REANIMAL news & patch notes

We are excited to be a part of Endix Showcase to show off REANIMAL in a unique and creative way.

What is Endix Showcase?

Endix is a free virtual/digital event built as a game in Unreal Engine, this allows you to join the Showcase on your own terms.

Visit Endix on Steam to create your own avatar and jump into a digital theme world, showing tons of beloved and new games that might not have been on your radar yet. You can find our booths on the THQ Nordic island. Use the Fast Travel feature to teleport there directly!

What to expect?

Visit our booths to discover unique interactions, watch trailers, get a taste of our games, and play a mini-game to win special prizes.

Join us May 23-24th.

This hotfix addresses an issue that could occur when enabling HDR, which could result in a black screen when starting a game.

Thank you all for your continued support and engagement in all things REANIMAL. We really appreciate all the fan mails, fan art, theories, feedback and bug reports that have been sent to us. As a token of our appreciation we’ve included the Bugsplatter hat with patch 1.7, it’s unlocked when you boot the game.

We are continuously working on improving the game and, with Patch 1.7, we bring a couple of really nice features to REANIMAL, together with some bug fixes. We hope you will enjoy it!

HDR

We’ve added HDR support on PC (you need a monitor/tv with HDR support). HDR really amps up the atmosphere and visuals of the game, with a wider color range more details come to life and is definitely something worth trying out!

Go to Settings -> Video and toggle “HDR” to ON to enable HDR.

Ultra Wide monitor support

We’ve added support for Ultra Wide monitors on PC. This is a hot topic, it was definitely something we were really worried about since the game is really designed with specific camera angles to create the best experience. There might be a couple of scenes / places where UW breaks the scenes a bit, but overall the game looks absolutely stunning and something we’re really pleased with. But before you jump in trying UW, we still advise you to first play it in normal aspect ratio as the game was intended.

Go to Settings -> Video and toggle “Unlock Aspect Ratio” to ON to enable Ultra Wide rendering (note that the main menu will not be rendered in UW)

Steam Deck Full Compatibility

Not having full support on Steam Deck was a bit of a frustration point to us, the only thing missing to get full support on Steam Deck was to implement the virtual keyboard. But fear not, it’s now implemented in Path 1.7, so we now have full support for Steam Deck!

General

●     General crash fixes

●     Audio fixes

●     Online connection and stability fixes

• Fixed an issue where players on Steam could not host or join, sessions failed to initiate

●     HDR Support on PC

●     Ultra wide support on PC

Steamdeck

●     Added Steamdeck virtual keyboard support

Patch 1.7 is coming out in a couple of weeks and includes some exciting features like HDR and Ultrawide support, more information soon. Until then, Happy Easter from Tarsier Studios!

Intro

With patch 1.6 we hope to have solved some of the major disconnect issues we’ve seen happening. Please note that cross-play with players not using 1.6 will not work.

Please continue to report any issues that you encounter as that helps us improve the game!

IMPORTANT: We’ve seen a lot of Nvidia GPU crashes and it is because of driver issues. Make sure you update to the latest drivers before playing, that should resolve GPU crash issues on Nvidia hardware.

Patch Content

As usual, the fix list below can contain potential spoilers :)

The main change in 1.6 is that we’ve disabled the disconnect code in the game. This means that disconnects will hopefully happen a lot less frequently. However, this does mean that when playing on a bad network with high ping / packet loss you might experience desyncs, slow response and potentially game breaking bugs.

Patch 1.6 also includes almost 300 bug fixes including most of the soft blockers & crashes that we’ve seen happening.

Soft lock fixes

●     In certain situations the player couldn’t interact with the whale

●     In certain situations the player could be stuck behind a blocking volume in Hospital

●     In certain situations the player character would freeze when entering the barn

●     In certain situations the player could get stuck after interacting with the binoculars

●     When loaded a checkpoint in tank section sometimes resulted in the players not connecting properly in online play

●     Sometimes the player would get killed by the underwater brookhorse too soon

●     NPC could sometimes fail to sit down in the bus towards orphanage

●     Fixed being unable to climb back up an edge in the gas station area

Crashes

●     Crash could occur during tank chase

●     When shooting the other player, in the hanging soldier room, the game could crash and prevent the player from getting an achievement

Other

●     Improved overall game stability and fixed several crashes.

