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REANIMAL Story Deep Dive Analysis: The Orphans' Ritual and the Truth of the Cursed WorldDelve into the complex story of REANIMAL, exploring the brutal ritual performed by orphans to regain peace and the secrets of a world transformed by it. This analysis reconstructs the chronological order of in-game events and presents intriguing hypotheses about the children's sacrifice and rebirth, as well as the origin of the curse that turns them into animals.
1. 🎮 The Beginning of REANIMAL's Story: Orphans' Despair and Ritual
· REANIMAL's story has a unique chronological order where the game's ending is its beginning.
· All the children in the game are orphans, and the game description mentions playing as an orphaned brother and sister.
· Five children (including the siblings) perform a blood ritual on a statue in an orphanage room. This ritual has a specific goal, and the book next to it is presumed to contain the ritual's procedures.
· Dave Mervik, writer for Little Nightmares and director/writer for REANIMAL, mentioned that the children lived in a beautiful place, but for reasons to be revealed through the game, it became uninhabitable.
· This is more likely due to war than the appearance of monsters, and the children were used for farm labor, animal care, and even killing enemies. Some children lost their emotions and committed murder without hesitation.
· In despair, the children discovered a book about rituals and sacrifice, and to regain a normal life, they carried out a brutal ritual, sacrificing a friend (one child's younger sister).
· All the children in the game are orphans, and the game description mentions playing as an orphaned brother and sister.
· Five children (including the siblings) perform a blood ritual on a statue in an orphanage room. This ritual has a specific goal, and the book next to it is presumed to contain the ritual's procedures.
· Dave Mervik, writer for Little Nightmares and director/writer for REANIMAL, mentioned that the children lived in a beautiful place, but for reasons to be revealed through the game, it became uninhabitable.
· This is more likely due to war than the appearance of monsters, and the children were used for farm labor, animal care, and even killing enemies. Some children lost their emotions and committed murder without hesitation.
· In despair, the children discovered a book about rituals and sacrifice, and to regain a normal life, they carried out a brutal ritual, sacrificing a friend (one child's younger sister).
00:00 - 01:57
1. 🎮 The Beginning of REANIMAL's Story: Orphans' Despair and Ritual
· REANIMAL's story has a unique chronological order where the game's ending is its beginning.
· All the children in the game are orphans, and the game description mentions playing as an orphaned brother and sister.
· Five children (including the siblings) perform a blood ritual on a statue in an orphanage room. This ritual has a specific goal, and the book next to it is presumed to contain the ritual's procedures.
· Dave Mervik, writer for Little Nightmares and director/writer for REANIMAL, mentioned that the children lived in a beautiful place, but for reasons to be revealed through the game, it became uninhabitable.
· This is more likely due to war than the appearance of monsters, and the children were used for farm labor, animal care, and even killing enemies. Some children lost their emotions and committed murder without hesitation.
· In despair, the children discovered a book about rituals and sacrifice, and to regain a normal life, they carried out a brutal ritual, sacrificing a friend (one child's younger sister).
· All the children in the game are orphans, and the game description mentions playing as an orphaned brother and sister.
· Five children (including the siblings) perform a blood ritual on a statue in an orphanage room. This ritual has a specific goal, and the book next to it is presumed to contain the ritual's procedures.
· Dave Mervik, writer for Little Nightmares and director/writer for REANIMAL, mentioned that the children lived in a beautiful place, but for reasons to be revealed through the game, it became uninhabitable.
· This is more likely due to war than the appearance of monsters, and the children were used for farm labor, animal care, and even killing enemies. Some children lost their emotions and committed murder without hesitation.
· In despair, the children discovered a book about rituals and sacrifice, and to regain a normal life, they carried out a brutal ritual, sacrificing a friend (one child's younger sister).
01:58 - 05:10
2. 📜 The Purpose of the Ritual and the Sacrificed Children
· The purpose of the ritual might have been the restoration of peace, at the cost of sacrificing a loved one.
· The book might have contained content such as 'Sacrifice with the blood of a loved one, and our king will return to grant our wishes.'
· The sacrifice likely required more than one human, and in the game's secret ending, the sacrificed souls appear.
· The player character, the girl, was the last sacrifice along with the rabbit, while previously, a fox, horse, pig, and bird were sacrificed.
· The book likely contained drawings of creatures near the well, and the children knew of these creatures' existence but were too devastated by the war to care.
· Before the ritual was completed, the children's crimes were discovered, and they were executed.
· After their deaths, the ritual was completed, and a flood occurred. This phenomenon resulted from the ritual's completion and their crimes.
· The book might have contained content such as 'Sacrifice with the blood of a loved one, and our king will return to grant our wishes.'
· The sacrifice likely required more than one human, and in the game's secret ending, the sacrificed souls appear.
· The player character, the girl, was the last sacrifice along with the rabbit, while previously, a fox, horse, pig, and bird were sacrificed.
