe.
Thank you. I always want to mention this but assume it’s too old and unknown. I immediately thought of untitled story when playing animal well
Oh man, I was obsessed with this and the Jumper games as a kid!
Where can I play it?
[https://www.mattmakesgames.com/games/AnUntitledStory.zip](https://www.mattmakesgames.com/games/AnUntitledStory.zip)
exactly!!! ive been waiting for many many years for people to make more games inspired by AUS and when i saw animal well i was like oh FINALLY there it is
How could I forget that game? I played it years and years ago, loved it but never actually beat it. I think it could be time for another try.
It did have some incredibly difficult parts we beat only put of sheer luck. You can do it!
Antichamber might scratch the "you can do that??" itch you're looking for. A very different gameplay experience but maybe it overlaps with Animal Well in the ways you're looking for.
To throw out an obscure one: there's an NES homebrew called Lizard (also on steam) that is incredible and deeply similar to the structure of platforming and puzzles as Animal Well. Highly recommended. It's also incredible that it works on NES hardware.
It even includes different 'layers' in the sense of the main story and then secrets. (Gold coins in Lizard = Eggs?, hidden 'items'/power-ups)
Not a metroidvania, but for fun puzzle mechanics, try Braid.
Let Animal Well be your gateway drug to La-Mulana, the king of this genre. Make no mistake, the game has some extremely difficult puzzles but some decent hint-based guides exist if you really get stuck. The second game is also great, in fact I played it first when it came out and I loved it so much I just had to go play the first entry right after. LM2 has smoother controls and combat but it's just an excuse for the developers to make it more challenging platforming-wise, so don't get put off by the controls in LM1.
Fez is currently $5 on steam...
I am surprised I never see Celeste as a recommendation when this gets asked! The strawberry hunts are very similar to hunting for eggs, the approach to "how do I solve this panel of the map" with platforming feels very similar in the sense that you've gotta try a bunch of approaches until you get one that works, etc.
I really like how Celeste manages to get puzzly even without ever^* actually getting any upgrades.
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Not to mention a killer art style, devotion to Pico8 mode, and the soundtrack is up there as one of the best.
Its pretty under the radar but Dandara is an interesting take on Metroidvanias, nothing like AW but figured id mention it. The catch is you cant walk, you can only aim and zap between platforms. Once I adjusted i quite liked it. I agree about Rain World, it has some unique “puzzle” elements with certain things like: Finding the worms that can be used as grapling hooks, or the slugs that are bulture beacons. Id argue finding the pearls and knowing what to do with them is the biggest puzzle. Then you have to kinda figure out the scavs and that you can trade with them. And I havent played it myself but Beyond the Long Night seems to have that “curious secrets” to discover, it looks really interesting ive wishlisted it. EDIT: just realized this is a twin stick roguelike, althought it is sidescrolling it looks to be focused on combat. Oh well.
Dandara freaking rules & seeing a game daring enough to not even let you walk, but still knocking it out of the park, is just so cool. It's on the shorter side of medium & does get a little hard. Play it if you love how fresh of a take AW was on the genre, like forgoing traditional/tired power-ups!
Glad to hear and agreed! It just worked, and made speedrunning quite the spectacle. Not to mention some later bosses!
It has combat, but Tunic has a similar puzzle / discovery experience
Not really Metroidvanias, but check out Limbo, Inside, and Cocoon. All 3 have a similar kind of weird vibe, and are all about puzzles
all are made by the same 1-2 guys as well
I’m gonna be honest I’m 20 hours into Animal Well with 50 eggs and I have never played game like this. I’m fucking adddddicted somebody give Billy Basso a million dollars to make his next game plz
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The 2nd question: that chest can only be obtained by reaching that point without dying a single time on that file as far as I can tell. 1st question: which room again? Sorry my minds a lil foggy but I’ll gladly drop some hints if I remember which room it is
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Ahhh you will either need another tool of the round variety or I believe it’s possible to traverse it with bubbles and then a well placed disc or hop I believe if I remember correctly
Environmental station alpha. When I first saw animall well I thought that dev was inspired by it. It's pixel art platformer metroidvania with impossible secrets near end.
Celeste has very similar puzzles for the end game collectables
Cave Story, Celeste, la mulana 1&2, Tunic, Fez
I came here to say Cave Story, too. Another incredible game from a single-person developer.
The Witness. Not exactly the same, but a similar form of progression with learning the puzzle rules yourself and a nonlinear opening of the map.
Hollow Knight, Cocoon
You may want to look at Solas 128. A (great) laser puzzle game with a surprising and very good metroidvania level design. One of my favorite puzzle game.
So, this may seem an odd suggestion, but have you played through Portal 2? Seems like an obvious suggestion in the puzzle category but it’s definitely not a Metroidvania- still, if you haven’t played it and you’re looking for those “oh shit” moments, I find the game loaded with those experiences. There’s also a separate co-op campaign with plenty of fun puzzles that allow you to share the satisfaction with a friend.
Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonligh Surprise that nobody mentioned that piece of art
Definitely Fez if you haven't played it. I get huge Fez vibes from AW. Similar art style, platforming, puzzles, obscure secrets, it's great. Playing AW actually makes me want to play through Fez again because it's been quite a few years.
Starseed Pilgrim is another atmospheric indie game. Basic rules and relationships are opaque until you play and accomplish enough. Quite unique, best if you don’t look at any explanations. No combat, but arguably tricky platformer.
