Tarsier Studios’ latest indie game, REANIMAL, is now on Steam, with a full release scheduled for February 13, 2026.
NOTE: These impressions are based on the Steam demo and reflect my personal experience.
Used under fair use for commentary and educational purposes.
Despite its short length, the demo showcases an incredibly atmospheric and compelling world. It successfully channels the creepy vibes of the Little Nightmares series while carving out its own unique story.
A notable departure from previous titles is that the two protagonists actually communicate with each other through dialogue, breaking away from the silent storytelling of earlier games.
The game features solid voice acting in multiple supported languages. What really stood out to me was the overall atmosphere it strongly reminded me of INSIDE, a game that occupies a similar space in the genre.
On the game’s story:(Personal interpretation based on available materials)
The game begins with the player controlling a mysterious pair of siblings: a boy wearing a burlap sack over his head and a girl adorned with a white rabbit-eared mask, as they arrive on an island shattered into three fragments.
Their goal is clear and urgent:
to find and rescue three missing childhood friends Bucket Head, Bandage Boy, and Hooded Kid.
Once an ordinary town, the island now lies in ruins, overrun by grotesque creatures and haunted by eerie remnants of everyday life scattered toys, an abandoned cinema, rusted suitcases and spaces that defy logic and physics.
Presented in a 2.5D side-scrolling perspective, the game supports both two-player co-op and single-player mode with an AI companion, advancing the narrative through environmental puzzles and stealth-based gameplay.
As the siblings journey deeper through beaches, sewers, factories, and other decaying zones,they gradually uncover traces left behind by their friends and confront the terrifying “entities” that stand in their way.
On the surface, this appears to be a classic rescue mission, steeped in tension and atmospheric dread a hallmark of Tarsier Studios’ signature dark fairy-tale aesthetic.
Yet beneath this straightforward premise likely lies something far more symbolic: a metaphor for trauma, memory, or loss, waiting to be unraveled.
Gameplay:
The controls are simple and easy to pick up. At its core, the gameplay revolves around environmental puzzles, hunting for key items, and narrowly escaping whatever’s chasing you.
I’m really drawn to the art style and overall mood exactly the kind of indie game I love.
While the two protagonists do exchange a few lines of dialogue here and there, they mostly stay silent, which really helps you sink into the story without distraction.
Demo Version Quick Guide:
The game starts with you looking up from what seems like the bottom of a well—dark figures hover above the opening.
You take control of the sack-headed boy as he drifts across the water, following buoys, and soon rescues a masked little girl. She seems like his sister.
After sailing through a narrow canyon, you arrive at a crumbling castle-like house but all the doors are locked. To proceed, head to the beach and search the scattered crates for a key.
The beach is scattered with crates, but in my two playthroughs of the demo, I found the key in the same one each time,so I suspect the items are not randomized, but placed in fixed locations.
Use the key to enter the building, climb down the ladder, and immediately drop into a massive sewer pipe.
Follow the sewer to its end and you’ll reach a junction with a massive fan. You’ll need to shut the fan off to proceed.
Keep in mind that once turned off, the fan will start a countdown before restarting so hurry through! If your sister gets left behind, don’t worry,there’s another switch on the far side of the fan that can stop it again.
After bypassing the fan, the two work together to lift the hatch leading down to the lower waterway and jump in.
The waterway is pitch black,light your handheld lighter to illuminate the path ahead. Strange noises echo from up ahead,follow them and climb the ladder.
Some areas are too high to reach alone, requiring the two characters to cooperate and climb together.
After ascending a ladder to the second floor, they encounter a child wearing a pointed hat who speaks a few lines before vanishing into the darkness.
Continue upward to a cylindrical, drum-like room. First, head to the office on the left to activate the drum mechanism, then work together to get both characters through.
After a short walk, you finally emerge from the sewer and reach a large gate. A railway track runs through the area, with a broken-down cart sitting on the rails but it’s missing two wheels.
After grabbing the second wheel, quickly run out of the room — those skin-like creatures will chase you relentlessly.It’s tense and thrilling!
You’ll find the first wheel right next to the cart,install it immediately. Then head to the restroom on the right to grab a key. Return to the cart, use the key to unlock the door on its left side, and retrieve the second wheel inside. Once both wheels are attached, hop onto the cart and ride it along the tracks.
The cart carries you along the tracks to an abandoned station, where you spot the pointed-hat child again. You follow him as he leaps into a railcar.
The scene inside is unsettling row after row of seats filled with hollow, skin-like figures, empty of flesh, just draped in silence.
You hop into the next railcar just as a car screeches to a stop nearby.
Immediately after, a tall, unnaturally thin creature climbs aboard.
You and your sister quickly duck into the corner behind the seats when suddenly, the pointed-hat kid leaps out the window, drawing the creature’s attention.
It bolts after him, yanking the railcar door open as it leaves.
You seize the chance to slip out through the open door, dodging the creature’s pursuit as you sprint into the next railcar and head straight for the locomotive cab to start the train.
But just moments after it lurches forward, something slams into it hard bringing it to an abrupt halt.
Right then, the creature comes charging back. You and your sister bolt from the car, and the pointed-hat kid who’d been hiding under the seats this whole time—joins you in the escape.
All three of you scramble up into a higher railcar just in time.
DEMO END.
Note:Everything is subject to the official game’s final design this is based solely on the demo content.
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