Horror games adapt and assimilate as deceptively and successfully asThe Thing’s eponymous alien monster, and one game being perceived as less scary than another does not dilute its potential for arousing fear.Resident Evil 4is a survival horror game, for example, but it being dubbed a ‘horror’ game at all would seem like a stretch in terms of how scary it actually is. Likewise, one would be hard-pressed to find anything particularly cheerful or outright pleasant aboutLittle NightmaresandLittle Nightmares 2.Little Nightmarestells chilling storiesthrough no dialogue at all and is arrestingly beautiful in its 2.5D art style, despite evoking dread almost exclusively.
That said, there is a whimsical charm to Tarsier’sLittle Nightmaresgames, as well as Supermassive’s upcomingLittle Nightmares 3, that is reminiscent of Studio Ghibli’sSpirited Away. Thus,Little Nightmares’ puzzle-platformer atmosphere is nuanced and not as outwardly horrific. In fact, Tarsier’s newest endeavor,Reanimal, is proof of how tameLittle Nightmaresis in comparison. Based on its new release window trailer, Tarsier is doing withReanimalwhatLittle Nightmaresnever could.
Reanimal is Little Nightmares on Steroids
It won’t be clear whether its distinction is for better or for worse until it is released next year, butReanimalsheddingLittle Nightmares’ playful, ethereal skin and reveling solely in drab shadows, not to mention an emphasis on at least one massive animal carcass amalgamation, is certainly a way to distinguish it when everything else aboutReanimalandLittle Nightmares’ art style and gameplaylook identical.
Indeed, what little has been revealed from and aboutReanimal’s gameplay could easily be mistaken for anewLittle Nightmaresgame or spin-off, if not for how noticeably dark the former is in contrast to the latter. Plus, the throughline inReanimal’s “minimalist, interpretive narrative experience” of bravely journeying as brother and sister to rescue their missing friends could undoubtedly have a remarkably sad or alarming ending, as Tarsier achieved in bothLittle NightmaresandLittle Nightmares 2.
Little Nightmares 2is considerably more tragic and harrowing than the original game, but even it features a lighthearted cosmetic feature where players can adorn Mono in various hats/masks.
Because Tarsier decided to adhere so closely to the visual style it has evolved yet amplify its darker tones, it seems like a decision made in an effort to do what it felt like it could not withLittle Nightmares, or perhaps showcase whereLittle Nightmares’ atmospherewould’ve been taken if it was still working on the franchise. This choice suggests that Tarsier no longer needsLittle Nightmaresand is free to iterate on its own with horror that might be misplaced in a series as overwhelmingly whimsical and otherworldly asLittle Nightmares.
It’s fascinating that aLittle Nightmares 3will be released soon, too, since it’ll juxtaposeReanimal’s differences that much more whenReanimalis released in Q1 2026. Both games feature co-op functionality, leaning fully into howLittle Nightmares 2was committed to Six as an NPC companion, as well as combat, though ‘combat’ in the case ofLittle Nightmares 2simply boiled down to players defending themselves with instruments that were lying around in scripted sequences.
Reanimal’s enemy/monster designs may arguably not look much more frightening than those in theLittle Nightmaresgames, but it’ll be a matter of context and what each sequence entails that determines how much scarierReanimal’s gameplay can be. It would be surprising if Tarsier wasn’t making an effort to have gameplay itself be scarier while its atmosphere and tone devote themselves wholly, yet there’s always a chance that eitherLittle Nightmaresgame turns out to be more horrifying when all is said and done. If nothing else,Tarsier’sReanimalis a horror exercisethat could brew its own series of eerie, enigmatic games.