•      Improved companion AI navigation and fixed cases where companions could fail to follow the player.

•     Fixed camera behavior during certain gameplay moments and cinematic transitions.

•      Resolved issues where music or ambient sounds could continue playing incorrectly.

•      General gameplay polish and minor bug fixes.

●     Resolved multiple online co-op issues, including cases where players could become stuck or desynchronized.

●     Fixed various visual glitches, including clipping and animation issues.

●     Fixed an issue where the sheep beast’s fur disappeared at times

●     Fixed small freezes during the car segment

●     Fixed water textures before the whale quest

●     Fixed an out of bounds area in the orphanage

●     Fixed a performance drop in the mill

This is a minor patch for the Beta branch that includes:

● Added more information in our telemetry functionality to help track down network issues

● Changed the maximum time until the user is disconnected when network packets are not handled

Help us improve network stability

If you are experiencing issues when playing online in the form of disconnects or not able to connect, you can help us by doing the following:

1. Make sure you switch over to Beta Branch

a. Right click on the game in steam, select Properties

b. Go to Game Versions & Betas and select the Beta version (screenshot below)

Please make sure to opt-in to our telemetry

a. Start the game

b. Go to Settings

c. Go to Gameplay

d. Make sure Telemetry is set to ON

Play the game, and when a disconnect happens we will get additional information that will help us fix network issues.

With patch 1.6 we hope to have solved some of the major disconnects issues we’ve seen happening. But to try it out we are today launching it on the Beta branch on Steam. So, if you have encountered a lot of disconnects, please jump into the Beta branch and try it out. Save games are compatible between 1.5 and 1.6 so you can jump back to 1.5 without risking your save. Please note that cross-play with players not using 1.6 will not work.

Please continue to report any issues that you encounter as that helps us improve the game!

IMPORTANT: We’ve seen a lot of Nvidia GPU crashes, and it is because of driver issues. Make sure you update to the latest drivers before playing, that should resolve GPU crash issues on Nvidia hardware.

Patch Content

As usual, the fix list below can contain potential spoilers.

The main change in 1.6 is that we’ve disabled the disconnect code in the game. This means that disconnects will hopefully happen a lot less frequently. However, this does mean that when playing on a bad network with high ping / packet loss you might experience desyncs, slow response and potentially game breaking bugs.

Patch 1.6 also includes almost 300 bug fixes including most of the soft blockers & crashes that we’ve seen happening.

Soft lock fixes

●     In certain situations, the player couldn’t interact with the whale

●     In certain situations, the player could be stuck behind a blocking volume in Hospital

●     In certain situations, the player character would freeze when entering the barn

●     In certain situations, the player could get stuck after interacting with the binoculars

●     When loaded a checkpoint in tank section sometimes resulted in the players not connecting properly in online play

●     Sometimes the player would get killed by the underwater brookhorse too soon

●     NPC could sometimes fail to sit down in the bus towards orphanage

Crashes

●     Crash could occur during tank chase

●     When shooting the other player, in the hanging soldier room, the game could crash and prevent the player from getting an achievement

Other

●     Improved overall game stability and fixed several crashes.

• Improved companion AI navigation and fixed cases where companions could fail to follow the player.

• Fixed camera behavior during certain gameplay moments and cinematic transitions.

• Resolved issues where music or ambient sounds could continue playing incorrectly.

• General gameplay polish and minor bug fixes.

●     Resolved multiple online co-op issues, including cases where players could become stuck or desynchronized.

●     Fixed various visual glitches, including clipping and animation issues.

Did you know that there are a total of 18 masks and 20 posters that can be found in REANIMAL?

Have you discovered them all? Which one was your favourite? Let us know, but please make sure to mention spoilers in the titles of your posts! After all, we don’t want to spoil the hunt for others.

Hello everyone,

We know you are all eagerly waiting for a REANIMAL patch.

The Steam version of the patch 1.5 is already done.

The console versions will need a few days longer.

Normally, we would simply publish the patch on Steam and ask for your patience. However, crossplay only works if both players are on the same game version. We know crossplay is an important feature for you, so we have decided on a different procedure instead.

We have opened a new build branch for the game on Steam to give those of you who already want patch 1.5 and don't use crossplay/friend's pass a chance to experience it.

