"Reanimal" tested: top atmosphere, flop gameplay

Kevin Hofer

11.2.2026

Translation: machine translated

Tarsier Studios, the creators of the first two "Little Nightmares" instalments, are back - and deliver more of the same with "Reanimal". The tried and tested recipe is garnished with a pinch of co-op mode. Unfortunately, the gameplay falls by the wayside.

Slowly, I drive my motorboat through the corridors of a flooded, bombed-out building. It is dark. I can only make out shadowy outlines. Suddenly, a flash of lightning illuminates the scene. Has something just moved? I drive on cautiously. Then a grotesque figure suddenly appears in front of me, looking like a bloated corpse. It takes a swig from a bottle and glides silently into the water. The sound makes me shudder. Quickly get out of here.

I push through a gate and drive into a large hall. The camera zooms out and reveals a view of even more of these figures. They all get into the water. I fire up the turbo on my boat. Fast, fast, fast. In the distance, I spot another gate between two sea mines - the way to my freedom? I break through, only to hear an explosion a fraction of a second later. Water obscures my view and then flows down my virtual lens. It's done. The creatures have transported themselves to nirvana.

«Reanimal» has atmosphere. Otherwise, the new game from Tarsier Studios - the creators of the first two parts of «Little Nightmares» - offers more «Little Nightmares» than anything else. That's not a bad thing in principle. However, you should not expect any further development in terms of gameplay - and the controls, which are not beyond reproach, also remain the same. I was also frustrated by the poor performance on the PC.

Convoluted story

«Reanimal» is a co-op horror game. I take on the role of an orphaned sibling, either the boy or the girl. As in «Little Nightmares», the siblings wear masks. They are searching for their three friends. They want to use them to escape the horror of a war-torn world in which they are being hunted. I don't find out exactly what has happened.

As in «Little Nightmares», the story is mostly told with images rather than words. However, (little) spoken text is added. It matches the action and the English voiceover is convincing. For example, one of the first friends warns the siblings that they shouldn't have come back. Why? I have no idea. At least at the beginning.

Like so many horror stories, the story raises more questions than it answers. You have to piece it together from scraps. If you're into the disturbing, you'll appreciate it. I like it, but not everyone will.

In contrast to «Little Nightmares», this time the story doesn't take place in another dimension, but in the reality of the children in the game. This reinforces the oppressive atmosphere that the game creates. Another difference: the depiction of violence is more explicit and raw in the new instalment, which is not for the faint-hearted.

Genius production

«Reanimal» is a true masterpiece of cinematography. The beach at the beginning is shown from a distance, emphasising the size and desolation of the place. When my sister and I jump into a tunnel, the camera follows behind and I see nothing but them in the faint glow of their small lights. As we try to sneak past an enemy, the bright headlights of a car emphasise its silhouette. It looms oppressively over us as we try to escape through the darkness.

«Reanimal» creates an oppressive atmosphere with intelligent camera angles and lighting. The film-like camera work is made possible by the fact that the team at Tarsier uses 3D instead of 2.5D as in «Little Nightmares».

The presentation of «Reanimal» is also brilliant in other respects. The set pieces are all simply brilliant and varied. In the first half hour of the game, I move from the sea to a deserted beach, a disused factory, a public toilet, a mine and a train cemetery. The interplay between light and shadow is particularly impressive and creates an oppressive atmosphere.

In addition, the sound design is superb. The grunting of the enemies, my footsteps on a metal platform or the cracking of the film reel in the cinema - everything creates a dense ambience. The music is always restrained, but its constant presence immerses me deeply in the action.

When it comes to the design of the characters and antagonists, I recognise the signature style of Tarsier Studios. Personally, the first antagonist, simply called «snoop», comes too close to the designs of «Little Nightmares». Later antagonists break with the design language somewhat, but still have a lot in common.

Weak gameplay

Although «Reanimal» is designed as a co-op game, it can also be played alone. The computer takes control of the girl. Unfortunately, I played through the story alone first. Unfortunately, because the little gameplay that is available is destroyed.

«Reanimal» does not focus on the game mechanics. Compared to «Little Nightmares», I now also control vehicles such as the boat. I can also run, jump and interact with objects. That's it. Although the latter point would open up many possibilities, in the game it is limited to things like finding and picking up keys or operating levers.

At least my team-mate Kim and I have to think a bit more about what the game wants from us in co-op. For example, I carry a crank and he has to open the door for me. In single player, the computer takes care of this and I don't have to coordinate with anyone. This is particularly annoying in escape scenes. If I have to run away from overpowered enemies, she simply runs ahead and shows me the right way out of trouble. But basically I always know what to do and how to do it.

The meagre gameplay is also limited by the fact that we can't move far apart. The game can not only be played online in co-op, but also at home on the couch. I think that's cool, but the developers have deliberately dispensed with a split screen. They want us to experience the horror together and not be separated in the game. Unfortunately, this means that many creative gameplay possibilities are lost. «Split Fiction», for example, wouldn't be half as good if the main characters didn't have to separate from time to time.

Long story short: The developers wanted to please everyone with co-op and single-player, but in doing so, they wasted a lot of gameplay potential. Regardless of this, the gameplay remains too unimaginative.

Haky controls and stutters

The weaknesses continue in the implementation. As I don't control the camera myself, apart from the boat sequences, I sometimes find it difficult to control my movements precisely. In addition, the controls are sluggish and sometimes imprecise. At one point, when my sister and I are tied together, I fall to my death several times, even though this shouldn't happen. I also ran into an invisible wall more than once.

As if that wasn't enough, I have to contend with some glaring performance drops. Especially with wide camera settings, the frame rate plummets: both with my gaming PC with Ryzen 7 9800X3D and Radeon RX 7900 XTX and on my Steam Deck. Since my colleague Kim has no problems during the co-op session, I suspect that the game has not yet been optimised for Linux. My two test systems are running it. I hope that it will be optimised for Linux users.

«Reanimal» will be released on 13 February 2026 for PS5, Switch 2, Xbox Series, PC. The game was provided to me by the publisher for testing purposes.

Kevin Hofer

Senior Editor

kevin.hofer@digitecgalaxus.ch

From big data to big brother, Cyborgs to Sci-Fi. All aspects of technology and society fascinate me.

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