Reanimal is the nightmarish lovechild of Resident Evil and Animal Farm

Released in 2017, Little Nightmares from Tarsier Studios quickly became one of my favourite horror games of all time. Out of the many horror games that I’ve played, very few have given me the feeling of dread that the location of The Maw had.

Horrific monsters, fun puzzles, a vague but unnerving story, Little Nightmares has all the ingredients you could ever want for a horror title and that was arguably taken to a new level with its 2021 sequel. To this day, I haven't experienced a monster that made me poop myself quite like The Teacher in Little Nightmares II.

Check out the Reanimal trailer below!

Now, Tarsier Studios has moved away from publisher Bandai Namco with Little Nightmares III being developed by Supermassive Games, to announce its new horror title at Gamescom Opening Night Live, Reanimal. If you thought the studio's previous work was nightmarish, wait until you get a look at this game.

After watching its gameplay reveal, I have a feeling that Reanimal powered by Unreal Engine 5 could be the scariest and most disturbing game yet from the studio. During a developer Q&A after a hands-off preview, while David Mervik and Andreas Johnsson had no negativity towards Bandai Namco, it’s clear that they’ve been blessed with more creative freedom under the THQ Nordic umbrella.

“Reanimal is a fantastical horror adventure game where you explore a fragmented island by boat and on land, hiding & sneaking and using your wits to survive,” reads the description of the game. “Only by working together can you escape the dangers of the hellish island, and the dark secret haunting your steps.”

Reanimal takes inspiration from the critically acclaimed co-op adventure from Hazelight Studios, It Takes Two. Obviously not from a family-friendly perspective, but sharing an experience with a friend. The developers want to replicate the feeling of watching a horror movie with a friend on the sofa, which is probably an experience few and far between nowadays. Reanimal can also be played online.

The developers explained two co-op players will explore Reanimal’s world from start to finish without wandering off from each other. You will always be in the same location with the dynamic camera zooming in and out as it needs to. When the devs mentioned that Reanimal will be a co-op game, suddenly I had flashbacks of the very disappointing Dead Space 3 which had taken away all of its tension, but co-op is looking not to be a problem for the new game from Tarsier Studios.

You can play Reanimal on your lonesome if you wish with the secondary character being AI-controlled, which might increase the tension of the game, despite the developers insuring us that playing co-op will lose none of its horror factor. I’m at my most scared when playing in the dark on my own. I guess we’ll soon find out which is the best way to play Reanimal. The delightfully grotesque horror will also feature gameplay segments on a boat at sea. So if you had a fear of the deep, then you might have more than a few little nightmares to contend with.

Reanimal doesn't have a release date at the time of writing, but it will launch on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.