Animal Well features a strange yet alluring world that lets you explore an endless labyrinth. Even with danger lurking around every corner, there’s still plenty of time to step away from the main storyline and unearth secrets. That’s where certain medals and the circular recess locations come into play in Animal Well. They’re strange pedestals you can find, but there’s no real indication of how to use them. It’s yet another mystery to unravel.
What Does a Circular Recess Do in Animal Well?
Animal Well features three circular recesses. They’re not vital to completing the overall story, but they will offer a nice bonus by giving you items to help in this dark exploration. The only way you can use a circular recess in Animal Well is to discover the specific medals that go with each one:
- S Medal: Grants you the Remote
- K Medal: Gives the Bouncy Ball
- E Medal: Gives you the UV Lantern
Each item can make your Animal Well experience a little easier, making it worth tracking down the circular recess for all of them. The Remote will remotely flip switches in areas that feature special sensors. With the Bouncy Ball, you initiate Breakout-style mini-games and break spikes in different areas. Finally, the UV Lantern will highlight secret messages.
Using the S Medal
For the Animal Well circular recess with the S Medal, you’ll first defeat the Chameleon boss. It’s a grueling fight, so I hope you go into it prepared. Now, after it’s gone, return to the boss fight area. You can further explore the chamber by heading to the left side. The chest will contain the S Medal.
Go to the animal statues in the starting area and place the S Medal on the circular recess beneath them. On your right, a new path will open that leads you to the Remote.
Using the K Medal Circular Recess
One of the first things you’ll notice in Animal Well is that you’ll encounter large kangaroos from time to time. Whenever you see one, toss a firecracker at it so it’ll drop a sack that holds a K Shard. All you need is three K Shards to earn a K Medal. Now, we can head to the top left area of the map around the Bat chamber. To the left of the chamber is another room that contains the circular recess for the K Medal. Once used, a secret entry opens where you’ll find a chest for the Bouncy Ball.
Using the E Medal
Finally, we’ll head to the last Animal Well circular recess to use the E Medal. This one might take some time because you must find nine matches to light all nine candles around the map. Once you do that, though, you can head toward the beaver head warp room to find a new fish head statue. Go through here to discover a new area. There are spikes to your right that you want to break. Use the crank to raise the platform out of the water. Here’s where you’ll get the chest with the E Medal.
Now, turn back and go to the room with the Seahorse boss. Two rooms to the right is another fish head statue, but don’t use it. Instead, climb on top and go through the wall above. In here is the last circular recess in Animal Well, but we still haven’t earned our item yet.
After placing the E Medal on the pedestal, you’ll reveal an underwater area. Head down until you find an organ. Play the Animal Flute nearby, and a skeletal fish that blows bubbles shows up. Match the direction of the bubbles with the corresponding note on the Flute. You know it worked when the fish freezes. Climb into its mouth (yes, you read that correctly), and you’ll enter another new area with an awaiting chest that holds the UV Lantern.
Animal Well already sees you exploring its twisting map, so why not earn some fun, secret rewards while you’re at it? It’s not a quick or easy experience, but the items you’ll gain make tracking down the circular recesses (and the tools to use them) worth all the effort.
Animal Well is available on PC, PS5, and Nintendo Switch.