This patch will be pushed live to all users across all platforms as soon as possible next week.

Important disclaimers before you opt into the beta branch:

1. The only multiplayer option available for the dev branch is if both users own REANIMAL on Steam and are on the beta branch. That means:

- Crossplay between a Steam user on the beta branch and consoles/Epic/GOG will NOT work.

- Crossplay between a Steam user on the beta branch and a Steam user on the default branch will NOT work.

- The beta branch is ONLY available for the FULL version of the game, not for the friend's pass. If you use the beta branch, you will NOT be able to play with friend's pass users.

2. While the beta branch will recognize your default branch save game, the same does not apply in reverse! That means, if you go to the beta branch, you can progress from where you left off on the default branch, but if you then change back to default branch, the additional progress you made while on the beta branch will be lost!

How to opt into the branch:

1. Close your game.

2. Right-click the game in your Steam library.

3. Select Properties > Game versions and Betas

4. Select the "beta" option in the list.

5. Wait for your game to finish updating.

Below, you will find the full patch notes for patch 1.5 that is available on the beta branch:

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Dev Branch Patch Notes

Game Softlocks

Opera House (Tank Section) Fixed an issue where blocking volumes were not correctly disabled when reloading from a checkpoint after dying, preventing further progression.

• Online – Tank to Final Sheep Beast Transition Fixed an issue where transitioning from the tank scene to the final Sheep Beast scene could result in a black screen. Note: This is a partial fix. In very rare cases, the issue may still occur.

• Forest Village Fixed an issue where certain level triggers could be bypassed, potentially leaving players in a locked progression state.

• Bunker Puzzle Fixed a softlock that could occur if players solved the bunker puzzle, exited the area, and then died — causing them to respawn without a way to progress.

• Barn (Single Player) Fixed an issue where the player could occasionally lose movement control after entering the barn for the first time.

• Orphanage (Stacked Beds Room) Fixed a progression issue where players could become stuck after defeating all spider kids due to the area not unlocking properly.

Stability

• AMD Stability Implemented a workaround to prevent crashes on certain AMD hardware and driver combinations.

First of all, we would like to thank everyone who has played REANIMAL, shared their experience, left a review, provided feedback, or reported bugs! Your feedback is invaluable for us, and we appreciate all of it.

Thanks to your bug reports, we have identified the following main pressure points, and we would like to provide an update on where we stand with those:

Known Issues

Below is a list of currently known issues reported by players. We’re actively working on fixes. In the meantime, you’ll find temporary workarounds where available.

Please note: This section may contain minor gameplay spoilers.

AMD Driver crash

Description

We’re aware of a crash affecting certain AMD graphics cards when using specific driver versions. The issue affects the following GPUs when running AMD driver version 25.9.1 or later:

·         RX 9060

·         RX 9060 XT

·         RX 9070

·         RX 9070 XT

Workaround

If you’re experiencing crashes, please roll back to AMD driver version 25.8.1.

Temporary Fix

A temporary fix which disables some advanced graphical effects has been implemented, and it will be included in the next patch, which we will first make available on a Beta branch later this week.

Progression Issues (Softlocks)

We have identified several softlock scenarios that may prevent progression after player death and respawn. These typically occur when certain blocking volumes are not correctly disabled. Please note that all trophies/achievements, and unlocked masks are saved in your profile, so that will not be affected when creating a new save game. However, progress on found coffins and rabbit statues are saved in the save game, and as such are not transferred to the new save game.

Bunker

Issue: Unable to progress after completing the bunker puzzle.

Cause: After solving the bunker puzzle and exiting the area, dying and respawning may leave the door closed even though the puzzle remains solved.

Tank Section (Opera Area)

Issue: The path forward may be blocked, preventing progression.

Cause: If you’ve already progressed through this area, then die and respawn there, the path forward may remain blocked.

Orphanage

Issue: In the room with the stacked beds, progression may be blocked after defeating all enemies.

Cause: In rare cases, one enemy may become stuck behind a wall and cannot be defeated, preventing the blocking volume from being disabled.

