On February 13th, Reanimal, a co-op horror game from Tarsier Studios, creators of Little Nightmares, was released. Critics gave the game a warm reception, with an average Metacritic score of 80–84 depending on the platform. However, the Steam launch was a bit of a mixed bag, with the rating dropping to 33% due to the lack of the promised Friend’s Pass on PC and Xbox. We explore the new horror game from the creators of Little Nightmares, how co-op works, the launch issues, and whether Reanimal is worth playing at launch.
What is the game about?
Reanimal has already been hailed as a true spiritual successor to Little Nightmares. If you’ve been missing the clinging sense of unease, grotesque monsters, and an atmosphere of hopelessness scaled for children, you’ve come to the right place.
However, Reanimal isn’t a rehash of the old formula, but an evolution. The key change is the game’s move entirely to 3D space. Unlike the 2.5D worlds of Little Nightmares, here you have true freedom of movement and perspective.
The action takes place on a gloomy archipelago that was once home to the main characters, but has now been transformed into a series of eerie locations – from foggy seas and industrial ruins to abandoned cinemas and areas reminiscent of battlefields.
The story centers on the journey of a brother and sister trying to find and rescue their missing friends. They must do what children do best: hide in crevices from enormous creatures, climb, clamber, crawl, and work together to solve puzzles to progress. The key feature is full co-op support. You can play the game with two players (local or online), or solo, where the other character will be controlled by an AI. The developers wanted fear to be a shared experience, as experience shows, being scared together is much more fun (and scarier). But we’ll talk about co-op a bit later.
Plot
Reanimal’s story is shrouded in darkness and told solely through the environment, sparse dialogue, and visual imagery—in this, Tarsier remains true to its roots. You meet the protagonist, a boy with a noose around his neck (a clear symbol of trauma), who awakens in a small boat in the middle of the vast sea. Navigating by red buoys, he discovers the body of a girl in the water. She initially attacks him, but upon recognizing each other, the brother and sister reunite and continue their journey together. Her first question: “Where are the others?”
Their goal is to reach the islands, which have become eerie replicas of their own home. There, they search for three missing friends. But the plot goes beyond a simple search: it raises serious and profound themes. Gradually, it becomes clear that the brother and sister are orphans who have experienced severe trauma. Their journey unfolds through the fragments of these memories, both literally and figuratively. Every monster and every corner of the locations here reminds them of their shared, painful past.
The story becomes especially dark when the game’s military theme enters the picture. Some have even dubbed the game a “war horror,” featuring minefields and locations reminiscent of concentration camps. The game doesn’t shy away from showing the cruelty of the adult world through the lens of a child’s perspective. However, unlike the silent Little Nightmares, the characters occasionally speak. Dialogue is intentionally inserted into moments of respite—for example, during a leisurely boat ride—so as not to distract from the intense gameplay.
Characters
The main characters, as we’ve already mentioned, are brother and sister, unnamed in the game, making them archetypal figures that are easier to identify with. We understand the strength of their bond not from their backstory, but through their actions: they help each other climb ledges, console each other in moments of fear, and desperately search for each other when they get lost.
Their relationship is the core of the game. They don’t have any superpowers; they’re simply defenseless children facing a vast, hostile world. But their main weapon is mutual support. This is realized through gameplay mechanics: one holds a lever, the other climbs a ladder; one shines a flashlight, the other steers a boat. Each also has subtle individual quirks: the girl can wear a flashlight on her belt, freeing her hands, while the boy must choose between the light and the ability to carry an object.
The supporting characters are three friends who must be rescued. They are hiding, locked in eerie places, and their reactions upon meeting the heroes speak for themselves. One of them, upon seeing the heroes, whispers, “You’re back. I knew you’d come back. You better leave… while you still can.”
But the real stars here are the monsters. Their design evokes genuine revulsion and fear. There are no simply “evil animals” in the game. For example, there’s a creature resembling living human skin that crawls across the floor like a snake, hangs from trees, or sits on train seats. There’s a lanky, skinny monster with empty eye sockets that constantly searches for children, peering under tables. Later, larger-scale creatures appear—giant, mutilated animals. All this horror isn’t just scares, but visual metaphors reflecting the protagonists’ traumas and fears.
