Pre-play the latest horror ADV “REANIMAL” from the developer of “Little Nightmares”. A story of brother and sister in a world where even the moonlight is eerie [gamescom]

At the THQ Nordic booth at gamescom 2024, a playable demo of the new horror ADV “REANIMAL” (PC / PS5 / Xbox Series So let me introduce it.

``REANIMAL'' is the first title produced by Tarsier Studios, known for ``Little Nightmares'' and ``Little Nightmares 2,'' since becoming part of THQ Nordic. The visuals have something of a ``Little Nightmares'' feel to them, and the moonlit world, which seems to have been drawn using every shade of gray, has a uniquely creepy feel to it.

Since "Tearaway PlayStation 4", which was jointly developed with Media Molecule, Tarsier Studios has pursued a visual sense specializing in "small beings in a big world", and this is a title in which they own the IP. It seems that there is a considerable amount of passion poured into this work.




Since it is an adventure game that places emphasis on the story and worldview, there are still many secrets, but Mr. Andreas Johnson, one of the founding members of Tarsier Studios and in charge of business development, and the narrative designer. According to David Mervik

, the setting of this work is ``an island that was born when the earth was torn apart by some kind of disaster.''
In a world hit by such a critical disaster, players will take on the role of a brother and sister who escaped from an orphanage, and will travel relying on a little hope while searching for their missing friends one by one. By the way, I wrote them as ``older brother'' and ``sister'' based on their physiques, but I don't actually know which one is older, nor do I know if they are siblings by blood. The description in this area is extremely vague. From the right in the photo: Mr. Andreas Johnson, Mr. Joshua P., and Mr. David Mervik of Tarsier Studios. Pay attention to the creepy giant creature in the key art at the back



This trial run lasted about 10 minutes, and although it was a short time, I was able to play the beginning of the game.
When you start the game, you can first control the older brother's character, who pulls the hand of the fallen younger sister and helps her stand up. It's an animation that lets you see the relationships between the characters, and I felt it was similar to ``ICO'' in this respect.
Next, he picks up a brick block and throws it at the window, breaking the glass and running over it. The depiction of running towards the back of the screen continued for a while, and then a tutorial-like scene continued, such as overcoming small obstacles and walking on beams that had fallen from the roof, until suddenly a huge pig ran across the screen. I was surprised.
As I followed the giant pig, I found it sitting at the end, glaring at me. I thought this was a boss battle, but the pigs didn't attack me even when I approached them, and surprisingly, the brother and sister patted them on the cheeks.

From this point on, the player's direction of movement will be able to move freely 360 degrees with smooth camera work, and if you go a little further, you will come to a place that looks like an overpass. There, they come across a large, creepy monster with long spider-like legs and a hairy sea cucumber. Furthermore, from under the bridge, a humanoid creature like a goblin is slowly climbing up. ...At that point, time ran out, and this trial play came to an end.
However, this goblin-like creature covers its head with a burlap sack-like headgear, just like the protagonist's "brother", and I can't help but feel that there is some kind of causal relationship between them.

After playing the game, I asked Mr. Johnson about the meaning of the title ``REANIMAL,'' and he said, ``The meaning changes depending on where you cut off the lines, and as you play, it becomes more and more understandable.'' was. If you read it normally, it would be "RE-ANIMAL", and as you can imagine from the released key art, will the hairy sea cucumber-like creature that I encountered during the trial play eventually grow an animal head? It seems like some sort of experiment or a chimera-like creature, but I'm also curious about the gunny bag that my brother is wearing. I'm getting more and more interested in that eerie view of the world.


Key art
According to Mervik, the difference between Tarsier Studios' previous works and ``REANIMAL'' is that the characters in this work are given voices, and the dialogue depicts the story. For example, when a player rescues a friend from an orphanage, they get on a small boat and row to an island where the friend is believed to be. Inside the boat, the characters discuss their missing friends and their own circumstances, creating a ``breathing moment between the action''.
Also, the main story is said to be ``just like a torn up island, it's only fragments,'' and by moving around and exploring each area one by one, it's fun to discover the hidden stories that lie dormant there. That's what he said.

What's interesting about "REANIMAL" is that it also supports co-op mode. It is also not a split-screen game, but instead uses a system where the camera moves so that the two characters always fit on one screen, so you can enjoy the same play both online and offline.
Game designer Joshua P. Pottgen said, ``The most difficult thing was making it compatible with both,'' so the co-op elements of this game are quite a masterpiece. Apparently there is. Unfortunately, I was only able to experience the single-player game this time, but Johnson repeatedly mentioned the camera work in this game, so I was definitely looking forward to trying it out next time.

Mr. Johnson also said that although this work is a horror adventure, the style is such that you can feel a sense of hope at the end. In any case, it looks like it's not just about being chased by creepy giant creatures, so I'm looking forward to the story as well. There is currently no announcement of a release date or Japanese language support, but if you are interested, please don't forget to add it to your wishlist from the Steam store page, which is already available.

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