the cutting room mirror

Animal Well

view on tcrf.net

This page contains no introduction.
What makes this game notable or what is it about? Are you a bad enough dude to save this article?

This page is rather stubbly and could use some expansion.
Are you a bad enough dude to rescue this article?

To do:

  • There is unused content documented by the game's community
  • The game detects when you run it while using RenderDoc, and doesn't run, displaying a system dialog box saying "the well is not safe right now" (but maybe its a broad anti-tampering thing, not specific to RenderDoc?) https://youtu.be/HtaleVLNws8?t=36

Platform Differences#

Switch#

This needs some investigation.
Discuss ideas and findings on the talk page.
Specifically: Verify this

The Switch version has lower graphical fidelity, according to the developer. Specifically:

  • Fewer SDF background effects on certain screens/the title screen
  • Decreased number of dynamic lights on screen
  • Fewer iterations when calculating fluid simulation
  • Fewer iterations when rendering bloom
  • Back buffer is upscaled to 720p only

The Switch 2 enhancement patch (1.09) reverts these downgrades, including changing the back buffer upscale resolution to 1080p, in both handheld and docked mode. These visuals are equivalent to the "Best" setting on PC.34

References#

  1. ANIMAL WELL on Steam↩︎
  2. Buy ANIMAL WELL | XBOX↩︎
  3. https://x.com/Animal_Well/status/1788221513537077736 (person asking question: "To you knowledge, will there be any noticeable performance differences between PC and Switch?", @Animal_Well: "Some of the fluid, lighting, and background effects are toned down on switch, but it still runs at 60 fps and looks generally very similar"), May 8th, 2024↩︎
  4. A lot of people have been asking for patch notes for the Switch 2 enhancement patch (1.09) They are pretty straightforward:

Visuals equivalent to "Best" settings on PC. Which means:
Additional SDF background effects on certain screens/the title screen
Increased number of dynamic lights on screen
More iterations when calculating fluid simulation
More iterations when rendering bloom
Back buffer is now upscaled to 1080p instead of 720p (handheld and docked)

    (posted by Billy Basso on Animal Well discord server on July 29, 2025)↩︎