It was, for a few days, difficult for me to figure out exactly why my time with Reanimal was so exciting. When it was first announced by Tarsier Studios, the team behind Little Nightmares 1 and 2, I thought it was striking how much it resembled the team’s prior series–one which had since been handed to Supermassive. I played both Supermassive’s Little Nightmares 3 and Tarsier’s Reanimal in the same week, and though my time with Reanimal was limited to a demo of about 20 minutes, I came away much more impressed by it than I was by Little Nightmares 3.
As I wrote in my Little Nightmares 3 review, I liked the game. It’s good; it looks gorgeous like the others, and as the first in the series to offer co-op, it offers a welcome change of pace from what was otherwise a very familiar experience. But I was floored by Reanimal’s demo, which is now available publicly during the latest iteration of Steam Next Fest.
For a few days, I’ve been wrestling with why Reanimal is so much more immersive and affecting. They both have excellent, full-bodied audio design that toys with creaks, echoes, and unsettling stillness expertly. Generally, their puzzle designs are similar too, with both offering optional co-op (or an AI ally) as players work together to survive a hostile land of monsters that come in various shapes and sizes.
