Reanimal — Tarsier’s Return to Intimate, Cooperative Horror (Release Feb 13, 2026)

This caught my attention because Tarsier Studios made a name scraping the uncanny underside of childhood in Little Nightmares-Reanimal looks like a deliberate pivot back toward that marrow-deep unease, but with co-op and camera dynamism that could make it feel fresh rather than familiar.

Reanimal: A Dark, Cooperative Fairy Tale From Tarsier Studios

• Release Date: Reanimal launches on Friday, February 13, 2026 – yes, intentionally on a Friday the 13th.
• Core play: Two-child brother-and-sister duo, playable solo with an AI partner or in two-player co-op; Friend’s Pass allows a second player to join for free.
• Gameplay focus: Stealth, environmental puzzles, exploration, and atmosphere rather than combat – Tarsier leans into emotional horror and vulnerability.
• Platforms: PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2 (listed on Steam as “coming soon” prior to date confirmation).

{{INFO_TABLE_START}}
Publisher|Tarsier Studios
Release Date|February 13, 2026
Category|Horror-adventure / Survival-horror
Platform|PC (Steam), PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2
{{INFO_TABLE_END}}

Why the announcement matters

Tarsier’s two Little Nightmares games left a clear stylistic fingerprint on modern atmospheric horror: small protagonists in a world that feels grotesquely oversized and morally strange. Reanimal promises to pick up that emotional throughline but shift the center: it’s explicitly about connection — a sibling bond — and it folds cooperative play into that emotion. That’s a smart design move. Horror that hinges on companionship changes the stakes; fear becomes a shared resource, and puzzles can be designed around two perspectives instead of isolation.

The Steam Next Fest demo (October 2025) and three trailers show Tarsier experimenting with camera perspective and scope. Where Little Nightmares mostly used side-on, cinematic framing, Reanimal moves between wide, distant shots and tighter over-the-shoulder moments. That lets the studio play with pacing, concealment, and puzzle composition in ways their previous games only hinted at.

What the demo and previews actually suggest

The demo earned praise for returning to the “morbid, skin-crawling” flavor that made the first Little Nightmares memorable. GameSpot’s Mark Delaney called it a return to form, highlighting “slithering skin suits, inky black waters, ever-present unease, and an air of mystery.” That’s telling: Reanimal is leaning harder into body-horror aesthetics and atmosphere than the more action-leaning beats seen in later Tarsier projects.

Mechanically, expect minimal combat. The game favors hiding, diversion, and environmental problem-solving. That’s a deliberate choice: when your primary tools are stealth and cooperation, tension comes from vulnerability and reliance on each other — exactly the emotional core Tarsier is pitching.

Questions and healthy skepticism

Friend’s Pass is a clear plus for co-op adoption — lowering the friction to try the game together should help word-of-mouth at launch. However, listings for the Nintendo Switch 2 are worth watching: the platform’s specs are still murky publicly, and this generation’s multi-platform ambitions can force compromises in fidelity or frame pacing if not handled carefully. Tarsier’s artistry is in lighting and scale; performance matters.

What this means for players

If you loved the uneasy fairy-tale feel of the first Little Nightmares, Reanimal is the next obvious title to follow. It should appeal to players who want atmospheric puzzles and creeping dread rather than jump-scare action. Co-op players will appreciate Friend’s Pass and the option for local or online partnering. Solo players aren’t sidelined either — the AI companion is explicitly supported.

Buyers should watch early reviews for how the game balances camera shifts, performance across platforms, and whether the story’s emotional beats land without being overwritten by spectacle. If the demo’s tone carries through, we’re looking at a compact, focused experience — possibly one of Tarsier’s strongest character-driven outings.

TL;DR

Reanimal (Feb 13, 2026) looks like Tarsier Studios returning to the kind of intimate, body-horror-inflected atmosphere that defined their best work, but with cooperative mechanics and more dynamic camera work. Friend’s Pass and the demo’s reception are promising; platform performance and storytelling execution will decide whether it surpasses the studio’s earlier highs.