In an industry pestered by calls to "think of the children", Tarsier’s games are useful reminders that children can be utterly depraved in ways no coddling adult would ever dream. Later in Reanimal, the developer’s latest, strictly 'co-optional' horror game, two kids rip an eyeball out of a massive, sunken horse skull and shove it into what I sincerely hope is the eyesocket of a slumbering whale. Somehow, this is necessary to advance.

It’s the kind of thing that would only occur to children, because children do not reason like 'we' do, those disgusting creeps. They sense that they exist in a world that isn’t for them: a world of baffling laws, high shelves, and everyday monstrosity; a world they’re required to 'grow into' by means of repeated shedding and sprouting and subjection - milk teeth and pubic hair and doing your goddamn chores. So they instinctively come up with ways to screw with the system, twist its horrible logic against itself. Why not push a horse’s eyeball into a whale?

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What is the meaning of Reanimal's ending? The ending to Reanimal's story is largely up to interpretation, but there is fun to be had trawling through all the theories out there. The story toys with many themes, but it does revolve around the girl and the nightmarish creature we finally see at the end of the game: the sheep. There's also a secret ending you can unlock by interacting with all five coffins found throughout the game. Here's what to expect from both endings, though only read on if you're happy to know what happens at the end of Reanimal, as this guide contains major story spoilers.

Read the full story on PCGamesN: Reanimal ending explained

From the team that rattled our nerves with Little Nightmares I & II, REANIMAL is shaping up to be Tarsier Studios’ most devastating horror effort yet. The game chronicles a brother and sister’s harrowing journey to rescue their missing friends and escape an island teeming with unspeakable terrors.

Be sure to bookmark this guide, as we cover all the essentials, including the release date, preorder bonuses, deluxe edition details, gameplay mechanics, the latest trailer, and PC specifications.

REANIMAL Release Date

REANIMAL is officially confirmed for a full release on February 13, 2026. It will launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC (via Steam and the Epic Games Store). As of this writing, there are no plans for a release on other platforms.

REANIMAL Pre-order Bonus

Players who choose to preorder REANIMAL can access a selection of bonus items, including the following:

• Muttonhead Mask: A cosmetic item for the main protagonists that provides a stylish, yet unsettling, sheep-inspired look.
• Foxhead Mask: A cosmetic item for the main protagonists featuring a distorted fox aesthetic, perfect for blending into the island’s nightmarish atmosphere.

REANIMAL Special Edition

In addition to the regular version of the game, developer Tarsier Studios and publisher THQ Nordic have confirmed that REANIMAL will be available in a Deluxe Edition. This version includes a range of digital bonuses and additional content for players looking to expand their experience beyond the base game.

Deluxe Edition

• REANIMAL base game
• Preorder Bonus: Muttonhead & Foxhead Masks
• Season Pass: Grants access to three paid, story-based DLC expansions (release dates to be announced)

REANIMAL Friend’s Pass

Tarsier Studios has confirmed that horror is best shared. Much like the system in games like It Takes Two, REANIMAL features a Friend’s Pass that lets you experience the entire nightmarish journey with a partner using only one purchased copy of the game.

Friend’s Pass Features

• One Copy, Two Players: Only one person needs to own the full game to invite a friend to play the entire campaign online for free.
• Full Access: Your co-op partner simply downloads the dedicated “Friend’s Pass” client to join your session, eliminating the “buy-in” barrier for your teammate.
• Solo Flexibility: While the game is built for co-op, you can still play 100% solo with an AI companion if your partner isn’t available.

Note: While the developers are working hard to have this feature ready for day one, they have stated that the Friend’s Pass may arrive shortly after the initial launch on February 13.

REANIMAL Story

The narrative follows two orphaned siblings trapped within a twisted, demonic version of their former island home. Tasked with rescuing three missing friends, the duo must navigate a nightmarish archipelago while avoiding grotesque animal-human hybrids  – horrors birthed from the darkest recesses of their own minds. Heavy stuff, indeed.

REANIMAL Gameplay

If you’ve dipped your toes into the Little Nightmares series, Reanimal’s core mechanics will feel instantly familiar. Built from the ground up for cooperative play, it utilises a single cinematic camera that keeps both players in the frame. This system reinforces a palpable sense of tension and claustrophobia that would be lost in a traditional split-screen view.

While engineered with a “co-op first” philosophy, solo players aren’t left behind; the second sibling is controlled by AI in the absence of a partner. These characters are more than just aesthetically different; they possess bespoke traits and skills that must be used in tandem to overcome deadly traps and “brain-tickling” environmental puzzles.

Much like Tarsier’s previous hits, the gameplay relies on a three-part loop. Since traditional combat is non-existent – your tormentors are far larger and more dangerous than the children – stealth is the primary focus. You will spend significant time lurking in shadows, crawling under objects, and waiting for the precise moment to move.

When you aren’t playing “hide and seek,” you’ll be navigating physics-based puzzles. These require constant cooperation; for example, one player might need to distract a lurking horror while the other dashes for a lever to unlock a door.

The final pillar of the loop consists of cinematic chase sequences. These require players to outrun pursuing aggressors while reacting quickly to obstacles in their path. Again, anyone with cursory experience in Little Nightmares will have a clear idea of what to expect here.

However, Reanimal does introduce a major shift: boat travel. This allows the duo to explore the archipelago in full 3D, navigating between islands. It is a stark contrast to the linear, 2.5D side-scrolling perspective that defined Tarsier’s earlier work.

