Reanimal Reviews
REANIMAL isn't just a great horror game: it's the kind of experience that lingers, hitting as hard as Little Nightmares, maybe even harder. It signals the start of a new chapter: a darker, more unsettling tale that masterfully confronts a truth we all recognize: no one outruns their fate… though that won't stop you from trying.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
REANIMAL's more 3-dimensional approach to its horror puzzle-adventure gameplay really supercharges the scares and sense of exploration. 😨
Reanimal is a similar sort of beast as Little Nightmares, though one that’s more gruesome than Tarsier’s past games.
REANIMAL is undoubtedly an exceptional horror experience and essential viewing for anyone who appreciates unsettling, artistically crafted storytelling.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
By the time we reach the end of REANIMAL, its greatest strength is impossible to miss: this is a horror game built on conviction. Tarsier Studios takes the sensibilities that have defined its work for years and carries them into an entirely new universe, once again finding fear in distorted imagery, oppressive spaces, grotesque creatures, and the uneasy feeling that the world around us has somehow gone wrong. REANIMAL is not interested in mechanical complexity for its own sake. Its priorities lie elsewhere, in the places where Tarsier has always been most confident: atmosphere, visual storytelling, exploration, and the emotional connection between its characters. For the most part, that focus pays off. The island is where that vision comes together most convincingly. It is far more than a backdrop for the story, functioning instead as a constantly shifting expression of the nightmare itself. Flooded facilities, ruined structures, forests, open water, and decaying interiors each possess their own visual language while remaining part of the same unsettling whole. Tarsier's creature design is every bit as effective. The monsters are grotesque without becoming excessive, and their impact often comes from the way they are revealed rather than simply from what they look like. A distant silhouette, an unfamiliar sound, a movement glimpsed at the edge of the frame: REANIMAL understands that what we imagine can be more frightening than anything placed directly in front of us. That confidence extends to its two protagonists. The relationship between the Boy and the Sister is never reduced to exposition; it is communicated through the way they move, react, help one another, and refuse to face the island alone. In co-op, that relationship becomes even more tangible. The shared camera can be awkward, particularly when the pace accelerates, but the underlying design philosophy is remarkably coherent. REANIMAL does not simply allow two players to inhabit the same world. It asks them to inhabit the nightmare together. Solving a puzzle, navigating a dangerous space, or escaping a creature becomes a shared act of survival, giving the cooperative mode an emotional dimension that many horror games never manage to achieve. If there is a clear gap between REANIMAL's ambitions and its execution, it is found in the depth of its mechanics. Exploration, puzzles, stealth, combat, and chase sequences are all handled with a strong sense of pacing, and the campaign benefits from knowing when to introduce an idea and when to move on. Nothing is given enough time to become particularly exhausting. The downside is that very little is given enough time to become genuinely sophisticated, either. The puzzles rarely demand more than careful observation, stealth remains relatively straightforward, and combat never develops into a substantial system in its own right. That is a limitation, but not necessarily a contradiction of the game's design. REANIMAL clearly does not want us to spend hours mastering a combat system or solving elaborate environmental puzzles. Its mechanics are there to keep the journey moving, to make us interact with the world, and to shape the rhythm between moments of discovery and moments of danger. The problem is simply that the extraordinary richness of the world sometimes makes us wish there were more beneath our feet mechanically. Tarsier has created a world we want to examine; the game does not always give us equally compelling reasons to engage with it on a systemic level. The story occupies similarly uncertain ground. Its reliance on imagery, symbolism, and environmental storytelling is one of its most appealing qualities, and there is genuine pleasure in being trusted to interpret rather than being handed an explanation for everything we encounter. Some of REANIMAL's most memorable moments work precisely because they leave questions hanging in the air. They encourage us to look back, reconsider what we have seen, and search for meaning in recurring images and seemingly insignificant details. Yet not every unanswered question feels equally purposeful. Some mysteries deepen the world; others leave us wishing the narrative had gone one step