Four endings, two of which are hidden
Most players finish Animal Well once and assume that is the game. The credits after the Manticore fight are only the first of four endings, and the last two never play credits at all — they hand you abilities and a permanent shortcut instead.
| # | Ending | Requirement | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manticore escape | Four flames returned to their beacons, sealed floor opened, Manticore detonated with fireworks | Credits roll |
| 2 | Into space | All 64 eggs → 65th Egg → hatch in incubator → Manticore opens the flute route one room left of the incubator | Ride the Manticore out of the well into space, credits roll, torus unlocked |
| 3 | Giant rabbit temple | All 16 rabbits, office key from the egg room code, office chalkboard, BDTP puzzle solved | Eaten at the temple, no credits, player transformation (wings) unlocked |
| 4 | Time capsule | The animal-annoying puzzle, broken messages decoded, directions followed from the left of the rabbit temple | Time capsule island, no credits, Billy Basso / Dan Adelman / videogamedunkey audio, permanent shortcut |
Which ending counts as the true ending
Animal Well never labels an ending “true”, so searches for the Animal Well true ending are really asking which one closes the story. The answer is ending 2.
The reason is in the credits. Ending 1 and ending 2 both roll credits; ending 3 and ending 4 explicitly do not. Of those two, ending 1 stops at the Manticore fight inside the well, while ending 2 is the escape — you hatch the 65th Egg, the Manticore opens a flute route one room to the left of the incubator, and you ride it out into space. That is the ending that resolves the plot, and it is also the one that unlocks the torus, the item you need for everything after.
So the practical mapping for the search terms people actually use:
- “true ending” / “good ending” — ending 2, the space escape
- “first ending” / “normal ending” — ending 1, the Manticore fight
- “secret ending” — ending 3 (giant rabbit temple) and ending 4 (time capsule), neither of which plays credits
One shortcut worth knowing: if you have not seen ending 1, the first Manticore can be used to reach ending 2 without hatching a new one. You do not need a second Manticore to see the space ending, which saves the 64-egg detour on a fresh save.
Ending 1 — light the four flames
Collect the four flames — one per quadrant of the map — and return them to their beacons in the central area. That opens a sealed floor. Drop in and kill the Manticore by detonating the fireworks rather than trading hits you cannot survive. Credits play immediately after.
This is the ending almost everyone sees first, and it is deliberately the smallest one: it ends a run without answering much.
Ending 2 — the 65th Egg
Ending 2 is gated on the egg count, not on the boss.
- Collect all 64 eggs. The last reward behind the egg room gates is the 65th Egg.
- Put the 65th Egg in the incubator and hatch it.
- The resulting Manticore opens a path to a flute spot one room to the left of the incubator.
- Jump into the Manticore’s mouth and take control. It becomes friendly, and the two of you leave the well for the starry sky.
If you skipped ending 1, the original Manticore can carry you through ending 2 — you do not have to hatch a second one.
The real prize is the torus: after ending 2 you can travel between the well and space, which is what makes endings 3 and 4 practical instead of a long climb every time.
Ending 3 — the giant rabbit temple (BDTP)
This is the ending the secret rabbits exist for, and it has four gates, in this order:
- Find all 16 rabbits. They are scattered across the map, several behind warp songs. The rabbit database carries every grid reference and code.
- Get the office key. With 64 eggs, the UV lantern in the egg room reveals glyphs on the eggs; play the 64-input song to open the hidden area with the key.
- Read the office chalkboard. It holds the hints for BDTP — the puzzle that cannot be brute-forced, which is why the game includes nine rabbits that only exist if you hack your save.
- Solve BDTP and head into the sky to the giant rabbit temple, and let it eat you.
No credits. What you keep is the player’s transformation and the wings, which change how you move for everything left in the game.
Ending 4 — the time capsule
The last ending is not a fight or a fetch quest: it is a puzzle built on irritating the animals of the well until they give up cryptic, apparently corrupted messages. Solve it and you get a second set of directions, which must be followed from the left side of the giant rabbit temple to reach the time capsule island.
No credits again. You get an audio file from the three people behind the game, headphones that last until you die or quit to the menu, and — the part that matters on a long save — digging up the capsule permanently breaks tiles, opening a path from the starting area straight to the Manticore area entrance.
Suggested order
Ending 1 first because it is on the critical path anyway. Then let the egg hunt carry you into ending 2 and the torus. Rabbits and the office key come after that, since the warp songs you need for them are much easier to use once you can cross the map freely. Ending 4 last: by then the shortcut it leaves behind has the least left to save you.
Related guides
- Eggs guide — the 8 / 16 / 32 / 64 ladder
- Flute codes — the 64-egg song and warp songs
- Secret rabbits database — all 16 with grid refs
- Bosses guide — the Manticore and the gates around it
- Secrets guide — how the four layers stack
- Animal Well hub