Co-op and multiplayer horror Stealth horror Psychological horror

REANIMAL

Rate it

A brother and sister cross a drowned island of monsters to bring their friends home.

Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
Stores: Steam, Epic, GOG
Price: Paid
Rated: Mostly Positive on Steam (75% of 26,213 reviews); Metacritic 80 on PC and PS5, 83 on Xbox and Switch 2; 4.28/5 from 17K ratings on PlayStation
Length: about 4 hours
Players: 1-2
Made by: Tarsier Studios
Released: 2026

On GOG: one of the GOG horror games.

No. 28 of the boat and ship horror games · No. 17 of the lighthouse horror games

Get it on Steam Epic Games Store PlayStation Store Xbox Nintendo eShop (Switch 2)Official site GOG

What frightens Two orphaned children cross the flooded, war-torn island they once called home to rescue their missing friends. Giant, twisted creatures shaped from the children's past stalk them through fog, ruins and dark interiors, and the two must sneak, run and solve their way past them, with a close, directed camera that keeps the dark pressing in.
Content: violence, blood and gore, partial nudity, depictions of suicide, frightening scenes.

REANIMAL is a third-person horror adventure from Tarsier Studios, the team behind Little Nightmares and Little Nightmares II. You play a brother and sister crossing a flooded, monster-filled island by boat and on foot to rescue their missing friends, alone or with a second player in local or online co-op. The fear comes from huge, misshapen creatures, a tight cinematic camera and the dark secret the two children carry.

About REANIMAL

REANIMAL is a horror adventure by Tarsier Studios, the original makers of Little Nightmares and Little Nightmares II, published by THQ Nordic with Amplifier Studios. It came out on 13 February 2026 on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2.

You play two orphans, a brother and a sister, who return to the island they used to call home to rescue their missing friends. The island has been flooded and ruined, and the creatures that roam it are twisted, oversized things whose designs, the studio says, come from fragments of the children's troubled past. You row a small boat between locations and explore on land, and the main path is only part of the story: side places off the route hold their own fragments of what happened here.

Play mixes cinematic platforming, environmental puzzles and stealth. You sneak past monsters, run when they spot you, fight back when the game allows it, and work together to open the way forward. Player one is the brother and player two the sister; alone, the computer controls the other child. The whole game can be played alone with a computer partner or with a friend in local or online co-op, and a shared, directed camera frames the two children small against the dark, which keeps scenes tight and claustrophobic.

It will feel familiar to anyone who played Little Nightmares, but it is darker in tone, with mature content the store warns about, and it is built around two players from the start. It suits players who like slow, atmospheric horror with puzzles and chases more than combat, and pairs who want a scary game to play together.

Only one copy is needed for online co-op: the free REANIMAL: Friend's Pass lets a friend join someone who owns the game, across platforms. Along the way you can collect posters that unlock concept art, hats and masks for the children, and coffins that open up a secret ending. The Prisoner, the first of three planned DLCs, came out on 7 August 2026 and adds two new characters, the Soldier and the Prisoner.

The main story takes about four hours. Steam reviews are Mostly Positive, and Metacritic scores run from 80 on PC and PS5 to 83 on Xbox and Switch 2.

How to play REANIMAL

Buy REANIMAL on Steam or the Epic Games Store for PC, or on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S or Nintendo Switch 2.
Start alone with a computer partner, or invite a friend for local or online co-op.
Explore the island by boat and on foot, looking for the way forward and for side locations.
Solve the environmental puzzles that block the path, often by working together.
Watch the monsters, stay out of their sight and run when you are seen.

Screenshots

A girl in a white dress holding a lantern runs with a boy in a sack mask down a foggy alley as a huge hunched creature follows behind

The two children crouch behind a broken crate on a wooden floor while a giant creature with long limbs lies in the dark beside them

The brother and sister stand at a barred round grate between pipes, with a figure in a pointed hat behind the bars

A small rowing boat on still grey water before tall, crooked wooden buildings in the fog

The two children in a small lit boat on dark water beneath the huge silhouette of a wrecked warship

The children sit in a lit bus shelter at night in heavy rain beside a telephone pole

A tall figure stands under a pink neon cinema sign on a foggy street of wrecked cars while small figures crouch by a car

Tips

Play with a friend if you can: the game was designed around two players and a shared camera.
Take time to row to places off the main route; they hold extra pieces of the story.
When a creature appears, look for cover and the route out before you move.
If you play alone, keep an eye on your computer partner; puzzles often need both children in the right place.

Questions

Is REANIMAL made by the Little Nightmares developers?

Yes. It is made by Tarsier Studios, who made Little Nightmares and Little Nightmares II, and is published by THQ Nordic.

Can you play REANIMAL in co-op?

Yes. It is fully playable alone or in two-player local and online co-op, with cross-platform multiplayer listed on Steam.

What platforms is REANIMAL on?

PC (Steam and Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2. Steam lists Windows only, not Mac or Linux.

Is REANIMAL suitable for younger players?

The store page warns of violence and gore, nudity, depictions of suicide, frightening scenes and psychological horror, and Steam marks it 18+.

How long is REANIMAL?

The main story takes about four hours, going by HowLongToBeat-based figures and reviews; finding the collectibles and the secret ending takes longer.

Does my friend need to buy REANIMAL to play co-op?

No. The free REANIMAL: Friend's Pass lets a friend join online play with someone who owns the game, with crossplay. On PlayStation, online play needs PS Plus.

Is there DLC for REANIMAL?

Yes. The Prisoner came out on 7 August 2026 as the first of three planned DLCs, with two new characters, the Soldier and the Prisoner.