The Average Animal Well Experience

Puzzle game? Nah this is an enigma experience. A conundrum competition. A match of mystification. A...

[@panampace]

I figured out the cat puzzle pretty quick. The annoying part was hunting for all 5 codes. This is the point of the game where the pacing gets really weird. This cat puzzle is complex, it’s harder than half of the layer 3 puzzles, and yet it’s required to access areas with *easier* layer 2 puzzles. I get that the secrets are optional and intended to be cryptic so that people work together, but the game really draws you in to desire 100% completion. So it’s a bummer to get so immersed/invested only to find out there’s puzzles that are literally impossible without looking them up. Fez and Tunic suffer this same problem - the more invested you get, the more exhausting and less rewarding the game gets. I wish more puzzle game devs would take inspiration from Outer Wilds instead, which gives you a feeling of momentum and excitement towards the endgame rather than exhaustion, and reaching the ending is satisfying because it’s the complete game rather than teasing more mysteries.

[@noone-ez6on]

That was deffinetly what i felt searching for the last five eggs. The map is so huge that as you drain most of the layer 2 stuff, you'll start getting confused as to where to even start looking for the rest. My biggest gripe was the damn chest below the two dog statues which can be unlocked with a flute. I noticed an unopened chest there with my remote and spent hours looking for a clue thinking there was an egg there, instead of a damn figurine i had no interest in getting..

[@makotsunami1396]

An elaborate Rick Roll worthy of Animal Well.

[@matthiass._.]

What if animal well just an elaborate loss meme?

[@nephel6158]

I feel like the cryptic bullshit should all be Layer 3 only and not Layer 2. The eggs are fun, and a vast majority can be found with just dilligent marking of your map while playing the game, spamming the Remote (yes, I found out by fucking around that the Remote pings the location of any on screen chests if you spam it a bit), and then looking around the map for any suspiciously large dark spots (I actually found the tutorial Bunny like this as well lol). The cat codes on the other hand, definitely felt like Layer 3 shit lol. I feel like all they needed to do was to have a cat meow when you play those codes outside of the imprisoned cat rooms, and also perhaps the cats after escaping can occasionally show up nearby, running in the direction of the Lynx room (just like the Squirrel and the direction of progress), and the cat codes would feel more like a Layer 2 puzzle.

[@panampace]

Yeah it’s kind of a bummer that cat codes and kangaroo are both overly complex puzzles, both give you items that are only used in a few places, which lead to easier puzzles for eggs. I found 8 bunnies by myself before completing these. Weird pacing. It’s what made me feel burnt out in the endgame rather than excited to push forward.

[@Lucian4694]

once I figured out that the codes were all relatively close to the cats it helped a lot, but I would’ve never found most of them if I hadn’t accidentally stumbled upon the top’s function while tossing it in random rooms

[@justsomeguy4422]

i think you are taking it a little too deep. the entire game is meant to be 1 layer. its like a metroidvania but not. you are suppose to feel like that. "oh im near the end of the game but i havent used blah blah blah" when little do you know theres an entire other game within the game. thats the purpose of these type of brain games. you being overly perceptive to it doesnt mean its out of place. some people pick up on things better than others. its like saying "man why did they put this totally optional side quest in the game, when i havent even beat the main story" see? see how dumb that sounds.

[@nephel6158]

@@justsomeguy4422 I'm using the same terminology as the creator in the game's trailer. Layer 1 is supposed to be up to for the player to when you press that plunger, the end of the game for the average person. Layer 2 is for those who want to finish all steam achievements, for finding all eggs, and the end of the game for your average completionist. Layer 3 is for finding all collectibles in the game, and Layer 4 is for figuring out what to do with said collectibles. Layer 3 and 4 were designed to be obtuse on purpose, and their puzzles weren't meant to be solved, and do not debate me on this, the creator has explicitly said that, word for word. Layers 1 and 2 were designed to be achievable without a guide and just using a bit of time.

[@panampace]

@@justsomeguy4422 The layer thing comes from the dev himself. It’s pretty widely accepted that layer 1 = main game, layer 2 = eggs, layer 3 = bunnies, and layer 4 is the time capsule

[@PokeBallerLuke]

Remember, none of the cryptic puzzles are needed to beat the main game, it’s all optional stuff. I think the cryptic post game stuff is really cool. I understand the frustration with the arrows in the mouse room, but also the most obvious set of arrows is right near some of the cats! For a game all about getting lost, and where the movement and speed makes traveling the maps a lot faster than it seems, this design philosophy works, for me at least! Funny video btw, no hate at all, just wanted to share my thoughts on it.

