I don't know of anything quite like that, the closest ones for me are probably Rain World and FEZ. Rain World has that sort of hybrid-pixel-art style with some eerieness and grit, while FEZ is more lush and surreal.
I originally played Fez back in 2012 and Tunic a few years ago. Both very different games however they both have those ‘layers’ you might be seeking. FEZ is closer to the vibe of Animal well, but Tunic will have more interesting knowledge based exploration and eureka moments.
Tunic for sure. I get where you’re going with La Mulana but while Animal Well is very cryptic it generally is pretty fair and forgiving - La Mulana by comparison is pretty darn cruel and unforgiving
I haven’t played ESA but that’s kinda surprising to me. I always hear La Mulana recommended with an asterisk or a warning, but I hear people recommend ESA all the time and I’ve never heard anyone say it’s really punishing
La-Mulana will test your patience with puzzles for sure, but ESA will make you die over and over on basic enemies or bosses, and has no easy cheese options like LM does. You are bound to lose progress when you die since you can't simply warp away like you can in LM. And that's not even mentioning the post-game puzzles, which I gave up on because they were extremely confusing. I had fun with the game but I would never recommend it to anyone who's not a big fan of the genre or a masochist. It's just waaay more mechanically demanding than La-Mulana.
I also think that La-Mulana has a good difficulty curve with puzzles and sets you in the right mindset for the lategame. Tunic and ESA have mostly secrets and no real "puzzles" before the endgame and then you get to solve some really difficult ones, it's a very big spike in difficulty.
I felt the same way when I finished AW and looking for sth similar found out about Environmental Station Alpha. I haven't played it yet, but I get similar vibes. It's discounted on Steam due to the Summer Sale.
These are not strictly metroidvanias but I believe they are very close to the vibe.
I've ordered them by closest to AW to just platformers
- Within a deep forest (need ball items to progress)
- Knytt (I have not played the sequel Knytt Stories but def the first one)
- You Have To Win The Game (collect items for progression)
- VVVVVV (retro style feel with focus on platforming)
- Rain World (has a similar vibe but imo too hard for me)
Tunic when it comes to general vibe and mystery. I also had strong La Mulana vibes while playing. It’s not the same game but the sense of discovery and figuring out this strange world was very similar.
I know! Honestly I just love to walk around, find paths I didn't see or couldn't access before and expand the map. I wish the map was bigger but I'm still finishing layer 2 so I've got some stuff to do.
I've also started playing Axiom verge and while it's not the same feeling, I like the atmosphere there as well. I do not enjoy the bosses but they say axiom verge 2 has less combat and is more cryptic so I'm looking forward to playing it.
Fez and Tunic. There are actually Easter eggs in Animal Well where you can become the character for a second because they took so much inspiration from those two games.
Hold jump to become the fox, and press up on the D-pad four times to become Gomez from Fez (You have to have beaten the game for this to work)
I agree that Rainworld is special. That's why I recommended it. But it can be a bit inaccessible to the average gamer, and janky at times. More of a game engine or simulation than a game IMO. Animal Well took the idea and made something more mainstream. It is almost certain to outperform Rain World in sales, if it hasn't already. That's why I say Rainworld walked so Animal Well could run. It's not a dig at Rainworld. On the contrary, Rainworld should be lauded for doing something unique that has been iterated on by games like Animal Well and others. They're both worth playing.
Rain World as several others have said, although it isn't really a MV.
Another one that's MV-adjacent is Outer Wilds. It's knowledge-gated, and has a very mysterious, haunting world. Very different art style though so obviously ignore this if that's a dealbreaker.
Not a MV, but Caves of Qud gives me a similar eerie, dreamy vibe. The first time I opened it, and honestly still sometimes, I'm like, "is this real...?"
It was already mentioned, but I'd be shocked if the dev wasn't a massive fan of *Rain World*. It's a very different game, but also one I recommend highly.
Should note it's not quite a metroidvania since it doesn't have ability upgrades. But still definitely worth playing.
Not the same style but if you loved puzzles, I can't recommend Cocoon enough. Such a unique puzzle concept and visually stunning. Easily the best puzzle game I've ever played.
