Started writing this a while ago and forgot about it!!! Played on my own to digest some of my backlog while waiting for FFXIV Dawntrail! I'm not considering this "finished" yet; I have not collected all the bunnies and solved further puzzles, only rolled the credits twice.
!! Spoilers below !!
The first thing I want to say is that I'm obsessed with the concept. I had a blast with the puzzles, I loved the pixel art, and there were a lot of animals, 10/10 just as advertised. The atmosphere is fantastic - just a little mysterious, but enough cute things interspersed with the slightly more unsettling things to disperse the tension. And as a pixel art liker, the graphics are gorgeous - I love the light vines in the pond? swamp? area especially, and the smoke effects.
As far as puzzle platformers go, I feel truly good puzzle-focused ones are few and far between...most I've tried tend to be just action-focused games with "find and press the switches" level of difficulty, with emphasis on executing a sequence of actions in perfect order with perfect timing. That's annoying to me - I'm the type to sit down and think, and I hate when the puzzle is simple in favour of more complex platforming. I enjoy the thinking and exploration. Platforming is a maybe (I've been getting better at it). Combat, chase sequences...not so much. For this reason I don't really consider games like Ori puzzle games; they're just platformers with a few (possibly even area-restricted) puzzle elements to me.
Animal Well is...special. It's, I think, the best example of the genre that I've played...not that it doesn't involve action sequences, but the puzzles are extremely satisfying, and I've seen people solve them in multiple ways, including ones that are clearly not the intended solution. The basic puzzles (up until 2nd credits) scratch the puzzle/exploration itch really well, while introducing mechanics that are unique, thematically on point, and flexible enough for designing several different puzzles around.
For the record, I managed to get most of the eggs without a guide (and ALMOST solved the all eggs puzzle without a guide; I got the upside down egg wrong) - there were a few that I missed due to forgetting locations where I could use the ball, and also that one turtles puzzle (although that one was because I accidentally saw a spoiler). The rabbits puzzles definitely needed a guide, though. I'm interested in collecting all of them at some point...(I did get the disc one though - proud of that).
I didn't really expect much of a story, and it isn't terribly plot-heavy, but I was still pretty surprised that there was something in there at all. And also that I got attached to the manticores? They're surprisingly cute. I like that there are recurring characters here and there that drive the puzzles such as the ghost dog and the ostrich.
...I don't have much to say about it; I think it takes a back seat to the puzzle gameplay and it's good this way. Also: there are animals. Have I mentioned that yet?
I wish I could erase my memory of this game and play again whenever I want to. It feels like the perfect game for like, several hours on a plane, or whenever I need alone time. It's lightweight (both in terms of being able to jump in/out easily, and also game size) but not a "short" game (by my definition, anyway).