REANIMAL

Reanimal is an excellent multiplayer experience that takes place in a world full of dread, with a tense and creepy atmosphere that follows you everywhere you go, and enjoyable puzzles that are fun to overcome.

REANIMAL on Nintendo Switch 2 marks a striking reinvention for Tarsier Studios, taking the studio’s talent for intimate horror and expanding it into a richer, more confident adventure. Tight controls, a smartly reactive camera and impressive AI make every escape and puzzle feel fair, while the island’s layered design blends openness with subtle guidance to create a world that rewards curiosity without losing momentum. It’s a bold step beyond the Little Nightmares formula and a clear statement of what Tarsier can achieve on its own terms.

REANIMAL is a puzzle-platformer that does a very solid job at creating a horror themed experience with strong emphasis on subtle psychological fears. Its simple but very efficient story-telling, the somber art style and soundscape, as well as slick cooperation mechcanics between the two protagonists bring shape to a memorable introspective game, which could stand out more if its lifespan was longer and it had taken more risks with the challenges posed by its puzzles.

Whether you’re playing with a friend or by yourself, I think this is Tarsier Studios’ best game so far. Putting a few small issues aside, I thoroughly enjoyed REANIMAL from beginning to end. I just wish the whole experience was longer, as I found myself wanting to spend more time exploring its grotesque world and discovering new secrets.

Reanimal is an ominous, tense adventure that puts you in unsettling situations and leaves you to draw your own conclusions about what’s going on. So much so that it almost feels like the end is only the beginning of analyzing what’s happened here. While short, there are some interesting puzzles and encounters, the pacing is good, the NPC intelligence in single-player is competent, and there’s some great character and environmental design elements at play. A few bugs that will likely be patched out in a few weeks aside, it’s a great horror game.