How The Atmospheric Dread In Reanimal Puts AAA Games To Shame

I still remember the day I played Little Nightmares for the first time. I actually stumbled upon it while looking for local co-op games to play, not knowing just how lasting of an impression it would end up leaving on me. The way it transforms a side-scrolling game design into a masterclass of uneasiness and excitement is no less than a feat, that’s for sure. And now, the same developers have come up with something equally unsettling: Reanimal.

When I first saw the reveal trailer for Reanimal, I was of course excited for more Little Nightmares-esque nightmares, but I also thought to myself “Will this new 3D approach capture that same disturbing feeling?” Needless to say, my concerns were very illfounded. It’s definitely a new territory for Tarsier Studios, but it has done such an exceptional job, you’ll feel right at home (well, a creepy haunted home that is). So go ahead, grab a Reanimal CD key, and prepare to feel something inexplicable crawl up your skin.

A Grounded And Ominous Approach To Horror

What set Little Nightmares apart from general horror games is that it never tried to outright scare you. Instead, it slowly transformed the surroundings into a beautifully haunting landscape that felt like its all around you. The world would go silent and ominously empty, signs of something creeping about would be apparent, and the immaculate audio design painted a pretty vivid picture. With all this, an unspeakable terror would naturally form, which, if you ask me, is way more enchanting than a grotesque monster jumping in front you from time to time.

And now, Reanimal exactly replicates all this in a much more realistic-feeling 3D environment. The setting of an abandoned island is pretty fitting for an atmospheric horror game. The surroundings creep up on you just as effectively here, except the horror phenomenon is even more pronouned than Little Nightmares now. With vast, picteresque levels and purposely vague hints of despair in a more grounded world, the 3D setting actually ramps up that uncomfortable sense of dread a lot quicker. In the side-scrolling Little Nightmares, you were interacting with a painting on a canvas. In Reanimal, you’re now standing inside that painted world.

Reanimal is everything I hoped LN3 would be and more
byu/Cyberhawk_1987 inReanimalGame

As much as I’m gushing over Reanimal because the Little Nightmares fan in me is a little too excited, I actually do have a complaint with Tarsier Studios latest project. Little Nightmares was indeed a masterful work of atmospheric horror, but it also combined it with a pretty complex and exciting gameplay loop. While Reanimal shows it up when it comes to that iconic sense of uneasiness, the puzzle design and mechanics here don’t really feel that much innovative or challenging. Well, you can’t have everything I suppose.

The Co-Op Experience In Reanimal Is Just As Good

If after all this you think Reanimal is awesome, wait till you play it in local co-op. Reanimal can be played with a friend in both local and online multiplayer settings, but the couch co-op experience is especially riveting. Generally, you’d think playing a horror game with someone by your side would be a sigh of relief, but Reanimal’s design philosophy says think again.

Just Finished REANIMAL in Co-op with my best friend!
byu/Philbliss inReanimalGame

Even in local co-op, the personal sense of dread is not diminished one bit. Since the game design isn’t reliant on jumpscares or blatantly scary visuals, the second person can’t really help alleviate your fears. Especially since they’ll be busy getting creeped out themselves. Unlike modern 3D local co-op games, your screen isn’t splitting like It Takes Two here. Instead, both players land in a single coherent world, and the slowly amping up sense of dread equally affects both.

All in all, Tarsier Studios has really crafted something magically creepy here. Reanimal is a step in the right direction for atmospheric horror games, and above all, it’s an upscale for the indie games industry as a whole. It has its flaws, yes, but this is an indie atmospheric horror that deserves to be studied and replicated. Here’s to more creative indie gems.