INSANELY buggy. Came across so many bugs forcing restarts. Just got one that made us have to start an entire new game. Taking it back to GameStop to trade this slop in.

About six months ago, Bandai Namco, in collaboration with Supermassive Games, creators of The Dark Pictures series, released Little Nightmares 3, a sequel to the popular adventure duology about the Nightmare World and lost children forced to seek refuge in the darkness to avoid falling into the clutches of monsters. The game was frankly pedestrian, lacking the usual depth of plot and interesting locations, and even I wasn't thrilled with it, despite seeing only positives in most games. At the same time, REANIMAL, a project from Tarsier Studios, the original creators of the Little Nightmares duology, showed up at Steam Next Fest. They had moved under the umbrella of a new publisher, losing their trademark and the right to make games set in the existing Nightmare World universe. The hour-long demo left a strong impression on me, and I was captivated by what I saw, earnestly anticipating the release. And so, recently, it finally arrived: the full version of REANIMAL was released and immediately received a resounding slap from the community, who didn't receive the coveted Friend's Pass at launch. I'm not a fan of co-op, so I didn't wait for the offer and went free-roaming with an AI partner to experience the game I'd long desired firsthand. Those familiar with the concept of Little Nightmares won't feel any different when playing REANIMAL, as everything is familiar and familiar. Here, we'll still control a child trapped in a dark world filled with monsters, helping them survive difficult situations. The game's protagonists are a brother and sister who will journey hand in hand through numerous terrifying environments, always watching each other's backs. Their goal is to find their friends, who are trapped and awaiting help, but their whereabouts are unknown. Starting their journey in a ruined factory, the children will be forced to navigate a challenging path through a destroyed city and the ruins of places that were once part of peaceful life. The game is a blend of platforming and stealth, in which players must navigate rugged terrain, avoid traps, and evade the ruins' inhabitants. Like the Little Nightmares series, the game is divided into distinct levels, each with unique enemies and obstacles. The local monsters aren't particularly intelligent, but their attentiveness is admirable, as any misstep will end in disaster. Incidentally, REANIMAL features significantly less stealth than the Little Nightmares series, as Tarsier Studios opted for action, and they ultimately succeeded. The game is filled with chases, fights, and direct confrontations with enemies. We'll even get to drive a real tank, throw a harpoon, and try our hand at being a submariner—you never know where the adventure will take you. Our kids aren't as helpless as they might seem at first glance and are quite capable of fighting back against their bullies. As much as I loved the gameplay and visuals, it's quite difficult to grasp the game's plot coherently, as it's made up entirely of disparate locations and fragmented flashbacks, of which there are only four in the entire game. Why did this world become like this? What do the enemies we saw embody? Why did the game's main characters act the way they did? The game's abrupt ending raises more questions than answers, while giving the player no clue as to what they saw. I don't like to use other games as examples, but in Tarsier Studios' case, it makes perfect sense. Their original Little Nightmares duology is a great example of concise and clear storytelling, also conveyed through environments and imagery. It's perfectly clear where we are, what we're trying to achieve, and how the story ends. Even in the less-than-stellar Little Nightmares 3, the ending fully explains everything we've been doing for the last three hours, even if it's not quite what we expected. So why is REANIMAL simply a collection of dark images without a coherent idea? Perhaps players in the comments will offer their own interpretations of the plot, but for now, I can only speculate. In terms of visuals and gameplay, REANIMAL is a great three-hour adventure, with a dark world, terrifying monsters, and plenty of action, but when you start looking for the plot, it's as if there was none. Four locations, four flashbacks, a couple of dialogues from the main characters, and a rushed ending—a rather meager play on existing tropes and yet another attempt to shift the interpretation of the "plot" onto the players. A so-so solution. Otherwise, REANIMAL is a wonderful adventure game created in Tarsier Studios' signature style. I'm sure once they fix the game's performance and eliminate minor bugs, the Steam reviews will turn blue again. For now, I'm heading to the DLC waiting room.

Short but a good game, a lot of open questions that need to be answered in the DLCs.