Tarsier Studios’ REANIMAL has been one of the more interesting games of the year. Whilst not perfect, due to its short length and dedication to sticking to the Little Nightmares formula, it was still an absolutely thrilling ride that managed to have me hooked from beginning to end. Even if that end came a little too quickly. REANIMAL: The Prisoner is the first part of a DLC series that aims to really dig into the world of REANIMAL.

Spoilers for the base game of REANIMAL 

Set during REANIMAL‘s most terrifying and brutal sections, you play as two new characters: The Prisoner and The Soldier; opposites that must work together to survive in the hostile world of REANIMAL as the world twists and mutates around them. REANIMAL: The Prisoner is set in the same city that is being torn apart by a war that is ripping the world apart.

Yup. Still a dark game.

As is standard with the base game and Tarsier in general, REANIMAL: The Prisoner is very light on actual story content. Instead, it opts for letting the imagery and very brief dialogue sequences build up the world without ever telling you anything. If you were hoping for some answers, you will be disappointed, as this is the first chapter of a three-part DLC series. However, it does start weaving the narrative threads together and ties back into the main game. It keeps a strong central mystery that will have the community theory-crafting for years.

As for the gameplay, one of my only criticisms of the base game is the dedication to sticking to the same formula. It very much is Little Nightmares, just with a second player at your side. Puzzles and encounters very rarely use the cooperative gameplay to its fullest potential. That is largely the same here, which is both a good and bad thing. REANIMAL: The Prisoner plays well, and the simple gameplay loop ensures it keeps moving at a solid pace, but it’s also not something I’d revisit for multiple playthroughs.

So if you like the base game, then you will most likely enjoy what REANIMAL: The Prisoner has to offer. There’s an oppressive atmosphere that is easy to get lost in. To give them credit, in an incredibly brief one-hour experience, they did manage to cram a surprising amount of variety. Without spoiling any of the surprises, you will be exploring the ruins of a city actively being demolished in a large-scale war. Avoid dangerous traps that will kill you in one hit and escape from a flamethrower-wielding soldier who has lost his mind and will attack anyone on sight. 

Flamethrower Soldier does provide one of the developer’s most thrilling chase sequences.

The Prisoner will quickly get her hands on a camera; this can be used to not only supernaturally interact with certain objects in the environment, but also stun the few enemies you will encounter and briefly light up dark areas. Meanwhile, the Soldier will get a standard melee weapon to take out enemies that attack them. From here you will solve some simple puzzles, mixed in with some surprisingly thrilling chase sequences.

Disappointingly, there’s a little too much reused here. The standard ash-covered enemies that were a major threat in some sections in the base game are reused here, as well as one of the game’s major re-animated animals. REANIMAL: The Prisoner does tease another creature, but it doesn’t have a major role here. This pretty much sums it up. It’s a set-up for later DLC chapters. Regardless, I did enjoy my time with this incredibly short story and am looking forward to seeing how this continues in the future. 

REANIMAL: The Prisoner is the first part of a DLC series to expand the world of REANIMAL. As such, it feels like the DLC is doing more setting up than it is providing a full experience. Whilst I did enjoy the game, I would recommend waiting for all three DLC chapters to come out before jumping into this one.

REANIMAL: The Prisoner is available now on PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch 2.

A copy of REANIMAL: The Prisoner was provided by the publisher.