· The book likely contained drawings of creatures near the well, and the children knew of these creatures' existence but were too devastated by the war to care.
· Before the ritual was completed, the children's crimes were discovered, and they were executed.
| Victim | Execution Method |
|---|---|
| Girl's Brother | Hanging |
| Hood (Child who killed the girl) | Shot by soldiers |
| Bandage | Died by bomb |
| Puck | Fell to death from a high place in the orphanage |
· After their deaths, the ritual was completed, and a flood occurred. This phenomenon resulted from the ritual's completion and their crimes.
05:11 - 07:46
3. 🌊 Rebirth and the Spread of the Curse: REANIMAL's Worldview
· After the children's deaths and the flood, they come back to life. The brother saves his sister, but she attacks him, seemingly remembering the betrayal.
· Is the children's rebirth due to the ritual? The war-torn world, the flood, and all phenomena of humans transforming into strange creatures are connected to the ritual.
· The game title 'REANIMAL' means 'return to life' or 'transformation into animals.'
· Initially, one might think the flood caused the animal transformation epidemic, but sheep near the well were already preparing for the ritual before the flood. This suggests that the curse or epidemic already existed before the ritual's completion.
· The ritual merely accelerated the spread of this curse.
· It's unclear when the children were reborn. The events at the well were real, and the fact that the girl was in the middle of the sea where the flood began indicates they are in their original world, not an afterlife.
· Monsters existed in their world even before the ritual was completed. If the curse already existed, why would the sheep want the ritual to be completed?
· Is the children's rebirth due to the ritual? The war-torn world, the flood, and all phenomena of humans transforming into strange creatures are connected to the ritual.
· The game title 'REANIMAL' means 'return to life' or 'transformation into animals.'
· Initially, one might think the flood caused the animal transformation epidemic, but sheep near the well were already preparing for the ritual before the flood. This suggests that the curse or epidemic already existed before the ritual's completion.
· The ritual merely accelerated the spread of this curse.
· It's unclear when the children were reborn. The events at the well were real, and the fact that the girl was in the middle of the sea where the flood began indicates they are in their original world, not an afterlife.
· Monsters existed in their world even before the ritual was completed. If the curse already existed, why would the sheep want the ritual to be completed?
07:47 - 10:19
4. 💡 Two Hypotheses for REANIMAL's Story
· Currently, there are two main hypotheses for REANIMAL's story.
· The ritual could only be completed after the four children who committed the crime died.
· After their deaths and subsequent rebirth, the ritual was completed, and the flood was a signal announcing the ritual's completion and the demon's birth.
· The four children did not know that they were destined to become part of the sacrifice after the demon's birth, becoming food for this strange entity, as their blood was a crucial element of the ritual.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Hypothesis 1: Rebirth in the Original World (Most Logical) | · The adventures in the game take place in the children's original world. · The ritual aims to rebirth the sacrificed children in the form of animals (birds, horses, sheep, spiders, etc.) that were sacrificed with them. · These creatures grow over time and emerge from the victims' bodies. · These victims are the souls appearing in the secret ending, the children sacrificed before the girl and the rabbit. · This hypothesis is more logical because monsters already existed before the ritual. · The ritual might be for the birth of a king or demon in the natural world. |
| Hypothesis 2: Events in the Afterlife (Less Logical) | · This hypothesis suggests the children are in the afterlife. · However, it is not logical because strange creatures already existed in the real world. · Performing a ritual for a demon or king to be born in another world is irrational; they would want the demon to be born in the world they inhabit. |
· The ritual could only be completed after the four children who committed the crime died.
· After their deaths and subsequent rebirth, the ritual was completed, and the flood was a signal announcing the ritual's completion and the demon's birth.
· The four children did not know that they were destined to become part of the sacrifice after the demon's birth, becoming food for this strange entity, as their blood was a crucial element of the ritual.
11:04 - 12:44
5. 🎮 REANIMAL vs. Little Nightmares Comparison
· REANIMAL surpasses Little Nightmares in terms of horror and world exploration.
· However, Little Nightmares remains superior in terms of story and characters.
· Little Nightmares is a deep game where all elements—game, comics, podcasts—contribute to connecting the story.
· However, Little Nightmares remains superior in terms of story and characters.
| Category | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Story | · Complex but still incomplete information. · Focus on rituals and curses. | · Existence of two worlds. · Humans (the Janitor, the Lady, the Doctor) gradually become aware of beings from another world targeting psychologically damaged children. |
| Characters | · All characters die in the first game. · Difficulty in forming deep bonds with characters. | · Engaging characters whose fates make you wonder even after the game ends. · Good characters whose deaths evoke sadness. · Characters and monsters with deep backstories. · Even small actions by monsters can change the entire concept of the story. · Most characters, though not in-game, are capable of dialogue in the lore. |
· Little Nightmares is a deep game where all elements—game, comics, podcasts—contribute to connecting the story.