A Disturbing Return To One Of 2026’s Best Horror Worlds
It can be said that we liked REANIMAL when it was released in February this year. We gave it one of our prestigious five-out-of-five rankings. It was a minimalist masterclass in horror platforming and storytelling. Deeply disturbing, with some images that will stay with me forever. It’s a game you can play on your own, but also with a buddy to share the nightmare.
Now we have the promise of three new chapters coming to the Season Pass or being brought separately. The Prisoner is the first of these new stories, and it’s a welcome return to the dark world once more.
It’s interesting that Little Nightmares III, a series that the team at Tarsier Studios founded, also released its first DLC pack a few months ago in The Backstage. Both new chapters introduce the same mechanic in terms of a Polaroid camera, which is a mad coincidence. But both games, even though they feature the same DNA, are profoundly different experiences. Little Nightmares is like a Tim Burton film, whereas REANIMAL feels like it comes from the mind of David Cronenberg.
Two New Children Enter REANIMAL’s Nightmare
In this new chapter, we are introduced to two new characters in the guise of The Prisoner and The Soldier. I got this because nothing was told in the game, but one has a soldier’s tin helmet on its head and the other has a sack. They are still children, which makes it even more menacing. The game starts on a plane in a warzone, and the hero’s parachute lands in a battle-torn world, like the final chapters of the main game.
What are they looking for? Where are they going? It’s all unclear in REANIMAL: The Prisoner, but it doesn’t matter one bit, leaving things to your interpretations and theories. In terms of visual storytelling, it’s a masterclass once more. Stories and questions form in empty rooms, deserted buildings, or around dead bodies slumped while having their photo taken. The locations themselves, from an underground station to a bleak department store, do a wonderful job of prompting your imagination about the where’s and the why’s. Dialogue is sparse as well and gives no clues, but when it appears from the two protagonists, it’s so effective and so sombre that it works perfectly. It’s a strange, disturbing world that doesn’t make sense to our narrative sensibilities, but that’s what works. The Prisoner is also a short experience, feeling much more like a part of a trilogy rather than a whole.
Familiar Horror Gameplay With A New Polaroid Twist
Gameplay is similar to the base game, with a few little extras. You can play The Prisoner on your own, with the game controlling the other character without any problems. You can call out to them to help you with puzzles or environmental platforming when needed. You can run, crouch, and jump. There are puzzles to solve that include getting keys for doors, finding station codes, and other bits that I don’t want to spoil.
Yes, the Polaroid camera is one that you find and can be used as a good light source from its flash for a short while. But it is also a good puzzle-solving tool in a couple of situations. Then, regarding some combat moments, it can be used to freeze enemies coming towards you while your colleague can take them out with an axe. This works well, and even though it can be tricky, you won’t be doing it much over the 60 to 90-minute running time.
The Prisoner Saves Its Biggest Horrors For The Bosses
Further, there are two big bosses that are superb. One is a large, obese soldier with a flamethrower that provides an amazing and frightening encounter, while the other is a huge, animalistic horror that engages you in a massive chase sequence.
The Prisoner is just as impressive as the main game. The fire sequences, with the flamethrower-wielding giant, are amazing. But it’s the quieter moments that break your heart. The Prisoner shivering on a train journey, a gentle horse offering comfort before the horror rains down – these are moments that make this game brilliant. There are the pure horror moments too, like travelling through a dead man’s guts that have become doorways. Alongside that, the audio design is excellent as well, with some moments of horror in terms of the dreaded drone noises and impending doom rising with the score. Voice-over work is sparse, but when it comes, it’s delivered chillingly by the young actors.
A Brilliant But All Too Brief Return
REANIMAL: The Prisoner is the first chapter in a planned trilogy of DLC, and it highlights the quality of the developers, and the world-building they are capable of. I loved it, from start to finish, only wishing that it was longer. This is a game that will stay with you after you finish, and The Prisoner will tempt you in to playing the main game over again.
For now, REANIMAL: The Prisoner has made me excited to find out what happens next.
Important Links
REANIMAL Expands Its Nightmare With Surprise Launch Of The Prisoner DLC – https://www.thexboxhub.com/reanimal-expands-its-nightmare-with-surprise-launch-of-the-prisoner-dlc/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/reanimal-the-prisoner/9NS1RC0JW3VS/0010
