Tarsier Studios made a grand return to Tokyo Game Show with Reanimal, a project that immediately carried the weight of expectation. Known for Little Nightmares and Little Nightmares II, the Swedish team has shifted to a new IP that once again places children in peril, this time in a co‑operative horror adventure. The playable demo offered a tense glimpse of what awaits when the game launches in early 2026 across all platforms.
The hands‑on began on a desolate beach, the siblings edging inland toward a locked door. Progress wasn’t straightforward: the sand was scattered with washed‑up suitcases, and one of them held the key needed to move forward. That small discovery set the tone – survival here meant scavenging, searching, and staying alert while monsters prowled nearby. The TGS setting meant the background noise pretty much drowned out the eerie vibe at times, the pods were a bit lower than ideal, and the glare from lights shining on monitors were difficult to overcome, yet the game draws you in so much that all it did was heighten concentration levels to avoid missing out on the goodness on offer.
The path beyond the door introduced heavier puzzles. A broken cart blocked the way, and the children had to scour the environment for missing wheels before they could push it into place. All the while, grotesque animal‑like creatures patrolled the area, forcing constant sprints into cover and tense waits in the shadows. The most striking moments came when the siblings had to split up, one distracting a beast or holding a mechanism while the other slipped through a gap to prise open the next route. The shared camera never let either child out of sight, amplifying the tension of separation. Even when one was briefly off‑screen, the framing made it clear that both lives were always in jeopardy. The result was a rhythm of breathless escapes punctuated by fragile cooperation, every small success feeling hard‑won.
The shoreline itself felt hostile, littered with remnants of cages and nets, as though others had tried and failed to escape. Waves crashed against the rocks, but the soundscape was muted, as though the world itself was holding its breath. The siblings whispered to one another in fragments, their dialogue sparse but loaded with fear. The monsters were grotesque exaggerations of familiar animals, recognisable enough to trigger instinctive dread yet distorted enough to feel alien.
That tone was unmistakably Tarsier’s: oppressive, eerie, and yet threaded with moments of fragile hope. Where Little Nightmares leaned into surreal dream logic, Reanimal felt more grounded in trauma and memory. The children’s designs hinted at scars from their past, and the world seemed to echo those wounds. That sense of continuity is no accident. Tarsier’s heritage runs through every frame. From the handcrafted whimsy of its LittleBigPlanet contributions to the oppressive dread of Little Nightmares, the studio has always explored the tension between innocence and menace. Little Nightmares, in particular, established a visual language of oversized threats and fragile protagonists, and Reanimal carries that DNA forward. However, the new project also signals a deliberate evolution. The co‑operative structure and puzzle‑driven progression show Tarsier pushing beyond its past, layering companionship and broader traversal into the formula.
The shift is also shaped by circumstance. After its acquisition by Embracer Group, and with Bandai Namco retaining the Little Nightmares IP, Tarsier needed to forge a new identity. Reanimal is the first major project fully under its own ownership, giving the team freedom to evolve its themes without being tied to an existing franchise. The result feels like both a continuation and a reinvention: familiar in its oppressive mood, but bolder in scope and ambition.
Away from the demo, the studio has shared a clearer picture of what lies ahead. Reanimal is being built in Unreal Engine 5 and published by THQ Nordic, with release set for Q1 2026 across Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series XS, and PC. The adventure will support both solo play and two‑player co‑op, whether online or on the same screen. Exploration is set to widen over time, with a boat eventually opening routes to off‑path islands. Tarsier has pointed to inspirations as varied as It Takes Two, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and Silent Hill 2, signalling a blend of companionship, discovery, and psychological unease that extends well beyond the shoreline shown at TGS.