General Workaround for Softlocks

If you encounter any of the issues above, please follow these steps:

1.      Return to the Main Menu.

 2.      Select New Game.

 3.      Choose a save slot (note: this will overwrite the selected slot).

 4.      Select the most recent chapter prior to where the issue occurred.

 5.      Play forward to the affected area.

Please note that all trophies/achievements, and unlocked masks are saved in your profile, so they will not be affected when creating a new save game. However, progress on found coffins and rabbit statues part of the save game, and as such are not transferred to the new save game.

Permanent Fix

Fixes for these progression issues are complete and will be included in the upcoming patch, scheduled for release in the next two weeks. On Steam these fixes will be made available earlier in the Beta Patch, coming in the next days.

Online issues

Below are currently known online-related issues. We’re actively investigating them and working toward permanent solutions.

Random Disconnections

What’s happening

We’re aware that some players experience seemingly random disconnections during online play.

In many cases, this appears to be caused by high latency or packet loss. If the connection quality drops below a certain threshold, the game will end the session. We believe the limits may currently be too strict and are reviewing how to improve stability for all players.

Temporary workaround

If possible, we recommend connecting your console or PC to the internet via a wired Ethernet connection instead of Wi-Fi, as this can significantly improve connection stability.

Fix status

We are investigating adjustments and improvements to connection handling. This will take some time, but it is a high priority for us.

Unable to Join a Game (Returns to Main Menu)  

What’s happening

Some players in specific regions may be unable to join online sessions and are returned to the Main Menu.

This appears to be related to the backend matchmaking service used by the game, which is experiencing connectivity issues in certain regions (for example, parts of China).

Temporary workaround

At this time, there is no known workaround.

Fix status

We are working with our partners to identify and resolve the issue. A solution will take some time, but we will provide a solution as soon as possible.

High-End Hardware Instability (Intel 13th/14th Gen CPUs)

What’s happening

We’re seeing a higher-than-expected number of crashes reported on high-end hardware, particularly systems using Intel Core i7 and i9 13th/14th Gen processors.

The most common errors include:

·         Out of Memory

·         DecompressShader

·         Fatal Errors during gameplay or startup

This is a known hardware issue officially confirmed by Intel as “Vmin Shift Instability.” Under heavy load, this can cause system instability.

The recommended and most effective fix is to update your BIOS to the latest version provided by your motherboard or system manufacturer. These updates include changes intended to mitigate the issue. In some cases, continued instability may lead to permanent CPU degradation, so updating is strongly advised in any case!

On the software side, the primary way to mitigate the problem is to reduce CPU load within the game to improve stability. Please note this may lower performance on affected systems. We are looking into other options as well though.

Fix status

Addressing these Intel-related crashes is currently our highest priority. We expect first results in the coming days.

We are preparing a hotfix to improve stability on affected CPUs.

Of course, we are also investigating all other bug reports and will deliver patches and patch notes as soon as possible.

Thank you for your patience!

Hey folks,

We are currently gathering every scrap of information possible so that the developers can try and fix the issues you guys have been reporting.

If you do run into an issue, ranging from a minor texture glitch to a progress blocker, please make a report via the Bug Reporting thread with as much detail as possible.

The more information the developers have, the more likely they are to find the source of a problem.

We are reading every message you guys send on Steam and Discord to ensure we can catch as many problems as possible.

If you do run into an issue, whilst we understand that running into a problem in a game is frustrating, we do ask you for patience. We are already working on a patch and we will share more information on the matter when details are ready.

Regards THQ Nordic Community Team

Friend's Pass Is Now Live

We are very happy to announce that REANIMAL Friends pass is now live over on the Steam store:

Thank you for your patience.

The Friend's Pass is very easy to use: the player that has purchased the game hosts a lobby and their friend joins via the Steam Friends menu.

If you do not see the Friend's Pass in store, please exit and relaunch your Steam client.

We announced the Friend's Pass, and it will be with you later today.

English: This is our top priority right now. The Friend's Pass will come later today. At this stage we can not commit to a specific timeframe or time, but it will be live later today. Chinese: 我们目前正紧急处理该问题，并确认好友通行证将在今天晚些时候推出。 感谢大家对游戏的支持，恳请您耐心等待，再次为对您造成的困扰表示抱歉！ German: Der Freunde Pass kommt noch heute auf Steam. Ist gerade höchste Priorität für uns. Wir können uns derzeit nicht auf einen abgesteckten Zeitrahmen, oder eine genaue Uhrzeit festlegen, aber es wird später heute live gehen. Russian: Это наш главный приоритет на данный момент. Friend‘s Pass появится сегодня позже. На данном этапе мы не можем назвать конкретные сроки, но он станет доступен сегодня позже.

