How to obtain the map in Animal Well

The map in Animal Well isn't something you have from the start of the game, but it can be obtained after progressing a little bit. Animal Well has a rather minimal approach since it contains very little textual context and completely avoids any discrete instructions. Therefore, exploration is what the developers want you to focus on to acquire unlockables and collectibles.

The map in Animal Well will help in exploration by allowing you to keep track of everything in the world, including all the trophies you can obtain. It shows you essential information, like the places you need to be in and the places you have already been to.

In this article, we will take a look at Animal Well's map and how you can obtain it to aid in your exploration.

How to acquire the map in Animal Well

Firecrackers are necessary to defeat the blue ghosts and obtain the map in Animal Well (Image via Bigmode || YouTube/ZackScottGames)

You must first find and learn how to utilize firecrackers to defeat the blue ghost situated in the chamber to the right of the first save point.

Step 1:

Jump towards the ledge directly in front and quickly jump up and to the left to reach the ledge above. Make sure to maintain some distance and dodge the ghost while doing all the steps.

Step 2:

The platform above the telephone (Image via Bigmode || YouTube/ZackScottGames)

Jump across the platforms to the next room, wait for the moving platform above the Telephone to approach you, and jump on it to reach the next location. You will find your first Yellow Button there, which is one out of three needed to unlock the Firecrackers.

Step 3:

The second button after heading down from the first and jumping across the platform (Image via Bigmode || YouTube/ZackScottGames)

After you press the first yellow button out of three, drop down the ledge and hold the right navigational button to land on the level below you. Operate the crank to raise a platform from the water so that you can jump on it and go to the left to activate the second yellow button.

Step 4:

The hidden pathway beneath the second yellow button (Image via Bigmode || YouTube/ZackScottGames)

There will be a pathway hidden by a bush right next to the second yellow button you just pressed. Drop into the little gap and proceed to the left. You'll find yourself navigating through a few corridors before arriving just below where you began and in front of the third yellow button, which you can finally hit.

Press this button and go out to where the crank is above you. Operate the crank once more to lift the platform and jump towards the newly opened passage where the Firecrackers await you.

Step 5:

The ladder to reach the map chest room after beating the blue ghost (Image via Bigmode || YouTube/ZackScottGames)

After you've defeated the ghost by tossing the firecrackers at it, you can use the crank once more. Use this to elevate the platform as high as possible, then use it to reach the ladder, climbing which you can then turn right.

In the next chamber, there will be a chest on a platform containing what you desire. Simply jump over to it and open the chest to acquire the map in Animal Well.

Legends and Stamps for the Map in Animal Well

Accessing the map in Animal Well (Image via Bigmode || YouTube/ZackScottGames)

Among some of the most important things to keep in mind in Animal Well, are Map legends which will help you to understand and read the map in Animal Well. These legends are:

Save points: Yellow Telephone icon
Ladders: Brown vertical lines
A healing item (Fruit): Pink Dot
Blocked doorways: Red/Magenta Boxes
An overhealing item that will stay till death: Blue Dot
Fast Travel spots: White Dot
Switches: Grey Dot

When you initially open the map in Animal Well, you'll discover some helpful information using the legends above. However, there is one more item you will need to access all of the map's features: Stamps. You can utilize them to add your very own markers to the map to keep track of personal data.

When you climb up from the chest where you found the map in Animal Well, turn left, go past three green penguins, and use the platforms in that region to get to the ladder above you. Head left to enter a chamber with four doors that unlock as you gather eggs and check the chest there.

This is where you will find Stamps. After accessing the map, you can hit the Y button to add a stamp to the map. You can have up to a maximum of 64 on the map in Animal World.

Animal Well is a Metroidvania adventure released on May 9, 2024, for platforms Steam, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch. It is one of the few most-anticipated games of 2024, alongside Ghost of Tsushima (PC), Wuthering Waves, and Senua's Saga Hellblade 2.