Little Nightmares 3 vs Reanimal

Welcome to another instalment of VERSUS. A segment where we take a look at two highly anticipated upcoming games that have a lot of similarities and stack these titles against each other. First, a little background, why we think each game will be great and finally, which one we are more excited for.

One game in this segment will always have a slight edge. We love games and celebrating them and comparing two amazing titles is only going to bring more attention to both, which is a win-win scenario. Spoiler alert, we are only going to compare two great looking games, which means that the real answer is that you can’t go wrong with either title.

This time around we are going to be heading into the dark, atmospheric adventure and platforming genre and comparing REANIMAL and Little Nightmares 3. Be sure to swing by the video below to leave a comment letting me know which title you are more excited about.

If you want to see the previous instalment where we compared the two highly anticipated ninja reboots with Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound and Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, click here or where we compared two of the most anticipated Metroidvanias not named Metroid and look at Hollow Knight: Silksong and Crowsworn, be sure to click here.

LITTLE NIGHTMARES 3 vs REANIMAL

I love dark, atmospheric puzzle platformers. Games like LIMBO and INSIDE are both well within my Top 50 games of all time and the third game from playdead is easily one of my most anticipated games right now, which has been in development for almost a decade now. I love how the genre juxtaposes a seemingly simple gameplay that is accessible, almost anyone can play, and pairs it with much more inaccessible tones and themes that are definitely not for everyone. Maybe the stark contract between tone and gameplay is what is intriguing about the genre.

Outside of looking similar and being the same genre, these two titles share a lot in common. For starters, REANIMAL is being developed by Tarsier Studios, the same team behind Little Nightmares and Little Nightmares 2. Outside of genre, Tarsier is the biggest connecting thread between them. In addition, these two titles are also both primarily designed for the shared experience. Both feature online co-op, REANIMAL features local co-op and i’m sure Little Nightmares 3 will also, but I couldn’t find a concrete answer for that. Both games are also available to play in single player as well with ai controlling the second character.

With admirable commercial success and solid critical success, the big question is why didn’t Tarsier just do Little Nightmares 3 and that comes down to the studio being acquired in 2019. Part of the acquisition agreement was that it didn’t include their previous IP, which remained with Bandai Namco, where the first two games were published. Once you learn this it’s easy to understand and makes a lot more sense why Bandai Namco decided to have a different studio develop Little Nightmares 3.

LITTLE NIGHTMARES 3

Little Nightmares 3 is the obvious third entry in the atmospheric adventure franchise, but there is one massive difference. Little Nightmares 3 isn’t being developed by Tarsier, the same studio that created the IP and crafted the first two games. Instead, Little Nightmares 3 is being developed by supermassive games who are best known for Until Dawn and The Dark Pictures Anthology, which feels like a drastic shift for the studio. They are still working on The Dark Pictures and have a new game titled Directive 2080 coming out in October, which looks and sounds pretty great, but their relationship with Bandai, who publishes The Dark Pictures was a clear reason for choosing supermassive as the studio who would carry the torch for Little Nightmares.

In Little Nightmares 3, you are once again thrust into a nightmarish world, but this time the adventures follow Low and Alone as they try to escape Nowhere. In Little Nightmares 2, the series experimented with a two player adventure, but not in the co-op sense as your companion Six, who was the main protagonist from the original title, was there to help you solve puzzles, but was only playable by the computer.

One of the big changes to the formula in Little Nightmares 3 is the addition of full co-op, both online and likely local, but the core single player experience remaining a viable option. The first thing that jumps out from the trailers is that the overall tone just seems brighter. It appears to be trying to position itself as more of a clever co-op adventure first with a darker atmosphere being the secondary focus. Whereas the previous entry was the other way around with the primary focus on the horror atmosphere and the adventure secondary.

Not only is this apparently from the general tone the trailer gives, but also from the gameplay description of Little Nightmares 3. Outside of the change of developer, the biggest change coming to Little Nightmares 3 is that each character possesses a unique item. Low has a bow and Alone carries a wrench. Unique equipment in a platformer isn’t a new concept, even recent co-op games like It Takes Two and Split Fiction that constantly experiment with each player having different items and abilities.

