Developer: Tarsier Studios
Platforms: PC (Reviewed), PS5, Switch 2, Xbox Series X|S
Genre: Adventure
Publisher: THQ Nordic, Amplifier Studios
Reanimal is a horror adventure game, made by the creators of Little Nightmares I & II, who have brought upon a darker and more terrifying journey. Reanimal was developed by
Tarsier Studios and published by THQ Nordic and Amplifier Studios. This review was done on Windows, though it is also available for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2.
Reanimal is a game where you start by taking control of a small kid steering a tiny boat through dark, open water, following faint glowing lights in the distance. It is eerie right from the start. Quiet, foggy, and you can already tell that something is not right. As you are moving through the water, you spot a body floating nearby. When you pull the body onto your boat, the girl lunges at you, which caught me off guard, only for you to realise it is your sister. From there, the brother and sister wash up on a creepy, isolated island and begin searching for their missing friends. That opening alone sets the tone so well, it is unsettling, emotional, and mysterious without giving too much away.
Reanimal can be played either single-player or co-op (locally and online). We found that the game ran much more smoothly when played locally, as online co-op had few bugs. That said, the co-op design itself works perfectly. You genuinely need to stay together to survive. It forces you to cooperate from sneaking around, helping each other over obstacles and accessing hard-to-reach areas. I loved this aspect, and playing together made the experience far more enjoyable, especially when we were arguing over trivial things or trying to strategise how to avoid attacks.
As someone who enjoys this genre of games so much, I was absolutely roped into Reanimal from the very beginning. The game is developed by the creators of Little Nightmares I and II, and you can easily spot the similarities in art style, animations and underlying themes that slowly creep up on you.
First and foremost, we received codes before the game’s release, and there were some animation bugs, like when the Sniffer grabs you and tries to dunk you into the bathtub, along with other small hiccups here and there. However, these issues did not take away from the experience at all. The visuals in this game are insane, and the animation work, especially the camera movement, gives the world so much depth. I especially enjoyed the chase sequences, but even the creepy, still, dark atmosphere you explore is outstanding.
What is even better are the creatures you encounter. They progressively get gorier and more skin-crawling. For instance, the giant bird you face before reaching Sand City had to be one of the most disgusting creatures I’ve ever seen, but that is truly the beauty of this game. Once again, hats off to the camera work and animation; I constantly found myself admiring the framing and the quick snaps in camera angles. It felt as though there were instances where you were closed in, and others where it felt like moving was restricted. One of my favourite moments was when you are running from the hairy worm up a spiral staircase, and the camera zooms out while slowly rotating with the staircase (Moody loved this sequence too). There are so many instances like this that build tension, creep up on you and make the game even more thrilling. The lighting, sound design and the camera work all go hand in hand at creating some breathtaking moments that cause your heart to skip a beat. Over and over again, I would compliment the cinematic view of this game, which made me want to snap screenshots of the siblings left and right. The environments are stunning, and the details that went into them are outstanding. You can see distant neon red lights through the foggy ocean to vibrant orange flower fields that almost make a barn look surprisingly welcoming.
The sound design is subtle when you explore, as quietness really sells a grim atmosphere. You hear ambient noises from creaking planks, to animals’ groans, monster grunts and even loud to quiet footsteps. The boss sequences do feature amped tunes that put you in the thrilling moment, but what I loved was the minimal use of music, as utter silence captures the desolation of the creepy island the siblings explore.
Even though you never quite know what’s coming next, the game is intuitive. It does not explicitly tell you what to do; instead, it encourages exploration and lets you figure out how to progress. The gameplay is thrilling, and the narrative carries subtle undertones that keep you guessing. The ‘boss’ encounters feel like small, contained battles. You do die quite a bit (this can be from missing a jump while running away to getting grabbed while evading), but it never becomes overly frustrating. Each death teaches you a new path or pattern to help you move forward, which I appreciated. When playing with someone else, you also realise you both interpret situations differently, which adds another layer of excitement.
Reanimal also stood out for its balance between adrenaline and discomfort. There are so many encounters that get your heart racing, but at the same time, the game is not afraid to put you in situations that feel genuinely unsettling. The mechanics you interact with add a lot to that tension, from throwing harpoons at grotesque monsters to moments where you and your sister are physically tied together, carefully shuffling across narrow ledges trying not to fall. Everything feels rooted in survival. You are not overpowered; you are just doing whatever it takes to rescue your friends and make it to the next area.
Narratively, as I mentioned, the story creeps up on you. From the second the game opened with the brother pulling her sister out of the vast ocean, you become intrigued by why these siblings are in such a desolate world. I found myself especially engrossed in rescuing the missing friends and trying to keep them from encountering their demise. In terms of pacing, Reanimal moves pretty fast and does not waste your time. A full playthrough sits at around 6+ hours, but so much happens within that time that it never feels short. The game constantly throws sequences at you that go beyond what you would expect. For example, you actually get the ability to drive at certain points, which is wild considering you are playing as kids, but in this messed-up world, it weirdly works. There are also combat elements sprinkled in, which I really liked. It gave purpose to the items you pick up while exploring, and it was especially satisfying when defending yourself from aggressively unhinged seagulls that keep dive-bombing you.
Moody, the other player I played with, had the following to say, “I truly enjoyed this game, coming from someone who enjoys more action-paced and faster games. The game’s strongest strength is its hauntingly surreal presentation. The environments are beautifully crafted into a nightmare that you want to wake up from. The atmosphere and tensions are unsettling in the best way possible.
I really enjoyed the co-op gameplay as it allowed for some of the tension to ease, making the experience into a shared memory. The cinematics in the game are amazing, the zoomed-out action scenes or the close-ups from peeking into cracks through a broken fence and all were amazing and brilliant. One of my favourites is in chapter 2, when you are running up the spiral stairs away from the spider-looking monster. The amazing details that went into Reanimal truly are incredible, from the indentations of the mattress you walk over to the monsters that were created.
The sounds create such tension and are excellent, from the ambient sounds to the starting effects, which are able to elevate every encounter and create an incredibly slow-burning horror game. I especially liked how there would be little cutscenes spread throughout the game where the kids would have little speech with one another. The kids talking a little amongst themselves made each encounter when they do talk even more important and fascinating. The choice of keeping the voice acting to the bare minimum (like even just little whispers) to portray the children.
The only fault with this game was the wifi disconnection bugs (this is being monitored for future patches) that I encountered while playing in co-op, and sometimes I felt certain areas in the game were a bit too slow-paced, in my opinion.”
Reanimal is the perfect blend of disturbing and beautiful. It pulls you into a grim, haunting world and keeps you jooked with its intense pacing, thrilling mechanics and unsettling atmosphere. From the cinematic camera work to the co-op survival elements, every moment feels immersive. Whether you are playing solo or teaming up with someone to survive the island’s horrors together, the game fully supports both experiences. If you are into a dark adventure game that keeps your heart racing while delivering striking visuals, the Reanimal is definitely worth checking out!
Overall: 9.5/10
This is S & S. We are world game explorers. We play games. We have played over 10,000+ games! We travel, we write reviews AND we play more games!!!!