PC Specifications

Leveraging the power of Unreal Engine 5, Reanimal utilises cutting-edge environments, advanced shadow effects, and dynamic lighting to craft the visceral horror and creeping dread that are hallmarks of Tarsier Studios. Despite these high-end visuals, the PC requirements are surprisingly accessible.

MINIMUM:

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS: Windows® 10/11
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 2400G / Intel® Core i5-9400F
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 480 / NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060
• DirectX: Version 12
• Storage: 18 GB available space
• Additional Notes: Broadband Internet connection required

RECOMMENDED:

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS: Windows® 10/11
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 3600X / Intel® Core i7-7700K
• Memory: 16 GB RAM
• Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 6600XT / NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2060
• DirectX: Version 12
• Storage: 18 GB available space
• Additional Notes: Broadband Internet connection required

Where Can I Watch The Latest Trailer?

Brief yet impactful, the latest trailer offers a glimpse into one of February’s most anticipated releases. It showcases the exploration, puzzle-solving, and stealth pillars of the game’s design. The footage also highlights the thick, “cut-it-with-a-knife” atmosphere, anchored by a sinister, WWII-style radio briefing. You can watch the full trailer above.

The post Everything You Need To Know About REANIMAL appeared first on Green Man Gaming Blog.

Silence. Two crouched shapes silhouetted in the moonlight, breath held tight as something stirs. A torch beam slices through the shadows; strange grasping limbs slide into view; tension mounts, hearts pound, and then suddenly a voice cuts in, "Hang on a minute, I'm just gonna run to the loo."

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The team over at Xbox has added two previously unannounced games to its Game Pass subscription service.

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If I were the foreman of an game refinery, I might be dabbing my forehead in anticipation right now because there is a lot coming down the pipeline in 2026. You may be looking at the telltale bulge of Grand Theft Auto, but I'm more focused on the amount of damn fine horror we've got in the plumbing.

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Publisher THQ Nordic and developer Tarsier Studios announced a release date for REANIMAL, their new cooperative horror adventure game. The new co-op horror game is launching across Windows PC (via Steam), Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, and PS5 on February 13th, 2026. Here’s a rundown on the previously announced game, plus a trailer: WHAT IS REANIMAL? The original creators […]

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Hi folks!

My name is Dave Mervik and I am the Narrative Director for Tarsier Studios, creators of the soon-to-be-released co-op horror game Reanimal, which launches on PS5 Feb 13, 2026. 

For those of you new to the world of Reanimal, it is a story of a group of orphans bound together by the world they grew up in, and torn apart by what that world became. The Boy and The Girl are your playable characters in this story and they find each other very early on at the beginning of the game. After they’ve said their hellos, they set off in their boat to find and reclaim their missing friends – Hood, Bucket and Bandage – from a variety of unpleasant places and even more unpleasant monsters. It’s fair to say that these kids have a complicated history with this place, so don’t be surprised if they’re a bit nonplussed to see you at first, but all good friends come to those who wait!

This year we have travelled to both Gamescom and Tokyo Game Show to demo Reanimal for the public and the reaction has surpassed all our wildest dreams, hearing the screams of both joy and terror as players worked together to survive has been music to our ears and is exactly what we had hoped for when concocting this idea of being Scared Together. So to all of you who gave of your time in Cologne and Tokyo, we give our most heartfelt thanks. It’s that kind of reception that makes the many years of hard work worth it. Just about!

As the release of the full game hoves into view, we would like to take this opportunity to announce to you here today that pre-orders are now open! All pre-orders of Reanimal unlock a pair of exclusive masks – Foxhead and Muttonhead – which can be used by either character to make your travails in this hellish world a bit more fun, or to blind you to their horrors!

As a studio that cut its teeth making hats and costumes for LittleBigPlanet, it feels strangely appropriate to be back here all these years later talking about the masks of Reanimal. Those of you who have already played the Reanimal demo will know, our latest range of headwear has gone to a much darker place! Yes, gone are the days of donning your silliest hat to gambol with carefree abandon through a world of happiness and creativity. Reanimal is a wildly different beast, it is a world of loss, violence and being scared together, a birthday cake hat would ruin everything!

At Tarsier, we try to make our worlds as rich and full of character as possible, where the story lives as much in the world around you as it does in what our characters say and do. It’s both fun and rewarding to pay attention to the little things, filling the background with details that tell us more about the world we’re in and the world we came from. Masks and costumes fall into this category too. Decorating the head or obscuring the face needn’t always be a meaningless act, and in many cases the mask (or the reason for it) is as much a part of the story as the person behind it.

The process of creating masks for Reanimal begins in much the same way as in past games, the artists begin sketching ideas around the core themes that we explore in the game and then iterating these until they hit that elusive Tarsier Quality Bar™. The Foxhead and Muttonhead masks resonated especially well because they had that bestial flavour that we were looking for; while their predator/prey characterisations quietly reiterate the game’s thematic undercurrents. They felt like a fitting pair to release as exclusives, as they come with plenty of baggage, just like our protagonists.

So, while out looking for your friends, even though you may dread to do so, it is worth exploring the world around you to see what secrets might be lying around. There are extra story snippets, hidden morsels of lore, easter eggs; and, of course, some of the most unpleasant masks we’ve ever created. We can’t guarantee that wearing them will keep you safe from what lies ahead, but you will at least look like you belong here!

Tarsier, the studio behind the much-loved Little Nightmares 1 & 2, has announced a 13th February release date for its brand-new horror adventure Reanimal. And if you need a little something to keep the impatience for its arrival at bay, a demo is available from today on Xbox Series X/S and PS5.

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