[@kilroywashere5816]

Don’t worry, I really enjoyed the game too! Much of the content is very well designed and telegraphed. I just don’t know if I’ll ever get to the point for some of the extremely hidden things because of how random they can be lol

[@PokeBallerLuke]

@@kilroywashere5816yeah for sure, I’m feeling the same way haha. But it does feel nice to have a big world where it’s genuinely fun to look for super hidden secrets. Feels so rewarding to figure them out, almost like making a discovery

[@groxx]

There's also a way to get into that space "normally" in the bottom right area. It's an early "wtf is that" reveal, but it actually is "near" all the others since they're all accessed by the same zone-color.

[@codesymphony]

as soon as i saw that edited screenshot I knew it was coming 😂😂😂

[@xybur]

The cool thing about that code you found is that it's directly accessible from the zone where the cats are, its just an entrance from the other side. The map is part of the puzzle too. Seeing and making connections is part of solving it. the dev was pretty good about putting the tools you need in the same relative areas and sometimes bleeding them into other spots.

[@lukelambert78]

i can’t believe you done this

[@STANNco]

it just never occured to me to use the flute in the cat room, despite me knowing most of the codes. since 90% of animals don't even react to your flute, it didn't occur to me

[@sanschagrinm]

i had a ton of fun with this game but this is my main issue right there. i found a ton of hint regarding notes to play on the flute and absolutely none of the time i organically found where to play them. even the duck one, where the notes are litterally drawn besides a bird head. the bird head could have been a crow or other bird and i never made the connection with the duck. gr8 game but some of these flute songs are flirting with BS

[@spyresoblazx]

The image it's next to is a famous illusion of a head that looks like both a rabbit and a duck depending on the perspective. Unfortunately that means the hint requires some external knowledge if it's not obvious

[@nicolascage5774]

The "bird head" next to the notes is a famous optical illusion that can be viewed as either a duck or a rabbit. It even has a Wikipedia entry under "Rabbit-duck illusion". This is the clue that the duck is secretly one of the bunnies. Of course if you're not familiar with that then this puzzle doesn't make much sense.

[@patchon25]

They were trying to copy Tunic, accidentally copied La Mulana instead

[@FelipeKana1]

And Fez

[@MrLeFilipfloppyvelarde]

Nah, fez was acknowledged

[@ethanhayes7038]

Nah, Environmental Station Alpha.

[@KyubiRonso]

❤A lot of people with culture

[@diyaraslan6270]

I brute forced the entire mantra puzzle lol

[@sonnyd9703]

hahaha

[@AnthonySkatz]

At least your video had a pay off, unlike the game

[@madeoin]

Big true - I beat the game and that's it cannot be bothered with cryptic stuff.

[@noahvanderveer-harris4257]

Suddenly I'm glad I can't play this on my mac... WOW

[@coffeewithjohnny9447]

Wait, why?

[@h1there44]

Missing out man

[@FelipeKana1]

It's a good game, but yeah, some stuff is VERY obnoxious

[@911meltdown2]

Yes. Please. Be an idiot

[@panampace]

The base game is easily enjoyable by anyone, all the hardcore secrets are optional and were put there to get people talking/working together.

[@FelipeKana1]

There's absolutely nothing indicating where we're supposed to play the notes, or that it is possible to free the cats. Nothing.

[@asquil7805]

I mean, there are five cats, and five sets of arrows, all in the general vicinity of the cats. And above all cats are five lines, and if you play the flute in either cat room, the lines start to fill in. If you pay attention, write down weird things and experiment, it's very possible to figure it out.

[@Echantediamond1]

@@asquil7805No, it’s bad puzzle design because the leaps in logic are illogical and only makes sense in retrospect

[@BVSSIC]

@@Echantediamond1 The first set of arrows you find after freeing an animal. Speculations are the fun part.

[@fy8798]

This is not true. There are indications - the symbols - which is how I figured out how to use them. There is no leap in logic for these, making it great puzzle design. If you think its not, please never play La Mulana, you'd cry emo tears playing that. :P

[@Drishby]

If you play flute near cats, the stuff above their cages lights up. Once I unlocked the flute, I was basically trying it out in nearly every room, I bet some can relate.