Dunkey’s publishing company Bigmode reveals first game, Animal Well

Four months after Dunkey announced his indie publishing company, Bigmode has revealed its first title – Animal Well – which will be playable later this year.

On September 21, 2022, Dunkey published one of his most controversial videos to date: the announcement video for his indie publishing company, Bigmode. While harmless at first glance, publishers and developers took offense as the YouTuber promised to only publish “good games” with no prior experience in the industry.

That being said, his fans and biggest critics have been waiting to hear what would come from the critical content creator’s company. Especially with Bigmode boasting that it’s being supported by funding, development support, PR & community management, QA, porting & localization, and merchandising.

Now, Bigmode has revealed its first title – Animal Well – a visually stunning puzzle platformer with unsettling horror elements.

Bigmode announces first game, Animal Well

On January 8, Bigmode announced Animal Well, described as “A pixelated wonder rendered in intricate audio and visual detail.” Animal Well is a solo project from sole developer Billy Basso, who has worked on the game for the last five years.

Animal Well aims to take mechanics from survival horror games and implement them into a different genre. The title offers a mix of genres, including Puzzle, Horror, Platformer, Metroidvania, and Open Well.

An official press release claims the player’s goal in Animal Well is to unravel the secrets of the well as they discover lively creatures. Basso’s hope is that the game won’t depend on content updates but will instead be “pre-loaded with secrets that may take years to uncover — giving you a reason to returnto it after it’s been sitting on your shelf.”

Animal Well does not have a release date, but it will be playable at PAX East 2023. It is planned to release on PC via Steam, as well as on PlayStation 5.