further. The issue is not ambiguity itself, but the balance between suggestion and development. REANIMAL is at its best when it gives us enough material to form our own interpretation. It is less successful when an idea feels introduced only to disappear before it has had the opportunity to fully resonate. The result is a story that can be haunting and thought-provoking, but occasionally frustrating in its refusal to provide the context certain moments seem to deserve. Still, those shortcomings are ultimately secondary to what Tarsier accomplishes so consistently well. REANIMAL is a game with an unmistakable voice. It does not need elaborate systems to establish its identity, nor does it rely on constant shocks to maintain its horror. Its environments, creature design, lighting, sound, pacing, and character relationships are all working toward the same objective. Very few elements exist simply for spectacle. Almost everything serves the mood. And that is why the experience works as well as it does. REANIMAL understands that horror is not necessarily about making the player feel powerful, nor is it about constantly asking them to overcome increasingly complex challenges. Sometimes it is about making a place feel wrong. It is about hearing something before we see it, entering a room we immediately want to leave, or catching a glimpse of something that our mind continues to reconstruct long after it has disappeared from view. Tarsier remains exceptionally good at creating those moments. There are imperfections, of course. The occasional technical hiccup and camera issue can disrupt the otherwise meticulous presentation, while the relative simplicity of the gameplay and the openness of the narrative will not satisfy everyone. But none of these issues obscures what REANIMAL is trying to achieve. This is not a horror game built around depth for depth's sake. It is a tightly authored journey through a world designed to unsettle us, and its greatest achievements come from the precision with which that world has been designed. We went into REANIMAL with high expectations. Tarsier Studios had already shown us how distinctive its approach to horror could be, and the prospect of watching that sensibility evolve within a completely new universe was more than enough to make us curious. Now, having reached the end of the journey, we can say with confidence that those expectations were not misplaced. REANIMAL may not have the depth to match the extraordinary richness of its presentation, and its story occasionally leaves us wanting answers that never arrive. But those are not the things we are most likely to remember. We will remember the island. We will remember the creatures moving through the darkness. We will remember the sound of something approaching before we could see it. And we will remember two children trying to hold on to one another while everything around them falls apart. That, ultimately, is where REANIMAL finds its greatest success. Tarsier Studios has not created the deepest horror adventure on the market, nor has it delivered a flawless one. It has created something more specific: a carefully authored, visually extraordinary nightmare with a voice all its own. And after spending hours inside it, that nightmare is difficult to shake.
Reanimal is a fantastic spiritual sequel to the Little Nightmares series. It offers a much darker, harsher experience while still maintaining Tarsier's high quality. In places, the game could use more challenges and more interesting puzzles, but the atmosphere is perfect throughout.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Reanimal is a haunting, grotesque adventure full of disturbing imagery and ambitious mechanics that really let Tarsier flex their creative freedom. However, a short runtime and abrupt ending coupled with confusing early pacing issues stop Reanimal from becoming the ghastly monsterpiece it has the potential to be.
It’s the kind of game that lingers in your mind after you put the controller down. You’ll think about its ending. You’ll debate what it all meant. And you might even feel the urge to go back in, either alone or with a friend, to see what you missed the first time. For fans of Little Nightmares, Limbo, or tightly crafted horror experiences that don’t overstay their welcome, Reanimal is absolutely worth your time. It’s short, sharp, and deeply unsettling in all the right ways.
Reanimal is a dark, uncompromising, and exceptionally atmospheric game that proves Tarsier Studios is capable of creating compelling worlds even outside the Little Nightmares franchise. The game offers an intense and psychologically challenging experience, so it’s not for everyone. However, those who dare to enter will be rewarded with one of the most striking horror experiences of recent years.
Review in Czech | Read full review
For fans of the genre, and particularly those who loved the Little Nightmares games, Reanimal delivers a haunting, memorable adventure that proves the original creators still know exactly how to craft a true nightmare.
