The Seahorse can be quite a challenge, but once you figure out its mechanics, you’ll breeze right through. Here’s how to beat the Seahorse in Animal Well.
How to Solve the the Seahorse Boss Puzzle in Animal Well
Beyond a series of whale-themed puzzles, you’ll find yourself faced with one of the biggest animals in the well – a seahorse ripped straight from the margins of a 16th-century map. This gorgeous creature will spit water and bubbles in your face, which can be quite confounding. But beating the seahorse is essential if you want to explore the depths of the well and add the Bubble Wand to your collection.
So, the seahorse boss battle has two goals. First, you must hit the three yellow buttons on the top of the ceiling. The second is you must escape through the narrow tunnel to the top left of the screen. To achieve both of these goals, you’ll need to climb the bubbles the seahorse spews out at you.
Each time the seahorse lifts its head, it will shoot a stream of water and four bubbles, which will stagger at an angle, creating a series of stairs. You can jump on a bubble, and it will begin to sink. But time it well, and you should be able to climb these bubble steps until you’re close enough to the ceiling to jump up and touch one of the three buttons near the roof.
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Here’s the rub. The seahorse’s squirt attack can push you into the water. And while it won’t damage you, the respawn and dizzy animation can take so long that you’ll miss out on using the stairs. By contrast, the stalactites that hang from the ceiling and walls will damage you, so you’ll need to take those jumps carefully.
Fortunately, you can manipulate where the seahorse will shoot its spray of water. The seahorse will lift its head and begin shooting you wherever you’re standing. So, if you’re trying to jump up to the top right yellow button, stand on the right platforms. If you’re trying to get the middle button, stand closer to the mid-right platforms, and if you’re trying to get the left button, stand on the mid-left platforms. If you’re finding it difficult not to get pushed off these smaller platforms to the left, you can position yourself slightly behind the seahorse’s head when it rises out of the water to avoid the stream of water completely. Alternatively, you can jump when it’s shooting water to avoid being pushed all the way off.
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There’s no timed component to this, either. The water won’t rise, and if you don’t hit the wall or spikey parts of the ceiling, you can do this puzzle fight at your leisure. Once you’ve hit all three buttons, you can escape through the top-left tunnel of the room, which is surrounded by spikes, of course.
But it’s well worth the effort since you’ll get the Bubble Wand for your troubles. And like the slinky, it’s essential for solving many of the puzzles in the well.
And that’s how to beat the seahorse in Animal Well.
Animal Well is available now on PS5, the Nintendo Switch, and Steam.
