Game Review: Little Nightmares

 

Little Nightmares is a franchise I’ve always been aware of but never got around to playing until now. I figured with my horror game focus this month, now was as good a time as ever to dive into the franchise and see if it lives up to its reputation. 

Developed by Swedish developer Tarsier Studios and published by Bandai Namco, Little Nightmares is a 2.5D platforming/puzzle game layered with a consistent theme of horror. It was released in 2017 on most mainline consoles with additional ports being produced and released a few years later. It’s interesting that up until this point that I never heard of Tarsier as their credits seem to be based on a collection of well-known platforming games like LittleBigPlanet and Tearaway Unlimited.  It’s worth recognising that history in platforming as you can tell it’s where they built the primary foundation of Little Nightmares.

Little Nightmares’ narrative plays out on a visual level, with no dialogue or pre-established context given as the player begins the game. For the purpose of this review however I’ll give a pretty basic summary of the setup behind the game. You play as a little girl called Six, who is alone and starving amidst a giant vessel called the Maw. Six’s sole goal is to escape the Maw before it’s dangerous and grotesque inhabitants find and kill her.  Without the use of dialogue or cutscenes, a lot of this narrative is implied through the visual cues of this world as Six explores it. It’s a game which similar to Inside is there for the player to interpret.

Unlike Inside however, I don’t feel the narrative of Little Nightmares succeeds as well as it could have. I think in terms of world-building the game has some really unnerving concepts that while interesting on their own; lack any meaningful connection when looked at on a whole basis. This singular detachment is often what lets Little Nightmares experience down from being truly memorable in my eyes. There’s hints of a far darker nature behind Six and the world she inhabits, but the game lacks the focus or length to give those concepts the much-needed exposition they deserved. 

While the games narrative feels undercooked though, the same cannot be said for its visual scope. The world of Little Nightmares is brimming with so much detail that I would argue it’s worth playing for this element alone. There’s this really unnerving style embedded into the world and its creature design that reminds me of old-style Claymation.  The way the main enemies in this game are designed are the biggest reflection of the nightmarish tone this game is out to project. The Janitor for example is this long-armed man with a face that doesn’t fully cling to his head. The Chef Brothers faces also droop over their heads like they aren’t fully fitted to them. It’s these subtle yet all around captivating details which help immerse you in the horror this world is establishing and it’s found all throughout it’s runtime. 

On a gameplay element I also really enjoyed how smartly deployed the games mechanics are. It’s where the visual elements often blend together with the technical concepts the most. These environments you come across as Six not only visualise the creepy world you are cast in, but they’re designed in a way which subtly leads you towards your objective without ever having to hold your hand. As you are very small, combat is not a factor in the gameplay however, so your main form of progression will be by sneaking and overcoming puzzles. There’s a nice amount of variety within the set-pieces each level presents you too that it never feels boring or repetitive. I think where the gameplay is let down a small bit is in its length however, as I found the levels grew shorter as you progress through the game.

On the whole I think Little Nightmares is a solid platforming experience that despite a few minor trip-ups does a brilliant job in producing memorable experience to get lost in. It’s a world littered in horrific style and clever level design and I have a desire to experience more of this world in the future.