Animal Well
Hacker ApprovedRanked 15 of 45 puzzle games by recommenders
Recommended as a modern classic with a tiny custom engine, strong visuals and physics. Critics say the base game is too easy and the post-game too cryptic.
Recommended as a modern classic with a tiny custom engine, strong visuals and physics. Critics say the base game is too easy and the post-game too cryptic.
18 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 16
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 89%
Recommended in 7 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 16 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 7 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Great game with lots inside
“Animal Well is a great game, there's a lot in there”
Comment from 30 Aug 2026 in “Casey Muratori – The Root of the Root of All Evil – BSC 2026 [video]” “I'd rather be playing TF2 Classic, or Animal Well”
Comment from 8 Aug 2026 in “No One Can Afford to Make Myst Games Anymore” “animal well is such an incredible game”
Comment from 30 Aug 2026 in “Casey Muratori – The Root of the Root of All Evil – BSC 2026 [video]” Tiny 35MB game with custom engine
“The whole game and its custom engine are like 35MB and it's filled with really cool visuals and physics powered by fluid equations.”
Comment from 30 May 2026 in “Navier-Stokes fluid simulation explained with Godot game engine” “The modern classic, Animal Well, is only 35mb in size!”
Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “The 1987 Game "The Last Ninja" was 40 kilobytes” Modern classic, critically acclaimed
“The modern classic, Animal Well, is only 35mb in size!”
Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “The 1987 Game "The Last Ninja" was 40 kilobytes” “went on to make the critically acclaimed Animal Well”
Comment from 30 Aug 2026 in “Casey Muratori – The Root of the Root of All Evil – BSC 2026 [video]”
Other puzzle games people recommend
The four most recommended other puzzle games, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outer Wilds | 65 | 7 | 90% | 9 | — | Approved |
| enclose.horse | 64 | 10 | 86% | 4 | — | Approved |
| The Witness | 60 | 19 | 76% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Braid | 36 | 5 | 88% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Animal WellThis page | 16 | 2 | 89% | 7 | — | Approved |
What people said
11 of the 20 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“A big part of why Animal Well doesn't need to explain itself is that a modern video game player knows how this sort of game works”
“some of it could be described as art created by a skilled artist”
“too easy base game, too cryptic post game”
“Animal Well is a great game, there's a lot in there”
“animal well is such an incredible game”
“went on to make the critically acclaimed Animal Well”
“I do disagree that there aren't great games being made now, from Factorio to Animal Well.”
“I'd rather be playing TF2 Classic, or Animal Well”
“The whole game and its custom engine are like 35MB and it's filled with really cool visuals and physics powered by fluid equations.”
“The modern classic, Animal Well, is only 35mb in size!”
“They’re wildly original and not made by old Japanese dudes.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.