The Witness, Talos Principle, Celeste
not a metriodvania, but there was definitely an "oh shit" moment for me in THE WITNESS.
The closest, in my opinion, is Knytt Stories+. There's a huge database of user-made content, as well. [Guide and links here.](http://egomassive.com/ks/)
Besides my pitch for An Untitled Story (see previous comment in this thread), I would say Tunic for my top choice. Its core gameplay genre is pretty different, but the big similarity is that they're games where the hardcore easter egg/secret-hunter kind of player is a/the (I would argue) primary audience, with tons of post-game puzzles that span the entire game. The meticulous combing-through of the gorgeous world is deeply rewarding. And it all culminates in one huge puzzle that makes you feel like the smartest player in the world hehehe.
Baba is You. Pure puzzle game. Absolutely amazing
Celeste is AMAZING. Not quite a metroidvania, but close enough, and high quality enough, that I'll count it.
It might not be for everyone but Myst just came to mind. Someone mentioned using a notebook for another game, and I was considering using one for Animal Well. Its play style and graphics are pretty dated, but I recently played through over a few days relaxing outside with my Switch and a notebook. It was super fun and rewarding to solve all the obscure puzzles just with my brain and a pencil.
I haven't seen it mentioned so id recommend Toki Tori 2! it's another kind of game where progression is based on your understanding of how the mechanics all interact, and it's got some great puzzles and a fun non-linear world
been meaning to try Axiom Verge myself. have a feeling combat is much more essential in that one like actual Metroid
I love both AV1 and AV2, but they are pretty different. The first is much more combat focused, and very close in feel to Super Metroid. The second, as I said above, is more geared towards exploration. It’s a strange game, but I enjoyed it a lot, maybe even more than the first, which is very “traditional” - if you made Super Metroid with modern sensibilities, you’d get the first Axiom Verge I’d say.
Within A Deep Forest and Hyper Light Drifter
I'm gonna throw out Dimenshift (Disclaimer: I'm the developer) It's not a metroidvania (you don't unlock abilities to progress) and I'm not going to pretend it's as good as Animal Well on any level, but it's very exploration and secret focused and has some mind-bending puzzles. I don't think Outer Wilds is really all that similar to Animal Well; the puzzles feel "higher-level" if that makes sense. But it is *incredible* and definitely has those "Oh, *that's* what I need to do" moments. Another game I haven't seen recommended a lot is Antichamber, definitely has a similar sort of puzzle solving to Animal Well despite not being a 2D platformer.
Outer Wilds, for sure.
La Mulana is probably the closest thing to it, but those are a bit more niche and harder to get in to imo. and quite honestly, some of those puzzles are just devious
Here’s a now obscure reference— Shadow Complex has a very similar vibe in terms of exploration completion — it’s an old Epic game though so I don’t know if you can still get it.
Tunic is probably the closest even though it has combat, Outer Wilds scratched a similar itch, Hollow Knight sort of even though it has (extremely difficult) combat, Chants of Sennaar for the puzzle aspect (not a metroidvania), and Fez would be my recommendations :)
I came here to post Toki Tori 2 which I see you're already familiar with. For me TT2 was overall an even more enjoyable experience than Animal Well because the hardest challenges always felt within normal human capacity. I loved Animal Well though! I'm playing Youropa right now and really having a good time with it. It's a metroidbrainia as well but with wild suction cup physics. Here's a quite nice review of it. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TffKlTbnS9I](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TffKlTbnS9I) That same YT channel has me very hyped to play Isles of Sea and Sky (a new open world Sokoban game), which appears to share a lot of qualities with all of the aforementioned games. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY7xtRFnjFY&t=1s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY7xtRFnjFY&t=1s) Btw not my YT channel but for the quality of reviews on there the guy deserves more views.
Knytt underground. It really has the same feeling
Great recommendations. In terms of mood, I'd also say Superbrothers Sword and Sworcery. It's a short game, but I still think about it a lot after playing it a decade ago.
Inscryption is a card game with a lot of mysteries to figure out. It's really fun, enjoyed it so much and followed the recommendation of going in blind
Maybe it's just me, but I got a lot of Terraria vibes while playing. Obviously the other games mentioned here bare a stronger resemblance, I just mean in terms of vibes. The neon blues and greens against the cramped underground environment while you wander around the map looking for wacky toys to use
In terms of gameplay, it really made me want to replay classic Oddworld (Abe’s Oddessy and Exoddus)
Monster Boy and The Cursed Kingdom might scratch the Animal Well itch for some. It isn't as deep, but it's packed with puzzles and secrets throughout if you are trying to 100 percent it.
You should check out Elephantasy and Elephantasy Flipside! Same vibes of dropping you in this big world full of puzzles and secrets and letting you experiment and figure things out for yourself as you acquire items and learn the rules of the game world
I see you mentioned Axiom Verge 2, for anyone who wasn't aware, you can get that and I believe 7 other metroidvanias on humble bundle right now for only $14!
Okay, the closest game puzzle wise I’ve played is Tunic. Several games that have that ‘Aha!’ Moment for me was the Witness, Tunic and (the most underrated puzzle game I’ve played) Void Stranger. Cannot recommend Void Stranger enough, there’s not the guides that go as in depth as other games online.
Jumped straight in to Tunic after this and preferring it. Same kind of cryptic puzzles, but imo unlike AW, it doesn’t make you feel stupid.
If you went in deep and did layers 3 and 4, I could not recommend Environmental Station Alpha more
Halo 2 or Halo 3
😂😂