Animal Well has achieved incredible success over the last few weeks since its release and is shaping up to be one of the most acclaimed Metroidvanias since Hollow Knight. At the tail end of this success, developer Billy Basso has hinted at the possibility of an upcoming game that dives back into its secret-laden world.
In a Q&A on r/NintendoSwitch, developer Billy Basso and business/marketing manager Dan Adelman answered a few questions from fans, including what would come next. “I’m currently planning to make a game that will be in the same universe but may not be a direct sequel,” Basso says. This wouldn’t be the first time an indie developer has taken this approach, with Undertale’s dev Toby Fox choosing to release Deltarune in the same fashion.
This news is pretty exciting, especially for the players who have managed to solve all of Animal Well’s elusive secrets and complete the game. Despite Basso previously saying that there are “puzzles that maybe take 10 years to solve—I want the game to be playable 10 years from now” in an interview with The Guardian, most players took around five hours before they rolled credits and then an extra 10-plus hours to unlock all of the egg room doors.
To this end, a fan also asked Basso how he felt about the community solving all the secrets so quickly. To this, Basso just said that he was “very flattered people care that much.” While Adelman says, “It’s been amazing to watch so many people collaborate like this. I feel like I was part of something really special. Very few phenomena on the internet really bring people together in a positive way like that. So, a little bummed that some of the bigger secrets got solved so quickly, but really love how the game is speaking to people and helping them form bonds and friendships.”
On the subject of how quickly the community managed to find the time capsule Basso says. “I found it extremely impressive! They worked around the clock to think of and try every possible solution, and eventually, they did. I am at least glad that it wasn’t really data-mined, and the encryption I put in place technically worked. They just solved it legitimately way faster than I ever could have imagined.”
But to people who are still struggling with completing Animal Well, Basso advises to “allow the flowers to guide you.” This may not mean much at first, but all I’ll say is that if you see a yellow flower, you should probably follow the trail to see where it leads.