Reanimal Is Like Limbo with Friends
2/20/20261 hr 1 min
16 years ago, Limbo launched on Xbox Live. It wasn’t the first puzzle-platformer, but its molasses-thick layer of fairy tale horror inspired a generation of grim, mostly wordless contemporaries. Arguably, the most successful of the bunch has been the Little Nightmare series, created by Tarsier Studios. Today’s game is the latest evolution of this sub-genre. With Reanimal, the Tarsier team adds co-op to the mix. Is playing with friends (or a computer companion) a clever addition or does it undermine the horror of being alone in a cruel, dark world? We have conflicting answers! Plus, The Besties pick through Sony’s recent State of Play and share their favorite announcements.
Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsGriffin McElroy· Host0:00
I wanna be the one responsible for naming the monsters in these Tarsier Studios horror games- Hmm. Your Little Nightmareses and your Reanimals.
Russ Frushtick· Host0:09
Okay.
Griffin McElroy· Host0:09
'Cause you'll be l- you'll be, like, getting chased by, like, an, a big, nasty man- Skin man. A big, nasty skin man, and then you- Wa- is that it?
Russ Frushtick· Host0:17
Did we do it? Did we do it? Is it Skin Man?
Griffin McElroy· Host0:19
No, we can do better than that, but then like- Yeah, who do you think you are, Hideo Kojima? [chuckles] But then you get out of a, a, you get an achievement, and it's like, "That guy's name the whole time was The Sniffer," and it's like, was that supposed to be scare... Like, am I supposed to be scared of the... I would call him something way cooler and way scarier than that. Like- I gotta be real- No, go ahead.
Christopher Thomas Plant· Host0:37
Wait, wait, wait, no, Fresh, let's, like, uh, let's give Griffin his space.
Griffin McElroy· Host0:40
Yeah, go for it.
Christopher Thomas Plant· Host0:41
What would you call The Sniffer- 'Cause The Sniffer is pretty scary ... that would be more scary than The Sniffer?
Griffin McElroy· Host0:45
Flesh Getter.
Christopher Thomas Plant· Host0:47
Oh.
Griffin McElroy· Host0:48
The Flesh Getter. He gets- Yeah, but he's just a player at that point.
Christopher Thomas Plant· Host0:51
Okay.
Russ Frushtick· Host0:51
He's just out there to- Yeah, I guess that's true ... meet and greet.
Griffin McElroy· Host0:54
[chuckles] I guess so.
Russ Frushtick· Host0:55
The Flesh Getter.
Christopher Thomas Plant· Host0:55
I guess you put flesh in front of pretty much anything, it does make it scarier. You know, like, if you go, "Hey, The Sniffer," doesn't work. Flesh Sniffer, that, I don't like that.
Griffin McElroy· Host1:05
Flesh Sniffer is like something- I don't like that ... that's something cool.
Christopher Thomas Plant· Host1:07
Yeah, it's upsetting.
Griffin McElroy· Host1:07
Toss that in in just to anything. I'm just saying, I, I was so scared of this dude, and then I, I got an achievement. It's like, "You got away from The Sniffer," and it's like, "That whole time?" [laughing] It's crazy.
Christopher Thomas Plant· Host1:18
"But I have the hurts!" That's him.
Russ Frushtick· Host1:21
Yes.
Christopher Thomas Plant· Host1:21
That's his voice. That's why he doesn't talk.
Griffin McElroy· Host1:23
That's his voice.
Christopher Thomas Plant· Host1:23
Did I mention that that's why they don't talk in this game?
Russ Frushtick· Host1:26
Oh, thank God.
Griffin McElroy· Host1:27
Yes.
Christopher Thomas Plant· Host1:27
Yeah, yeah.
Unknown speaker1:28
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