The first two Little Nightmares games were something special. They were a unique concept that built on the ideas Limbo established for creating memorable horror experiences. Little Nightmares II took that to the extreme and perfected it- an instant classic and truly special experience, combining thrilling gameplay with a compelling story that deepened the world in interesting ways.

So it was disappointing when it was announced that Little Nightmares III wouldn’t be helmed by Tarsier, and you could see that from its middling reviews from critics and fans alike. Tarsier’s exit makes sense when you think about it: the story up until the end of the second game felt conclusive enough, and any more would risk demystifying the world, and it was time to explore something new. Which is what they are doing with Reanimal: taking their distinctive, immediately recognisable approach to horror and creating a new world around it. 

Hope you brought some light with you.

Waking up on a boat, you play as The Boy; you don’t know where you are or where you are going. Very soon, you encounter The Girl, who has been thrown into the ocean and is about to drown before you rescue her. Journeying further inland, The Boy and The Girl must work together to survive mutated animals, creatures, and other humans.

Reanimal starts incredibly strong with an opening that will pull you into a compelling mystery, all without saying a word. Throughout the roughly six to seven-hour adventure, you will be exploring a world rife with mystery, and almost nothing is spelt out to you. Very little spoken dialogue pulls you into the story, whilst strong imagery is your only clue as to what is happening. It’s an incredibly cryptic story, but one that constantly engages with some great twists. I have absolutely no doubt that I will see tons of theories and deep dives exploring the game’s story.

If you’ve played any of the Little Nightmare games, you are already familiar with what to expect here. For the most part, Reanimal has stuck with that formula almost to its detriment. If you haven’t played them, go do that right now.  Otherwise, Reanimal is a dynamic camera horror game where you play as a small, defenceless character in a world of terrifying, large creatures. There’s a mix of classic exploration and light puzzle-solving to complement more tense stealth and chase sequences.

Reanimal does have a surprising few moments of peace and calm.

Much of the game, you will be exploring these vast areas either on foot or on the boat you start off in. There are no waymarkers or directions, but the game’s camera and lighting often indicate the path forward.  The camera plays a vital role in Reanimal, there to make you feel completely small and useless. The camerawork is the star of the show here, with great framing that enhances the gameplay. Puzzles are very simple and often involve pulling an object from one place to another, so they don’t provide much of a challenge here. The challenge comes in finding some incredibly well-hidden secrets scattered throughout the world. 

Then, to add variety, you will get high-impact chase sequences where twisted creatures chase you down through the environment, demolishing buildings, cars, or anything else in their path. This is where Reanimal truly shines, with some amazing effects of destruction as these twisted creatures struggle and push themselves through the environment in the most unnerving ways possible. Or the small combat sections where you are equipped with a weapon to fight off smaller enemies. These are mostly fine for mixing things up, but often they can be done by spamming the attack button. This is the same for the few boss fights that show up: dodge, attack, and repeat a couple of times before the boss dies or flees. 

Reanimal ups the tension and terror of Tarsier Studios’ previous games, delving deeper into body horror to drive gameplay. Every moment feels tense and exhilarating. All of which makes phenomenal use of the environment to create an experience that was constantly breathtaking. I was usually on edge, waiting to see what horrors would come after me next. Each chapter offers its own threats and monsters to encounter, with some gimmicks to make things even more interesting, and each one is better than the last, culminating in a terrific finale. I was never once bored.

Nope. So much nope.

It’s not a traditionally scary game, rarely relying on jumpscares. But tense small moments continue to build up over time until it explodes. It’s an effective method, and whilst not utterly terrifying, the oppressive atmosphere and chilling sounds combine for an experience that keeps you on edge at all times. I was often surprised at how dark Reanimal got, especially compared to the Little Nightmare games. This is Tarsier unleashing their creativity and delving deeper into the horror than before, and I absolutely want to see more of Reanimal going forward. 

Reanimal can be played either cooperatively with a friend or solo with an AI companion at your side as the Girl. My initial playthrough was solo. The AI here is actually non-intrusive. If the girl falls behind during chase sections, for example, she won’t be captured because the hostiles will be chasing you. In any combat encounters, the partner will also throw in occasional attacks herself. Although, there have been a couple of moments during exploration where the companion would glitch out and struggle to follow. When this happens, you will most likely need to reload the checkpoint because the camera is shared between the two characters and will get lost. I have had to reload the save a few times during my playthrough. 

Unfortunately, even though the gameplay is cooperative, it doesn’t feel like it was used to its full potential. There could be some stunning bosses or stealth encounters that make use of both chracters, but Reanimal doesn’t really take advantage of this concept. Both characters must be on screen at the same time, so there are no real moments of separation. This might seem like nitpicking, but it definitely stuck out for me. In terms of replay value, there’s not much here beyond playing the game again, which I do plan to do. Masks are the main form of collectables and are incredibly well hidden around the map, and could easily add an extra few hours to your playthrough.

Even more nope.

A friend’s pass has been confirmed as available at some point, so you will need one copy to play together. It’s nice to see this trend continue, with games like Split Fiction, It Takes Two, and The Dark Pictures Anthology implementing it. Being able to buy one copy to play a cooperative-focused game should be the standard for something like this. However, for Reanimal, this may or may not be available at launch. Make sure to check the storefronts for availability.

The world of Reanimal is dark, and that is reflected in the visuals in an almost oppressive degree. There are some incredibly effective creature designs that are horrifyingly well animated as they struggle to adapt to their new forms. On top of this, some later sections had me in absolute awe. 

As for sound design, Tarsier clearly understands the principle of less is more, with a much more subtle presentation. There’s very little spoken dialogue in the game, and what there is is mostly soft whispers that heighten the sense of unease throughout. This is the same as the soundtrack that stays quietly in the background before rupturing into something more intense during chase or more action-oriented sequences. I absolutely loved the sound design in this game.

Reanimal’s darkness can be overwhelming, but lights always point the way forward.

Playing on PC, there’s a solid effort here. If you experience performance issues, I recommend turning off Nanite in the settings, as I saw a 20 fps gain with very little sacrifice. However, for ultrawide users, be aware that there isn’t full ultrawide support. Instead, the game will render at a traditional 16:9 Aspect Ratio with black bars on either side of the screen. So, at the very least, the game does not zoom in. This is due to a tightly designed camera. If you plan on playing on the Steam Deck, you may have to bring settings down to low and add FSR to get playable performance. The few areas I tried struggled to maintain 30fps. 

If you are a fan of Little Nightmares, you will most likely love Reanimal as well. Whilst it rarely breaks the formula, delivering a fairly predictable gameplay loop, yet a wildly creative horror experience that had me hooked from the moment I hit play to the end credits. In the end, I was hoping for just a little bit more. 

Reanimal is available now on PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch 2. 

Reviewed on PC with an RTX 4070, Ryzen 7 7800X3D and 32GB RAM. 

A copy of Reanimal was provided by the publisher.