The original Little Nightmares devs basically made their own Little Nightmares 3, and I had more fun playing its Steam Next Fest demo than I did reviewing the actual sequel from Supermassive

If you, like me, were disappointed by Little Nightmares 3, I have some encouraging news to share: the Steam Next Fest demo for Reanimal, a spiritual successor from original Little Nightmares developer Tarsier, is superb.

I don't want to spend too much time ragging on a game that I already spent 800 words complaining about in my review, but Little Nightmares 3 isn't great. I love the series, and I love developer Supermassive Games, but the threequel just misses the mark. Puzzles are rudimentary and samey, the stealth and chase scenes are more frustrating than scary, and the lack of local co-op is a huge disappointment.

For those reasons, I was psyched to see what Tarsier has been cooking up. Surely, if anyone knows how to make a good Little Nightmares game, it's these dudes. And it looks like they are! The Steam demo for Reanimal, which of course takes place in a completely distinct universe from Little Nightmares, but nonetheless looks and plays the same, addresses pretty much all of my pain points from Little Nightmares 3 and then some.

First and foremost, Reanimal has couch co-op, something I've wanted for many years as a fan of the series. I haven't actually had the chance to try it out, but the fact that I'll be able to play something with my wife in the same room is a real treat.

Reanimal really only needs to get a few things right to quench my thirst for the unique brand of spooky platforming that Little Nightmares popularized. One, it should be spooky. Reanimal, from what I played in the demo, is downright terrifying. I was burdened by a persistent sense of dread the entire time I played it. And I won't spoil anything, but in the demo alone I witnessed some of the most grotesque, nightmare-inducing monsters I've seen across all three Little Nightmares games, and when you're on their radar, it's an utterly thrilling experience.

The other things I expect from a game like this, which are second and third to the creepy, crawly atmosphere Reanimal seems to get just right, are at least halfway decent puzzles and platforming. Admittedly, I only worked through some light puzzles in the brief demo, but Reanimal's platforming just feels so much better in the hand than Little Nightmares 3. Jumping from ledge to platform, navigating waterways by boat, and running from bad guys is much more intuitive and less clunky than the movement in Little Nightmares 3.

I genuinely regret comparing Reanimal to Little Nightmares 3 so much, as that's explicitly what I said I didn't want to do earlier in this writeup, but having so recently come off the review for that game, and considering the fundamental similarities, it's hard not to write about this demo without essentially saying, well, this is the Little Nightmares 3 we should've gotten, and I can't wait for its full launch next year.

In the meantime, here are the best horror games you can play tonight.