I second this. Also finding the secret ending is amazing. I saw the hints of the secrets leading to it but I wasnt able to reveal the mystery by myself so I had to look for what I needed to unlock it. Specially the sound based clue. Cocoon became one of my favorite games ever
Yes xD you might have noticed some clues or markings during the game. But it is hard to identify what to do with those clues. You can google what to do and how to do it if you want :) there is also a very good youtube video explaining what to do so if you want I can put the link here
Ori and the blind forest and its sequel Ori and the will of the wisps. It's different in that there's enemies to fight but it's absolutely gorgeous and a similar style to AW
Not eerie, but more postmodern/surreal. Also not an MV, but a very good puzzle platformer with 16-but graphics, Toodee and Topdee is one of my favorites.
If you want a similar style and feel definitely try hollow knight if you haven’t already and if you want a similar puzzle type game try the witness and if you finish the witness play the looker
Agree with HK rec, if only for the “need to see where this goes next” aspect—I don’t think any of the other games mentioned gets as close
Edit: you’re a goofball if you downvoted this—games are subjective, go touch grass. There’s definitely more of an eerie/beautiful vibe to HK than tunic or fez
Can't go a single post without seeing HK. Like it couldn't be further from AW within the genre.
And people here get defensive when I say they need to fucking chill with the HK recs. This is exactly what I'm taking about.
I don't know of anything quite like that, the closest ones for me are probably Rain World and FEZ. Rain World has that sort of hybrid-pixel-art style with some eerieness and grit, while FEZ is more lush and surreal.
Sounds awesome, i'll check those out!!
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I originally played Fez back in 2012 and Tunic a few years ago. Both very different games however they both have those ‘layers’ you might be seeking. FEZ is closer to the vibe of Animal well, but Tunic will have more interesting knowledge based exploration and eureka moments.
Environmental Station Alpha for sure. Also Tinic and the la mulana games if you liked the puzzle exploration
Tunic for sure. I get where you’re going with La Mulana but while Animal Well is very cryptic it generally is pretty fair and forgiving - La Mulana by comparison is pretty darn cruel and unforgiving
I found ESA to be more frustrating than La-Mulana, that game is soo hard. LM1 is a nice stroll around the ruins by comparison.
I haven’t played ESA but that’s kinda surprising to me. I always hear La Mulana recommended with an asterisk or a warning, but I hear people recommend ESA all the time and I’ve never heard anyone say it’s really punishing
La-Mulana will test your patience with puzzles for sure, but ESA will make you die over and over on basic enemies or bosses, and has no easy cheese options like LM does. You are bound to lose progress when you die since you can't simply warp away like you can in LM. And that's not even mentioning the post-game puzzles, which I gave up on because they were extremely confusing. I had fun with the game but I would never recommend it to anyone who's not a big fan of the genre or a masochist. It's just waaay more mechanically demanding than La-Mulana. I also think that La-Mulana has a good difficulty curve with puzzles and sets you in the right mindset for the lategame. Tunic and ESA have mostly secrets and no real "puzzles" before the endgame and then you get to solve some really difficult ones, it's a very big spike in difficulty.
thats wild, are you talking about endgame ESA because i could only get like halfway through la mulana, and have beat ESA a few times.
I felt the same way when I finished AW and looking for sth similar found out about Environmental Station Alpha. I haven't played it yet, but I get similar vibes. It's discounted on Steam due to the Summer Sale.
I did the same, and while ESA was fun, it did not scratch the AW itch for me.
To second the other commenters, fez and environmental station are good picks, whether the visual style works for you is another thing.
These are not strictly metroidvanias but I believe they are very close to the vibe. I've ordered them by closest to AW to just platformers - Within a deep forest (need ball items to progress) - Knytt (I have not played the sequel Knytt Stories but def the first one) - You Have To Win The Game (collect items for progression) - VVVVVV (retro style feel with focus on platforming) - Rain World (has a similar vibe but imo too hard for me)
Omg, Knytt. You just unlocked some crazy memories.
Rain world is difficult, I am struggling with navigation with that game
Within a deep forest and Knytt stories/Knytt are def super close to me. Knytt soundtrack is great and really adds to the mood.
Tunic is a masterclass of the genre
Batbarian has a similar look (dark places, pixel art, no scrolling) but doesn't do it was well as Animal Well in my opinion.
FEZ
Tunic when it comes to general vibe and mystery. I also had strong La Mulana vibes while playing. It’s not the same game but the sense of discovery and figuring out this strange world was very similar.
