REANIMAL, the new title from the studio behind Little Nightmares, excels in its diverse camera angles and direction [TGS2025]
Note: the original Japanese article can be found at:
https://www.4gamer.net/games/830/G083028/20250928002/
Editorial Department: Hayashi Yosuke | 2025/09/27 16:43 (UTC)
At the Happy Entertainment booth during Tokyo Game Show 2025, “REANIMAL” developed by Tarsier Studios is available for playable demo (available on PC / PS5 / Xbox Series X|S).
Tarsier Studios is best known for creating “Little Nightmares” and “Little Nightmares 2.” Their latest title, “REANIMAL,” carries on the atmospheric tone of that series while introducing new gameplay elements as a fresh action game. Here’s our hands-on report.
The protagonists are two orphaned siblings whose goal is to rescue a missing friend and escape from their home island. The older brother wears a cloth wrapped around his head, reminiscent of the protagonist in “Little Nightmares,” while the younger sister wears a mask with rabbit-like ears.
“REANIMAL” supports both single-player and cooperative two-player gameplay. In the single-player mode, you primarily control the older brother and occasionally call upon his sister to assist. This creates a playstyle reminiscent of “ICO.” In multiplayer mode, each player takes on one of the siblings.
One standout feature is its dynamic camera angles. While “Little Nightmares” was categorized as a 2.5D game—offering depth but primarily side-scrolling action—“REANIMAL” features cameras that move dynamically based on the area: characters may travel toward or away from the screen, and players can walk around in an overhead perspective.
Although you cannot manually rotate the camera yourself, this approach significantly alters the gameplay experience.
This time, we played the single-player version. We began on a sandy shore and progressed through an underground-like passage, eventually reaching a large corridor with a powerful fan spinning at the far end. The fan stops when you press a nearby switch, but it resumes after a short delay—so you must quickly dash toward the back of the screen.
We successfully passed through the gap between the fan blades—but surprisingly, our younger sister was left behind in front. Since we couldn’t directly command her to activate switches from afar, we felt some panic. But eventually, we found another switch on the far side and managed to reunite with her safely. Moments like this clearly feel more intense when viewed through depth rather than just horizontal space.
Next came an area with multiple interconnected passages and a large central pipe rotating in the middle. The camera pulls back further than usual, giving a wider view that helped us recognize how the paths connect. We realized stopping the rotation of this central pipe might open a route to the next area.
We could stop it by pressing a switch—but once we released our finger, it started spinning again immediately. So we called upon our sister and had her press the switch while I moved toward the back of the screen. After setting up a plank in the front passage, she joined me for a safe reunion.
The final area featured tracks for a trolley, but the trolley itself had its wheels removed and couldn’t move. Inside a nearby shed, we discovered a long warehouse-like room with the missing wheels placed at the far end.
The atmosphere in that area felt extremely ominous, as if something was about to appear—but we had no choice but to proceed. As soon as we picked up the wheel, monsters began crawling out from shelves on both sides of the warehouse. Anticipating this, we immediately dashed toward the front of the screen to escape. Though worried about our sister, she seemed to be keeping pace with me—so I focused solely on my character and managed to get us safely out of the shed.
After attaching the wheel to the trolley, the siblings happily rode together along the tracks—marking the end of our demo. Although brief, this experience offered a satisfying mix of puzzle-solving and action-packed sequences. We were left wondering: if both players had dashed at once from the very first fan area, would they have cleared it in one smooth move? That kind of coordination makes cooperative play especially intriguing.