The release of Reanimal turned into a scandal: gamers slammed the game's rating due to the developers' treacherous decision (updated)

Updated at 21:30 (CET)

It turned out that the absence of a free Friend Pass in the Steam version of Reanimal is a bug, not a deliberate decision by the developers, and it has been promptly fixed.

Original News

The release of the adventure horror game with platformer elements Reanimal from Tarsier Studios — creators of the first two parts of Little Nightmares, has happened.

The game is already available on PC, PS5, Xbox Series, and Switch 2 and was highly praised by critics, having every chance of huge success among gamers. However, an unkind act by the developer (or publisher) instantly marred the game's reputation.

What is known

Even before the release, the authors stated that since Reanimal was created with co-op play in mind, there would be a Friend Pass available in the game, allowing a second player to be invited without the need to purchase a second copy (as seen, for example, in Little Nightmares 3 or It Takes Two).

However, to the disappointment of gamers, it turned out that this option would be available "later," and now you can only invite those who have purchased the game. If the developers mentioned this, it went completely unnoticed amid a massive advertising campaign emphasizing the advantages and features of Reanimal. Judging by reviews on Steam, many bought the game specifically for the co-op play option with just a single copy purchase.

As a result, we have a situation where critics and those who initially planned to play alone are thrilled with the game, praising all its aspects (80 points on Metacritic and 81 points with 86% recommendations on OpenCritic), while co-op enthusiasts feel deceived and rightfully slammed the rating of Reanimal on Steam — at the time of writing, 33% positive reviews.

It is likely that the studio will still make the Friend Pass, but the reputation of Tarsier, as well as the game itself, is already tarnished. Although, objectively, this was most likely a decision of the publisher THQ Nordic.

Source: Tarsier Studios