Gameplay and mechanics
Reanimal takes the tried-and-true Little Nightmares formula and carefully evolves it, adding new layers. It’s all based on the same familiar elements: hiding in closets and under beds from enormous creatures, running at full speed in tense chase scenes, solving environmental puzzles, and climbing ledges with childlike agility. But Tarsier wouldn’t be Tarsier if it didn’t add something new to the formula.
The main new feature is the introduction of weapons. Yes, kids can now fight back. The boy finds a crowbar, the girl a knife, and these items allow you to deal with small enemies that were previously insurmountable. And while sailing a boat, a harpoon becomes available. This doesn’t mean the game has become an action game—most monsters are still best avoided—but the ability to defend yourself adds a fresh feel even after six hours of play.
Another important change is freedom of exploration. The world of Reanimal is non-linear: you get a boat and can navigate the archipelago, docking at different islands in any order you choose. Scattered between the main plot points are secret areas with collectible masks for the characters and concept art. According to reviewers, they’re well-hidden—even experienced gamers only find about half of the secrets on their first playthrough.
The developers, using Unreal Engine 5, have created a true work of art: the visuals and sound work together to create a unified fear mechanism. The visuals are oppressive with their darkness, and the audio is full of unnatural noises that make you shudder even in harmless moments. The game masterfully transitions scenes: you never linger on one activity for too long, maintaining tension throughout the gameplay.
Among the drawbacks, one can note the trial-and-error approach: some episodes are structured in such a way that they are practically impossible to complete on the first try. You have to die and memorize the sequence of actions. Plus, the camera, although dynamic, sometimes works against the player: it doesn’t so much heighten the suspense as it obstructs the player’s view. There are also minor bugs with the display of interaction icons, but they are not critical.
How does a cooperative work?
Reanimal was designed as a co-op horror game, and that’s clear from the very first minute. The game offers two co-op modes: local (on the couch with two gamepads) and online (via the internet). For those who want to invite a friend but aren’t ready to buy a second copy, the Friend’s Pass system is available. A friend downloads the free version labeled “Friend’s Pass,” you give them your room code or invite them through the platform’s system menu, and you can dive into the nightmare together.
The main technical feature is the absence of split-screen. Instead, the camera is always shared and dynamically adjusts to keep both characters in frame. The developers deliberately made this choice to heighten the claustrophobia and tension. This imposes a limitation: players can’t spread too far apart, otherwise one will fall out of frame. But this is by design—you must stick together and help each other
There’s a catch with saves in online mode: only the host—the one who created the session—records their progress. The second player can earn achievements and trophies, but their personal save file won’t advance. However, character selection is flexible: you can swap roles as the game progresses. The boy is more focused on action and puzzle solving, while the girl serves as a support player (though she later gains weapons, too).
For those who prefer solo play, the second character is handled by AI. The AI behaves quite adequately, although it can occasionally get stuck in geometry. After a short pause, however, your partner simply respawns next to you. In any case, the developers assure that the solo version offers a full experience, and the shared terror is simply the icing on the cake for those who enjoy the fear in company.
Optimization, possible problems
Reanimal’s launch was controversial, not so much due to its technical state as to its marketing. At the February 13th release, the developers failed to include the promised Friend’s Pass for PC and Xbox—a feature allowing two players to play from a single copy. As a result, the Steam rating plummeted to 33% before players had even had a chance to experience the gameplay. The good news: the pass was added on release day, but the bad feeling, as they say, remains.
Opinions on the game’s technical state vary. Some write that the game runs smoothly at high settings, without any frame rate drops, and looks polished. Others complain of buggy animations, freezing when loading locations, and artifacts in the water. There are also complaints of driver crashes during certain scenes. But overall, these are rare issues, most of which are quickly resolved with regular patches.
Optimization in Unreal Engine 5 is a separate issue. It’s a very heavy engine that’s quite sensitive to older graphics cards. The minimum requirements are a GTX 1060 (for very blurry graphics and unstable frame rates), and the recommended one is an RTX 3070. Even with the latter, you’ll need to tweak the settings to ensure stable frame rates.
