Little Nightmares 3 has arrived on the Switch and Switch 2, PS4 and PS5, PC, and Xbox One and Series S/X.
Wow! That was a mouthful... but hey, you get the point, the game has dropped and the publishers, Bandai Namco, were kind enough to provide a review copy to play the game on PS5.
Going into this game I was hopefully optimistic. There was talk about how the original developers of Little Nightmares 1 and 2, Tarsier Studios, was acquired by Embracer Group, which meant their focus was pushed to other projects. When I heard that Bandai Namco brought in SuperMassive Games to work on this third installment, I gave a sigh of relief. SuperMassive is behind some great horror titles like Until Dawn, The Quarry and The Dark Pictures games. I know that being so well versed in horror and creepiness, Little Nightmares 3 would be safe here.
For the most part, I was right! Little Nightmares 3 is a great little title, while definitely having its moments to shine, it doesn't quite live up to the previous installments. That's not to say it's not good, because it definitely is good! Let's discuss!
We are introduced to our two silent protagonists, a boy called Low and a girl called Alone. This game is more of a standalone game compared to the previous entries, with Six being out of the picture this time, but having the story set in the same universe. So if you're wondering if you should start here, I'd say sure, why not?!
As Low and Alone, you are tasked to escape The Nowhere. In Little Nightmares fashion, this is done by navigating creepy areas, solving satisfying puzzles and facing truly unnerving monsters. The monsters here are similar to the other games in that they are so Tim Burton-inspired, gross, and otherworldly and unnatural. That being said they are pretty unique to this game and made my spine tingle. However, I couldn't help but think that maybe because there are now two of us running and sneaking, it’s not as scary. Don't get me wrong, it's still tense and thrilling to sneak around and run from creatures. That first monster, the giant baby, creeped me out, big time!
Traversal stands out here. Much like the previous entries, players will find themselves running, jumping, dragging items with them, climbing, jumping and crawling through tight spaces… your typical 2D puzzle platforming. The way it is executed, though, is where it truly shines. For example, Low and Alone are climbing a giant ladder on the side of a building, as the camera starts zooming in, it slowly zooms out, the higher you get. Showing so much of the world in the background, with the characters in foreground. The depth of field, it’s truly breathtaking and intentional. The game is constantly making players navigate through or along paths or down hallways, each time, showing more of the foreground, or background, making the player constantly watch for what could be there or what could come around the next corner. With every step, you never knew what was waiting for you. What I appreciated was the environmental storytelling - there was always something interesting to look at, that made you stop and ponder how or why it was like that.
I will say, however, that sometimes due to the depth of field that the game plays with, I did have moments where I missed a door, or fell off a ledge. This was one of my complaints in the original games. It still happened here, but it did happen a lot less. The depth of field felt more refined, easier to see.
Where this game stands out from the others is the fact that there are two characters with two different tools. Low wields a bow, which he can shoot at targets or objects or even switches. He will auto-lock on to each target, allowing the player to easily press R2 to fire an arrow. Alone carries a wrench, which when prompted, she can smack and back enemies or walls or objects. Using these characters and their tools together felt very fresh and I really enjoyed it. I wasn't expecting it to feel so seamless when playing alone, but it did. In terms of how controlling both characters alone feels - you play as one character and the AI of the other character can be whistled over or drop visual hints if you are stuck.
Speaking of playing alone, I played this game alone. Yep, I don't really have friends to play with… but this game features online co-op where instead of controlling both characters, both people control one each. In theory, I could imagine this would be a super-fun experience. What really confuses me, though, is the fact that they completely left couch-co-op out of the final product. I may be missing something here, but when the game boasts two playable characters, wouldn’t it make sense to add a local couch- co-op? I mean, look at how successful It Takes Two & Split Fiction are. This in my opinion is a huge missed opportunity that would’ve felt natural, and quite frankly, more fun. The game hinges on the fact that you are a team and playing to each character's strengths, one shoots from a distance, the other smacks the crap out of whatever has been shot. A perfect dichotomy that lends itself well to solo play and by the looks of it, online co-op. It’s also worth noting that if you have the game and your buddy does not, they can get the friend pass for free so you can play together.
While gameplay for the most part is good, it wasn’t perfect. I found myself a few times with Low and his arrow that if I wasn't a precise angle when looking at an enemy, or just a millisecond off, his arrows would miss or not hit the enemies in time and result in an in-game death. It wasn’t anything game breaking, but just didn’t feel good either. Combat in these games is always a bit iffy for me. A stand out new element for me was the use of umbrellas to ease our landing when jumping off high edges or even to float up wards, using gusts of winds.
Little Nightmares 3 looks absolutely gorgeous and runs great. With gloomy, soft lighting, beautiful textures and a nice frame rate of 60fps in performance mode, or when in beauty mode, a stable 30fps. There were some brief stutters in the early moments of the game but nothing too jarring in my opinion. It looks grotesque, dirty, creepy, gloomy and I, for one, love it.
Not enough people acknowledge sound design. I feel like at this point, Little Nightmares 3 is no exception in the series when it comes to sound design. I recommend playing with headphones. As you explore, you hear so many things - floor boards creaking, ominous humming and whispers, the pitter patter of your feet, ambient rumbles and even silence. It always makes you look around, it keeps you on edge and it really adds to the atmosphere. It sounds so crisp!
The Little Nightmares games are known for their visual and non-verbal story telling, Little Nightmares 3 does have moments to me, where it felt more predictable, but I will say that just because I could see certain things coming, it didn’t take away from my entertainment. Without spoilers, I did find the story quite sad, particularly the ending which to me, works for this game. As for length, it took me roughly 3.5-4 hours to compete. I can see some people having an issue with the length and how much it costs, but to me I appreciated that it was short and sweet and didn't overstay its welcome.
Little Nightmares 3 is a solid entry to the franchise, and if you like the games or this genre of games there is a lot to love here. It feels like a great way to tie the series into a nice trilogy where each game feels unique, but not without their minor issues.