REANIMAL

REANIMAL is an atmospheric horror adventure game where you play as orphan siblings who have to go through some form of hell to rescue their three friends. While rescuing their friends might be a metaphor for hope and redemption, their ultimate goal is to escape this island that they used to call home, which might also be a metaphor for escaping their mind. This is one of the great aspects of dark, atmospheric platformers like this and how they are open to all sorts of interpretations.

The world of REANIMAL is broken into terrifying sections where each friend has to be found and was inspired by fragments of a troubled past harboured by the children. This horror adventure is also not completely linear, which is the standard experience for the genre as players can choose to venture off the main path and “discover all sorts of mysterious locations”

REANIMAL has been designed to be a co-op adventure either locally or online, but can also be played single player. Unlike recent co-op adventures from studios like Hazelight that feature a dynamic camera that separates when the characters go their different ways, the camera system in REANIMAL has been designed in a way that ensures everyone has the same experience. One of the core pillars of design was scared together, and their camera system is essential to this experience. In the words of the studio this camera system “is designed to maximize claustrophobia and tension”. The camera system in Little Nightmares 2 didnt seperate either and it doesn’t look like the one from Little Nightmares 3 will either, but there has to be more to it consider how important the studio made it seem.

REANIMAL seems to lean more into a 3D world as opposed to their previous work that was a lot of 2.5D side scrolling platforming and puzzle solving. This appears to be one way that Tarsier will be challenging themselves, which has me very intrigued by what else they might have in store, not only for the studio, but for the players.

One thing that they have said was with their first two games, they kept the players in the dark with a mysterious world, which lead to a lot of different interpretations. While the world of REANIMAL will still be rich with mystery, according to Narrative Director David Mervik

“we definitely give player more than in previous games, but it’s nice to keep a little bit back and meet in the middle to see what people make with what you’ve given them”

Most Anticipated Dark, Atmospheric Platformer

As stated at the beginning, this segment is only going to compare two great looking games and there isn’t a wrong answer about which game looks better, but if I had to decide which game I am anticipating more it would be REANIMAL.

To begin with, as much as I loved Until Dawn, like most people did, supermassive has been inconsistent. They have failed to reach the critical and commercial acclaim with The Dark Pictures anthology and the The Casting of Frank Stone like they did with Until Dawn. Tarsier, on the other hand, have delivered two quality releases and displayed a level of consistency that is easier to trust for what they are doing next.

In addition to their consistency and trust earned, the atmospheric platformer is a genre that they are familiar with after developing two deeply atmospheric games in the genre. They understand the gameplay nuances much better and i’m inclined to think that supermassive might be having some issues becoming familiar with what makes the genre work as Little Nightmares 3 was initially due to be released in 2024.

Finally and most importantly is that REANIMAL has a tone that intrigues me much more. Little Nightmares 3 looks like an atmospheric platformer, with a slightly spooky vibe. REANIMAL looks like a much darker and more disturbing experience about the horrors of your mind. REANIMAL is a horror game first and adventure game second and not the other way around. There is no mistaking that this is pushing into the macabre and the horror elements much deeper.

In addition to the tone, there are also a lot more instances in the trailer that feature epic moments that display massive scale and stunning cinematography. I also believe that this is just the tip of the iceberg for REANIMAL based on the comments of Technical Director Joschka Pottgen

“whenever we put something in the game, we are trying to make sure it doesn’t get boring, it’s something new. One thing we are really trying not to do is give you the same thing over and over. Instead really question ourselves, is this unique within the game”

In the trailers for Little Nightmares 3, I am not seeing much difference from the first two games and even the game description states “You’ll need to be ready to run, hide or even defend yourself” It looks and like a lot more of the same which isn’t a bad thing, but we have already had those experiences.

It’s for these reasons and other reasons that can’t be put into words as well as the intangibles that we are more excited for REANIMAL. Something about Tarsiers next game is combining elements that feel vaguely familiar but equally unidentifiable and that’s more intriguing.