Little Nightmares

Little Nightmares is a very cute horror game full of mystery created by a Swedish development studio named Tarsier Studios. I haven't played many games released later than 2006 (I'm starting to catch up) but I remember this studio getting known for LittleBigPlanet which is a very cute puzzle platformer.

Little Nightmares is also a cute puzzle platformer. The environment though is rather the opposite - very dark and creepy.

The game starts with a dream where we can see a strange figure. Then we see a little girl, dressed in a bright yellow rain coat, wake up in a suitcase, in a rather dark place. The girl is named Six which is something I found out after getting a certain achievement. You control Six and lead her through a very dark environment. You learn that she has a lighter she can use to light her way. All you know is that you are in a hostile environment and you want to run away. There is no story in the game, or rather there is no text telling it. Instead all you get are clues shown to you while you push forward. It will be your own imagination creating the story. There are twists and revelations that can shatter even the worst thoughts you managed to come up with.

Since the beginning of the game you can see that the camera moves. There is a constant rocking movement (it made me sick). I wondered why it was there until I found out the game takes place on a ship named The Maw. Six will go through different places that we know from our every day lives from bathrooms, kitchen, bedroom to a restaurant. These places though are warped and you certainly wouldn't want to linger there for long. If this place is real, who lives here? You will eventually find that out - humanoid creatures live here. If Six runs into one of these creatures she should hide or run away because she'll be followed, hunted and eventually eaten if caught. Apart these humanoid monsters and other children held captive, there are little creatures, Nomes, that show you the way if you pay attention.

Little Nightmares might look like a 2d platformer but it's more of a 2.5d platformed. You can move in 3d even though the camera will be most of the time be just side scrolling. This is a nice feature and gives more options of what you can do and how you can interact with items. Unfortunately it is also one of the things that can frustrate you because guessing the exact position of Six is difficult and this can result in unnecessary deaths. Controls are a bit awkward which is not something you want when you are playing a platformer where every step and timing counts.

The art style, graphics and animations are perfect. The yellow raincoat creates a nice contrast. Everything is detailed and created in a way that is very disturbing, creating an atmosphere of a nightmare. Sound is stellar. The music makes the atmosphere even more dense and the sound effects are perfect, they will create even more tension.

Verdict:
Little Nightmares is a short game with awesome graphics and sound creating a very creepy ambience and tension. The game is part a puzzle platformer and part hide-and-seek horror game. While there is no story told in the form of text, you will be discovering more information about the environment and creatures living in it during the game and it will keep you hungry for more. The most horrific part of the game is not the graphics, stylization or creatures but rather what all this implies. Experience-wise this game is perfect, unfortunately this experience can be ruined by bad controls, bad orientation in 3d world, and some trial-and-error parts resulting in unnecessary deaths that might break the immersion. While all the death animations are nice, they take a long time and are followed by similarly slow loading time.

I'd recommend this game to anyone who wants to play a unique game that provokes thought and emotions.

Thank you for reading
Ren (stsungjp on Twitter)