REANIMAL marks Tarsier Studios’ return to the roots of its signature style, filtered through a more mature, violent, and ambitious lens. The atmosphere is masterful, and the art direction confirms the Swedish studio as one of the most talented in the contemporary horror scene. However, beneath the visceral and beautifully crafted surface of this brief experience, limitations emerge that are hard to ignore: insufficient length, sections that struggle to maintain momentum, a combat system that isn’t entirely convincing, and a narrative that leaves too many loose ends.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Reanimal is a whole beast of its own from Tarsier Studios, but only vaguely beyond the surface. It's a dark yet tasteful turn into more mature horror, with a striking art style, and a tremendous level of world building. However, its gameplay doesn't quite feel like the improved pivot every other aspect Reanimal has, as it's what we've come to expect from the studio. It's still an unnerving spectacle to trudge through, but it just feels a little too familiar to be impactful.
Reanimal is a remarkably unique production in terms of creativity and horror design. Its outstanding art direction and striking visual vision will undoubtedly stay in my mind for a long time. Unfortunately, those are not the only things that will remain memorable about the game. If you are expecting a title from the former Little Nightmares team where every element works in harmony, the story steadily escalates, and the finale leaves you genuinely surprised, then in my opinion, this is not the game you are looking for.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
Reanimal is a game that I sense may be divisive. Its confusing world and short runtime don’t exactly set it up for universal success, but it’s hard not to come away from the game feeling entertained and impressed. It’s a jarring adventure but one that is held together by some utterly brilliant set pieces that make it a worthwhile co-op experience. I sense that Tarsier Studios has something fascinating to say with this one. I just wish I could work out what it was.
A sharper, more disciplined refinement of the Little Nightmares blueprint that trades reinvention for near flawless execution and comes out stronger for it.
Reanimal follows in the footsteps of Little Nightmates by being a minimalist, concise experience steeped in mystery. But it's only that, Tarsier Studios was again successful in making a distinct world with a darker and surreal tone, with more excitement and less linearity.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
REANIMAL is a very coherent evolution of what Tarsier Studios had been building, further honing their talent for creating oppressive and impactful worlds. It doesn't reinvent the formula, but it elevates it thanks to top-notch art direction and sound design, and a cooperative mode that adds real personality to the experience. Its limitations in gameplay depth and its tight length are still present, but they are clearly secondary to the strength of its premise. It's a game that stays with you long after you finish it, and that's something not all games achieve.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The game offers a horror experience that relies heavily on atmosphere and artistic design, and it truly succeeds in creating a constant sense of tension and mystery from the first moments until the end, where the visual and audio aspects work in clear harmony to enhance the feeling of dread and continuous anxiety. On the other hand, it suffers from weak level design and a lack of puzzles that could have added greater depth to the experience, in addition to the repetition of chases in a way that makes them lose their impact over time, as well as a superficial combat system that was not sufficiently utilized to be an effective and influential element in the gameplay. It is an enjoyable game in terms of atmosphere and artistic presentation, but it could have been much better if more focus had been placed on level design, diversifying the gameplay, and granting the player more varied tools and challenges that enhance the value of the experience as a whole.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Reanimal is equal parts horrifying and daunting. Fun in ways only horror gamers can appreciate, you’ll spend as much time exploring the beautifully designed world from Tarsier, as you will trying to escape it, and its disgusting, body horror inhabitants. Decent puzzles, good platforming and some seriously impressive world design await if you can deal with some simple, if not repetitive gameplay.
REANIMAL is a triumph. It takes the formula Tarsier perfected and injects it with adrenaline, vehicle combat, and a darker, grittier aesthetic. The cooperative mechanics are engaging, the world is terrifyingly realized, and the creature designs will fuel nightmares for weeks. While the ending feels like a sudden slap in the face, the quality of the ride leading up to it is undeniable. If you have a friend and a strong stomach, this is an essential play. Just don't trust the sheep.