French:

C'est notre priorité absolue actuellement. Le Pass Ami sera disponible plus tard dans la journée. À ce stade, nous ne pouvons pas nous engager sur une heure précise, mais il sera actif aujourd'hui.

Spanish:

Es nuestra prioridad absoluta en este momento. El Friend Pass estará disponible más tarde hoy. En este punto no podemos especificar una franja de tiempo pero llegará hoy más tarde.

Polish:

Uruchomienie Dostępu Dla Znajomych (Friend Pass) jest naszym najwyższym priorytetem. Zostanie dodany jeszcze dziś, jednak na ten moment, nie jesteśmy w stanie podać konkretnej godziny.

"The REANIMAL experience is a clear reflection of who Tarsier is – a group of individuals with a shared sensibility that feel privileged to have been able to work together on a game like this," said Oliver Merlöv, Managing Director, Tarsier Studios. "We believe the more personal the art, the more attention poured into every detail, the more worthy a game is of player’s time. We can’t wait for them to play REANIMAL!" The game has already received a strong and positive critical reception worldwide, earning generally favorable reviews across all platforms on Metacritic: https://www.metacritic.com/game/reanimal/

And since many of you have asked about friend's pass we will let you know as soon as possible!

Links & Info:

https://reanimal.thqnordic.com/

The time has almost come! In 22 hours, REANIMAL will launch across all platforms. To make this launch as stress-free for everyone as possible, here is a quick list of the most important links for you.

Got questions about the game? Chances are we already answered them here:

Here is where you can buy the game:

Found a bug? Report it here: https://bugreporting.thqnordic.com/#/projects/172/reanimal-community/add-issue

Are you a content creator? Our Lurkit portal can be found here: https://www.lurkit.com/company/thq-nordic-creator-portal

Want to chat with us on Discord and socials? You can find us here:

https://discord.gg/nf2y43K4zR

https://www.facebook.com/TarsierStudios

https://x.com/TarsierStudios

https://bsky.app/profile/tarsierstudios.bsky.social

https://www.instagram.com/tarsierstudios/

https://www.tiktok.com/@tarsier.studios

We look forward to hearing from you!!

Just few more days until the horrors begin! REANIMAL, the highly anticipated co-op horror game from Tarsier Studios, creators of Little Nightmares™ and Little Nightmares™ II, launches this Friday, February 13. Pre-ordering the Deluxe Edition now secures 10% savings and grants access to the REANIMAL Season Pass, which includes all three DLCs in The Expanded World campaign—delivering all-new horrors for players to survive.

There are three upcoming chapters in The Expanded World, the first of which is scheduled to release in summer 2026. The Expanded World will weave a completely original story around new child protagonists, thrusting players into chilling new environments and monstrous horrors across the war-torn REANIMAL island.

Website: https://reanimal.thqnordic.com

We are happy to announce that the developers will be checking out community streams and questions during a special stream on launch day! This stream will take place on our official THQ Nordic Twitch channel on Friday 13th, 15:00 CET to around 18:00 CET, so make sure to drop by and ask your REANIMAL questions in the Twitch chat!

Join us over on Twitch on Friday 13th, 15:00 CET :

Not sure if you're ready for REANIMAL? Want a second or third opinion first? We have good news: the review embargo for REANIMAL has now dropped, so head on over to your trusted reviewer of choice and check if they got access to the game.

Do note that content creators are still under embargo until the game launches, so as to not spoil the story for anyone. If you were lucky enough to get an early copy, please do not stream/upload video of the game before launch or it will be reported for deletion.

We look forward to seeing you all at launch!

General

Q: What date and time does the game release? Is the release simultaneous across all time zones?

A: Yes, it will release via all digital stores at the same time:

We answered your questions and you guys burst the letter box with more questions, so we'll offer up 4 more questions and answers whilst we finish up the full FAQ (it's coming soon we promise).

What languages can the game be played in?

