It’s been nearly four years since Tarsier Studios waved goodbye to Little Nightmares after being snapped up by Embracer Group, giving developer Supermassive a crack at the much-loved Bandai-Namco-owned horror series. So what’s Tarsier been doing since then? Well, it turns out the studio hasn’t quite shaken off its fascination with spooky kids in scary places, as one look at its latest project, the newly unveiled Reanimal, makes clear.
Reanimal’s gloomy nightmare-fairytale aesthetic, its gangly-limbed monsters, and its two young protagonists – all evident in its trailer – are unquestionably reminiscent of Tarsier’s Little Nightmares series. And while that’s certainly no bad thing given the studio’s oft-brilliant work on those games, it’s not entirely clear after a half-hour press briefing, just how substantial a departure – beyond two key features – Reanimal will be from what’s come before.
Reanimal tells the story of an orphaned brother and sister trapped in hellish version of the island that used to be their home, as they embark on a quest to rescue their three friends. It’s a violent world of gloomy forests and decimated buildings, where empty bags of skins hang from trees and hidden, animalistic creatures roam. It’s also one that’s aiming for a “darker and grittier” tone compared to Tarsier’s previous horror games.
Exactly why our two protagonists have found themselves in a twisted version of their home is a mystery core to Renanimal’s story – Tarsier teases the look of its monsters, and the design of its protagonists, is all tied to the children’s past. And it’s a tale that’ll unfold using a minimalist, “restrained” narrative approach, where – as with Tarsier’s earlier work – visual storytelling remains the focus, albeit now accompanied by a smattering of voice acting.
That, though, isn’t the big new addition to Tarsier’s horror formula. Instead, that honor goes to local and online co-op play – a feature that managed to allude Little Nightmares despite its dual protagonists seeming like a natural fit, but one the studio is finally ready to deliver in its latest game. Working on the basis “horror is best with friends”, Reanimal lets two players explore its world at the same time, both viewing the action through a shared camera that keeps them together in the same frame, even as it shifts from one cinematic perspective to the next. And for only players, it’s possible to play with AI controlling character number two.
And beyond that, about all Tarsier is willing to say right now is that Reanimal’s on-foot gameplay will be augmented by boat traversal – enabling players to sail between the fragmented islands that make up its world. It’ll apparently even be possible to move away from its main narrative path to explore smaller areas in a non-linear fashion if they choose.
Little Nightmares 1 & 2 were, of course, both gloriously sinister slices of woozy fairytale horror, so more of the same would hardly be a chore. There are, though, early hints that Reanimal might offer something a little more ambitious than a quiet evolution of a familiar formula, so hopefully we’ll start to get a better sense of its identity once Tarsier is ready to reveal more.
There’s no word of a release date for Reanimal just yet, but when it does show up, it’ll be available on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC.
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