Read any review of the much-loved Metroidvania platformer Animal Well and you’ll learn about the atmosphere of the game. Its world feels eerily inviting yet full of danger – all while maintaining an air of mystery. It should come as no surprise, then, that the music does most of the heavy lifting here.
If you’re a fan of keyboard-heavy electronic music, especially from the realms of ambient, new age and minimalist music, then you’ll find a lot to love in Animal Well’s music. The sound design is so tastefully done, so subtle yet to the point that you’ll hardly notice how effective it is at world building – the true mark of great ambient music. As Brian Eno, arguably the father of ambient music, once said:
Ambient music is meant to induce calmness and space to think. It must be able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without forcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting.”
Brian Eno, One against One Interview, 2011
Calling something ignorable might sound like the ultimate compliment. But the feeling of Eno here is a central tenet of ambient music and is very much at play in Animal Well. This is a world full of mystery and at the same time danger around every corner. Your limited inventory and the ability to save your game only on phones scattered around the map even make Animal Well feel like a survival horror game at times.
It’s only fitting that the rustling sound of wind and cavernous reverb – things that might seem like everyday features in games these days – manage to make you feel so alone in this game. This state makes your sudden encounters with friendly animals all the more meaningful — a poignant reminder that although it sometimes seems like it, you never are. really alone in this world.
Ambient and new age music are strong influences in Animal Well
Dripping water splashing in vast caverns; magical sprites creaked in damp corners; the wind wafting through your headphones from left to right—Beast Well is clearly inspired by classic ambient and new-age electronic music. I hear the retro synth sounds and melancholy of Greek keyboard legend Vangelis (perhaps best known for composing the Blade Runner soundtrack), while the darker musical moments recall Brian Eno’s work on Setting 4: On Earth.
Grumpy is a prominent theme in Animal Well’s music. In a gaming landscape jam-packed with life-saving titles and bustling online communities, it’s really refreshing to feel so isolated and vulnerable in this game. It makes those moments of discovery and wonder—like finding a much-needed alternate path in the world, or a new upgrade that reinvents the way you use an item—deeply impactful.
Animal Well’s music turns ominous when facing enemies
One of my favorite aspects of Animal Well’s immersive sound design is how drastically the mood changes when they encounter enemies. You are mostly helpless against them because there is no combat in this game. The way the synths adopt darker and more dissonant tones really adds to the sense of dread when you’re running around them. As soon as you find refuge away from a room full of ghosts, the sound returns to ambient bliss and soothing nature sounds. This is a wonderful case study of how sound can convey the stakes of a game without the use of any dialogue.
These enemy encounters and the subsequent vibration change in Beast Well immediately transport me back to those underground levels you drop into in classic Mario side scrollers. Suddenly I struggle with that pit in my stomach I got as a child when I entered these underworlds and knew something was deeply wrong. The art design changed to a strange and sickly color palette, and the strange new monsters you now faced – and of course the music – all worked in perfect harmony to achieve this unsettling sense of dread.
The absurd and wonderful themes that the Mario series is so well known for are alive and kicking in Animal Well. Onomatopoeic animal sounds sprinkle the game’s world in delicious fashion, anchoring its core premise – a clear love and respect for animals. The game’s creatures are both friendly and hostile; familiar and foreign. Disembodied barks and fluttering birdsong; squishy reptiles hop and amphibious bodies submerging—these sounds ground Animal Well’s animal kingdom in reality, but leave enough room for ambiguity that your imagination can run wild.
Hats off to Billy Basso
Unrivaled mood and atmosphere, a true sense of freedom and discovery, and a memorable soundtrack that tugs at your heartstrings—Beast Well ticks all the right boxes. But what is most impressive of all is that one person – Billy Basso – is responsible for creating the entire game from scratch (soundtrack included). Animal Well is therefore an independent enterprise in the truest sense of the term, and marks an outstanding debut.
Looking for more independent content? Then look no further than our Crow Country Walk on Pro Game Guides.
