REANIMAL Review: The Masters of Atmospheric Horror are Back

As twisted and melancholic as the first two Little Nightmares were in terms of their overall presentation, you couldn't help but appreciate just this uniqueness for the time. Tarsier Studios had wonderfully crafted two cult-favorite games, but soon after, they were acquired by Embracer Group, so, of course, you wouldn't get the same nuance with the third game. No disrespect to Supermassive Games, obviously.

However, this move led to these people making REANIMAL, a co-op atmospheric horror game that ticks all the boxes for any Little Nightmares fan to check out. At the depths, it still has a lot of that hide-and-seek formula embedded in some of its prominent gameplay scenarios, but at the surface? It is definitely their most ambitious game yet, with the systematics scale and level design.

But is it enough to make it feel like a worthy successor to their work done on Little Nightmares? Although it sticks through to the end safely, some bits of REANIMAL prove a bit too costly with its slightly ambitious scope, and you're about to find out just why with my review.

When Childhood Fears Come Alive

I won't give too much away here, since at the end of the day it's better that you enjoy the bulk of this harrowing premise yourself. REANIMAL's main story involves a sibling duo of a boy and a girl, who seemingly scour the ravaged hellscape of a bleak world in search of their friends. From an emergent opening sequence where you narrowly save your sister's seemingly unconscious self from being whisked away at sea to ultimately coming across a dark and dilapidated island amidst the towering fog.

Tarsier Studios has always managed to nail that uneasiness factor since Little Nightmares, and that's present here to the full extent. On the surface, you have a basic idea that you need to find out where each of your companions went in this misadventure. But I want you to remember the keyword "finding out" because the unnerving display of paranoia as you dig deeper into this tale sticks with you for a damn good time.

I'm someone who absolutely can't handle most horror games just because of the severe anxiety spike that they can give me at a moment's notice. Give me any of my guilty pleasure found-footage horror movies or just any flick of that nature, and I'll eat that up even if it's filled to the brim with cheesy one-off jumpscares, but being immersed in a horror video game itself? Just bury me 6ft under at that point.

Thankfully, REANIMAL sticks to the atmospheric horror aspect, much like its predecessors. Being stalked by an uncanny man who can contort himself and warp via dead bodies, a spider-like abomination that'll chase you to the ends of the earth, or a Pterodactyl-like creature charging at you on your boat sections—REANIMAL has all of those discomforting and close-call sequences.

I'd argue that some parts of the key narrative feel out of place or blatantly rushed, especially towards the end, which made me want more. The entire game just ends on such an obtuse note, even though it has occasional voice-acting moments to give some exposition leeway. Sure, those rare instances can break the barrier of complete silence, but that sort of immersive detail can make you feel the sheer vulnerability and despair in their voices.

Not that it's bad writing or anything, but then again, neither did any of the Little Nightmare titles stand out because of a rich storytelling element; it was always about their intuitive platformer-esque gameplay and an agitating yet ominously captivating presentation. And REANIMAL achieves that despite anyone claiming otherwise, as you're about to find out.

Like Two Traumatized Peas in a Pod

REANIMAL doesn't necessarily need to reinvent the wheel here; they've used a tried-and-tested formula that somehow feels engaging even now that it's focused on cooperation. Of course, keep in mind this game isn't going to be Josef Fares' level of imagination when it comes to the co-op platformer gameplay, but for what it offers, you've got one that keeps things simple, straightforward, but still nerve-wracking.

Part of the ambitious scope I mentioned earlier comes into view here, as REANIMAL is, in retrospect, a bit more open-ended than Tarsier's previous titles. The game's slight emphasis on exploration lets you traverse off the beaten main path, but not so far that it becomes taxing or tiring. Particularly on the boat or any faint moments of solace, you can find yourself discovering new masks for the siblings to wear as well as posters to tear down that unlock concept art for your viewing pleasure in the main menu.

To me, that's even more of an indication of how you can balance boldness with safety in your work. This early exploration gesture meant I could try deviating or messing around. There wasn't enough of this aspect, but I'm glad it led to hilarious moments where I wound up crossing to a side where I wasn't meant to go, yet, or getting swallowed by that Pterodactyl creature out at sea because the game indicated it needed to die first by other means via the main progression.

And just how well does this ambitiousness stem into the game's puzzles, you wonder? Unfortunately, they're pretty self-explanatory. Again, I didn't set my expectations too high here, expecting a world-class puzzle design like Portal 2. Most of the puzzles or obstacles are pretty much just a key to a door away to solve, or rather, a wall that needs climbing up and over hand-in-hand.

On the other hand, you've got a couple of standout sections, like the underwater ones that'll have you literally holding your breath out of mild thalassophobia or just encounters where you'll need to carefully cross treacherous walkways while roped together.

It's a fairly decent middle ground here, since it isn't too simple to autopilot through it all with your partner, especially when you need to find something hidden in the environment or interact with it.

Neither is there a dull moment here, since half of it will have you and your partner at the edge of your seat, trying to outmaneuver or escape some nightmarish abhorrence. Those intense fleeing encounters are in high abundance here, but so are those minimal combat instances where I'm swinging a crowbar to protect my sister from ghostly apparitions.

However, there are some very rare but welcome moments where the game will provide you with a hurdle that rewards you for your careful environmental observation. A collectible or glyph you examined partway through the game could wind up being the code to activate a mortar cannon; it's such a neat detail that you won't even realize how a small decorative part can be essential to the core game.

The Power of Abstract Horror Lives On

Part of what made me obsess over Little Nightmares and games like Inside was how they captured the haunting yet oddly fascinating nature of loneliness or just the complex fear of the unknown. This was all from the foundation of my childhood adoration for movies like that post-dystopian movie about those stitched puppets, Nine (9), or just Tim Burton's Coraline.

Suffice to say, the artistic display of REANIMAL makes me unfathomably pleased, akin to the awe I experienced with those aforementioned light horror flicks from my youth.

Almost every single imperative section or frame has you thinking, lowkey, if this is just one massive conceptual art showcase from the madmen artists at Tarsier Studios. The sense of hopelessness, dread, and utter eeriness—brilliantly conveyed through the smallest details of the environment or 3D models inhabiting the siblings or the whole group of children.

One could even say it helps elevate the game's directed camera approach, as you'll constantly be panning out from one room to another, each with a more sinister or grim surprise tucked away under its surface.

But when it needs to shift its focus to a complete panic, it will do so in extreme fashion, whether it be a chase encounter down from the siblings' POV or just a far-off angle as they're entering a brand-new level's main building or infrastructure.

Every single detail is meticulously thought out, not mashed together for the sake of inducing horror. From the ruinous confines of the mansion where the wraiths of the children await your every turn to the grief-stricken battlefield where soldiers are brutally being slaughtered one after another, this adventure through hell never takes a full-on pitstop, and even if it does, that quiet moment of comfort never ceases to last because this sibling duo will run into disturbing torment at every step of the way.

REANIMAL stands as both a confident continuation of Tarsier Studios’ haunting design philosophy and a cautious step into new territory. While its ambitious scope occasionally exposes cracks through rushed narrative beats and safe puzzle design, its oppressive atmosphere, striking visuals, and linked-up co-op gameplay carry the experience from beginning to end. For some, it may not reach the same tightly crafted heights as Little Nightmares, but it successfully captures that same uneasy magic that made those games special. It isn’t perfect, much like all things in this vast expanse of the medium or the horror genre, but it’s a bold and unsettling co-op journey that shows Tarsier’s signature style is still very much alive.