Is there a reason to light the candles in Animal Well? The short answer is yes, you should light all the candles you find in Animal Well in order to reach the ‘true’ ending of the game. The long answer is a bit more complicated and you likely won’t discover the answer until way past when the credits roll.
To reach that point in Animal Well, you’ll have to find the majority of the well hidden eggs throughout the labyrinthine map. Luckily, we painstakingly found and recorded all Animal Well egg locations that we recommend making use of once you can’t find anymore. You’ll also want to study up on how Animal Well fast travel works in order to get around a bit quicker.
Animal Well candles explained
Spread throughout the sprawling map are 9 different candles to light and 9 different matches to find. When compared to the eggs, none of these are particularly hard to find, as you’ll stumble upon the black-hued chests in easy-to-reach areas and the candles in dark rooms. For the latter, the candles will lightly sparkle when present.
The use of a candle is threefold: it illuminates the room so you don’t have to use firecrackers, it scares away the little ghost enemies, and lighting them all unlocks a post-game area with an item inside that will help with tracking down the remaining eggs by revealing secrets in a unique way.
This post-game area is found directly east from the very beginning of the game, through a hidden gap that’s denoted by more lightly colored bricks on the left hand wall.
All Animal Well candle locations
If you can’t remember where a specific candle is to return to after finding a match – we’ve got you covered there, too. Animal Well is split into four different animal-themed quadrants that are color-coded on the map: pink, green, dark blue, and light blue.
That said, the first candle you find is in the room with the crank and the shadow monster east of where you begin the game.
In the northwestern pink area with plenty of dogs you’ll find the following five candles:
- In a dark labyrinthine area shortly after obtaining the disc.
- In a room with a switch near the entrance and the candle locked away in the center. You need to return to the Remote item to reach it.
- In the small maze accessed by throwing your disc between two switches.
- In the bottom left corner of the room with multiple switches that you must use to manage a path forward.
- In the room with the giant bat.
There’s only one candle in the northeastern green area with lizards and chinchillas aplenty:
- In the room before you face the massive iguana for the first time with the little chinchilla pal as a helper, return with the B. wand to reach this candle in the center of the room.
Likewise, there’s only one candle in the southeastern quadrant with ghostly mice and scary ostriches:
- This is in the middle of the room with four different exits that you must visit one after another to keep moving to the next area, east of the save point.
Finally, there is also one flame in the southwestern quadrant of the map with plenty of ocean-themed animals:
- In the room with two penguins, climb up to the top right to find this candle.
That’s all you need to know to find all the candles in Animal Well. If you’re struggling to find a match, there’s one hidden in the crank room east of the beginning area of the game on the way to where you first find firecrackers that, in our experience, most people miss; otherwise, you’ll find the others no problem as you search for eggs.
Once you’ve gotten all the candles and eggs sorted, you should head on over to our best puzzle games list to find your next fix, as Animal Well plays a lot more like a puzzle game than it does a Metroidvania. But if you were disappointed that Animal Well lacked ghouls to slay and weapons to obtain, our best Metroidvania games guide will cheer you up.