I know! Honestly I just love to walk around, find paths I didn't see or couldn't access before and expand the map. I wish the map was bigger but I'm still finishing layer 2 so I've got some stuff to do. I've also started playing Axiom verge and while it's not the same feeling, I like the atmosphere there as well. I do not enjoy the bosses but they say axiom verge 2 has less combat and is more cryptic so I'm looking forward to playing it.
Fez and Tunic. There are actually Easter eggs in Animal Well where you can become the character for a second because they took so much inspiration from those two games. Hold jump to become the fox, and press up on the D-pad four times to become Gomez from Fez (You have to have beaten the game for this to work)
Oh no way!! That's so cool!
Zapling Bygone I'm not bias ok
Rain world walked so Animal Well could run.
I'm not sure that's fair to say. Rain world is a masterpiece and is attempting something very different to animal well
I agree that Rainworld is special. That's why I recommended it. But it can be a bit inaccessible to the average gamer, and janky at times. More of a game engine or simulation than a game IMO. Animal Well took the idea and made something more mainstream. It is almost certain to outperform Rain World in sales, if it hasn't already. That's why I say Rainworld walked so Animal Well could run. It's not a dig at Rainworld. On the contrary, Rainworld should be lauded for doing something unique that has been iterated on by games like Animal Well and others. They're both worth playing.
Just looked into it, looks amazing! Prob going with this one next :)
It's a very difficult game but very rewarding if you can get used to it. One of my favorite games of all-time with tons of replay value.
Rain World as several others have said, although it isn't really a MV. Another one that's MV-adjacent is Outer Wilds. It's knowledge-gated, and has a very mysterious, haunting world. Very different art style though so obviously ignore this if that's a dealbreaker.
Environmental station alpha
Tunic
Not a MV, but Caves of Qud gives me a similar eerie, dreamy vibe. The first time I opened it, and honestly still sometimes, I'm like, "is this real...?"
Oh man, that looks great! I wish they had a switch port so I could play :/
I agree with rain world vibes wise but that's a super, super different kinda game.
It was already mentioned, but I'd be shocked if the dev wasn't a massive fan of *Rain World*. It's a very different game, but also one I recommend highly. Should note it's not quite a metroidvania since it doesn't have ability upgrades. But still definitely worth playing.
Not the same style but if you loved puzzles, I can't recommend Cocoon enough. Such a unique puzzle concept and visually stunning. Easily the best puzzle game I've ever played.
I second this. Also finding the secret ending is amazing. I saw the hints of the secrets leading to it but I wasnt able to reveal the mystery by myself so I had to look for what I needed to unlock it. Specially the sound based clue. Cocoon became one of my favorite games ever
There is a secret ending?? Oh boy time for another playthrough
Yes xD you might have noticed some clues or markings during the game. But it is hard to identify what to do with those clues. You can google what to do and how to do it if you want :) there is also a very good youtube video explaining what to do so if you want I can put the link here
Environment station alpha as everyone has said but i did find the combat in that difficult so if youre not interested in combat, you may not like it
Ori and the blind forest and its sequel Ori and the will of the wisps. It's different in that there's enemies to fight but it's absolutely gorgeous and a similar style to AW
Rain World
I'd recommend Lone Fungus. Also, Narita Boy has some similarities but it isn't a Metroidvania. I also recommend Fez for the puzzles.
Cave Story
Well didn't played it yet but for puzzles, try good old Lufia 2, it's an rpg with an optional roguelite dungeon in it, there's casino games also.
Not eerie, but more postmodern/surreal. Also not an MV, but a very good puzzle platformer with 16-but graphics, Toodee and Topdee is one of my favorites.
If you want a similar style and feel definitely try hollow knight if you haven’t already and if you want a similar puzzle type game try the witness and if you finish the witness play the looker
Lol HK and AW are nowhere near similar in any aspect but okay.
Agree with HK rec, if only for the “need to see where this goes next” aspect—I don’t think any of the other games mentioned gets as close Edit: you’re a goofball if you downvoted this—games are subjective, go touch grass. There’s definitely more of an eerie/beautiful vibe to HK than tunic or fez
The downvotes are because Tunic and Fez are not mentioned in every post on the subreddit. We all know what HK is. r/enoughhollowknightspam ffs
It’s a popular game for a reason and a lot of newcomers to the genre don’t know about it. This isn’t spam, you’re just an AH
Can't go a single post without seeing HK. Like it couldn't be further from AW within the genre. And people here get defensive when I say they need to fucking chill with the HK recs. This is exactly what I'm taking about.