• Full audio is supported in: English, French, German, Portuguese (Brazil), Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Polish, Russian, and Spanish (Latin American)

• Interface & subtitles is supported in: English, Spanish (Spain), French, German, Italian, Arabic, Portuguese (Brazil), Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Russian, and Spanish (Latin American), Czech.

Does the game support ultrawide resolutions?

• Due to the way the camera and co-op gameplay is handled in the game, ultra-wide resolutions are only supported in the way that the game will display black bars at the edges of the screen.

Will there be microtransactions or other monetization features?

• No, Nein, Non, Нет, Nee and Nej

Are there any accessibility options?

Gameplay

• pausable

• Playable without quick time events

Audio

• Custom volume controls

• Stereo sound

• Surround sound

Are your loved ones living hundreds of miles away? Do you share a shoe-box-sized apartment where you basically trip over each other every other minute? Whatever your situation, REANIMAL has you covered for Valentine’s Day, with both couch co-op and online multiplayer! Share the scare with your loved one, no matter where they are!

In the 17 months since we announced REANIMAL, there has been no shortage of questions about the game. Will it have friends pass? Can we get a standalone version of the art book? Will it run on Steam Deck? What are the names of the children?

To answer these questions, we have been compiling a FAQ that we are aiming to publish within two weeks before launch. While some questions are still work-in-progress, here is a short preview of three questions we can already answer:

What’s in the future for REANIMAL?

• We have got three content DLC’s planned for after REANIMAL's release. More information will be released over the next few weeks.

Will the soundtrack be available separately?

• Most likely we won’t  have the OST available for the launch. But we are thinking about making the OST available later.

Will the demo be updated alongside the main game?

• We are planning to update the demo at one point, to reflect the up-to-date, more polished state of REANIMAL

What are the final hardware requirements on PC?

• These are the current requirements REANIMAL and are not likely to change.

Minimum:

Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system

OS: Windows 10/11

Processor: Ryzen 5 2400G / Core i5-9400F

Memory: 8 GB RAM

Graphics: GeForce GTX 1060 / Radeon RX 480

DirectX: Version 12

Network: Broadband Internet connection

Storage: 18 GB available space

Recommended:

Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system

OS: Windows 10/11

Processor: Ryzen 5 3600X / Core i7-7700KTBD

Memory: 16 GB RAM

Graphics: GeForce RTX 2060 / Radeon RX 6600XTTBD

DirectX: Version 12

Network: Broadband Internet connection

Storage: 18 GB available space

We are not going to pass on the chance for you to play with friends.

In the 17 months since we announced REANIMAL, one question has been asked more times than the long sheep has hairs: Will there be a friend pass for the game?

Well, good things come to those who wait, and today we are happy to confirm that yes, there will be a friends pass.

While we cannot guarantee that it will be available on day 1, we are working hard to offer you friends pass as soon as possible. More details will follow soon. For now, make sure your friends will be ready to be scared.

Below are two of our favourite screenshots from the REANIMAL demo, and now that it is available on all platforms, we want to see your favourite moments and scenes from the demo.

Show or tell us your favourite moments, be it your best or worst moment, the heights of excitement, or the depths of gut wrenching horror.

"Tickets please!"

"We are crossing that?!?"

As a thank you for the more than 1,000,000 confirmed REANIMAL wishlists, THQ Nordic and Tarsier Studios have confirmed that the Steam Demo period will be extended indefinitely. In addition, Tarsier announces plans to deploy a patch to the demo experience to address initial feedback from the community.

Play the REANIMAL demo NOW:

"We’re incredibly grateful for player response to REANIMAL to date," said Oliver Merlöv, CEO, Tarsier Studios. "There is no doubt that this high level of engagement and feedback will ultimately deliver an elevated REANIMAL experience, starting with the upcoming demo patch. Please keep sharing the scare!“

About the REANIMAL Demo

In this exclusive, co-op demo, players start at the very beginning, including the reunion of orphaned siblings trying to survive the most dire circumstances. The Boy and The Girl, our protagonists, then begin their desperate search for their missing friends together. Explore eerie environments such as the Mill and Trainyard, and uncover the first fragments of the dark mystery that binds this unsettling world.

Danger lurks in the fog: as you search for Hood, you’ll come face-to-face with the grotesque captor known only as Sniffer. From Tarsier Studios, the creators of Little Nightmares™ I and II, the demo offers a taste of the impossible terrors to come.