Tarsier has always managed to combine the absurd and the innocent, full of grotesque and disgusting body horror. And with Reanimal, the studio proves that the experience of working on both Little Nightmares has not been forgotten.
The plot of Reanimal tells the story of a boy and a girl who are trying to find friends to escape from a creepy island teeming with monsters. It's both scary and funny how these things coincide — considering one of the most discussed events in the USA today. Of course, in the process of their attempts to escape, details of the horrific events taking place on the island will be revealed, as well as many frightening secrets of the group of kids themselves.
Tarsier has perfectly mastered visual storytelling. Much in the world of Reanimal becomes clear without unnecessary explanations from the characters, who sometimes even engage in short dialogues with each other. Other things are left to the player's interpretation.
Speaking of dialogues. It felt like Tarsier was simply experimenting with them and didn't particularly want the characters to speak at all, because throughout the entire game, the characters have only a few short lines that don't affect anything.
And in general, the whole of Reanimal feels like some kind of experiment for Tarsier, a timid attempt to step outside the usual comfort zone.
Before getting off the island, our glorious duo must first find friends. They sail by boat from one location to another, rescuing comrades from the clutches of monsters, while solving simple puzzles that are more about observation than straining your gray matter.
The structure of the levels is also quite straightforward, but attempts to deviate from the obvious route are often rewarded with secrets in the form of masks for the duo of protagonists, posters, coffins (you need to find five for a secret ending), and mysterious statues of hares.
Reanimal gives players huge spaces for exploration, compared to previous Tarsier games. However, the number of secrets is too small for such level sizes. On the other hand, the island's attractions look truly stunning and frightening at the same time, so even aimless walks are not always disappointing.
What you can't take away from Tarsier is the ability to create truly terrifying scenery that immerses you in an oppressive atmosphere of despair, sadness, and hopelessness. Here we have empty streets, where some kind of distorted monster with a stylish fedora on its ugly head wanders. Here is a children's shelter, through the corridors of which children molded from ash run. And at this level, a military hospital where insane wounded soldiers are trying to blow themselves up along with the heroes.
Another problem with Reanimal, in addition to empty locations, is strange confrontations with opponents. Often death will occur because you either came out of cover too quickly, or, conversely, stayed in it for too long. It is clear that this is not a Ubisoft project with a huge number of markers indicating what and when to do, but at least some hints, if not from the environment, then at least from the bosses themselves, would not hurt.
Reanimal has both local and online co-op, allowing you to explore the island and rescue the kids with a friend. However, there are no puzzles in the game that require teamwork and effort to solve. Even Little Nightmares 3 took a more serious approach to the issue of cooperative adventure.
Verdict
Tarsier games have a unique atmosphere. Reanimal is no exception.
This is a frightening project that is not afraid to touch on truly disturbing topics and scare the person in front of the screen. But the courage of the screenwriters did not extend to the game designers. Large, but almost empty locations, a "for show" co-op, and simple puzzles can be disappointing.
However, if you are a fan of scary stories from Tarsier Studios, these problems will not prevent you from enjoying a short but excitingly frightening adventure.