Is Little Nightmares The Game for You?

In this review, I will be analyzing Little Nightmares on story, gameplay, combat, and design. I will make my claims based on personal experience with the games as well as opinions from others who have played the game. The aim is to be unbiased and to give the game a well-deserved review that could help you decide whether this game should be on your play next list or not.

1. About Little Nightmares

Little Nightmares is a puzzle-platformer horror adventure game that has players control a young girl named Six as she tries to escape the ship she is on. The game was first released on April 28, 2017 and was developed by Tarsier Studies and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The game had been originally announced in May 2014 under the title Hunger, but was not heard from again until August 2016 when Bandai Namco Entertainment had become the game’s publisher and the new title, Little Nightmares, had been given. Upon its launch, players were excited for the eerie, Studio Ghibli vibe the game offered. The game has been estimated to have sold near 92,000 copies in its opening week on the market. Currently, it has a 9/10 on Steam and 8.8/10 on ign, maintaining a steady popularity amongst old and new players.

2. Little Nightmares’ Story

Players take control of Six, a little girl donning a yellow raincoat that hides her face. Six wakes inside of a luggage bag and the game takes off from there. The players do not know what lead to her being where she was or what exactly she is looking for. There is no direct story guiding the player. Rather, the player must discover the story through the environment and by solving puzzles. The story is slow to start as players are trying to understand the situation they are in and just what their objective is. But even after completing the game the players are left wondering just who Six is and what her purpose is supposed to be. All the players know is that she is a little girl trying to escape a ship she has been trapped on. There is a DLC for the game called Secrets of The Maw that can help show more of the storyline. The three chapter DLC game gives more of a story on the ship, named The Maw, the children trapped on the ship—by playing a new character called the Runaway Kid—and who the Nomes who help Six along the way are. Still, not enough of the story is explained with the added content. The developers most likely left the game open ended to allow players to piece together their own theories on the game to make it a more personal experience for the player.

The cover art for The Secrets of the Maw DLC where you can see both Six and the Runaway Kid.

3. Little Nightmares’ Gameplay

The game is a puzzle platformer that combines two dimensional side scrolling with three dimensional depth. Players need to explore the area they are in to find an escape to the next area. With the three dimensional depth, players can fully explore their current area. But players have to be careful where they walk as the map has holes or ledges players can accidentally fall of and kill Six. Not to worry, though, there are checkmarks throughout the game set up as lanterns Six can light up with her handy lighter. At times, Six will need help to activate certain parts of the puzzles or to find an exit. The help comes in the form of Nomes, little creatures that roam the Maw with a childlike wonder of the ship and Six. Sometimes, puzzles could be difficult to figure out, causing the players to touch everything in the area until something happens that gives players a hint on what to do next. This could be frustrating, but also gives a sense of accomplishment when the puzzle is solved.

4. Little Nightmares’ Combat

There is no combat system in the game. The player either has to solve a puzzle or run from enemies. With how enormous the area and enemies are, players have to crouch, sneak, and find small crevices to hide to avoid conflict and safely make their way to the next area.

Six running from one of the enemies with only her lighter as her guide.

5. Little Nightmares’ Quest/Mission System

The only quest given to the player is to escape by any means necessary. But there are side quests both in the main game and the DLC. For the main game, players must find all the huggable Nomes in order to receive an achievement. The second side quest is breaking all the geisha statues strewn about the levels. When breaking the statues, a dark mist escapes. It is not clear what this mist is. It could be dark magic being released, or trapped souls being released. This is something up for the players to decide and theorize on. In the DLC, the players find bottles containing and essence called Flotsam. It is unknown what the Flotsam is or why the Runaway Kid is collecting it, but it does earn players the third collectors trophy.

6. Little Nightmares’ Graphics

The game has an eerie feel to it in the form of heavy shadows with only a center-point of light to guide the players. At times, players are subject to total darkness with only Six’s lighter to guide their way. While we never fully see Six’s face, the characters we do see are large and grotesque. They are most likely meant to creep out the players as a sign to avoid the enemies. Since the game is set on a ship, objects tend to slide back and forth, either being an aid or hindrance. The background music is soft and ambient, meant to not be a distraction for the character but to further enhance the experience of playing the game.

7. Little Nightmares’ Developer

Little Nightmares was developed by Tarsier Studies and was published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The developers are best known for their game series LitteBigPlanet. The Sweden based independent development studio was founded in 2004, originally named Team Tarsier. The name was then changed in 2009 to Tarsier Studios after their first two official projects were released. The team may be small, at only about forty employees, but that means there is less of a hassle to communicate with them. They are on all major social media platforms and have been known to answer player questions, even answering game questions in interviews.

8. Little Nightmares’ Price

Little Nightmares is currently available for PC, PS4, XBOX One, and the Nintendo Switch. The game can either be purchased on its own or in a special edition called Little Nightmares—Six Edition. The special edition includes; the Little Nightmares game, a 10 cm figure of Six, a themed cage box for the bundle, an exclusive poster, stickers, and the original soundtrack for the game. The physical standard edition is priced at $19.99, while the special edition is priced at about $23.00. Each DLC will cost about $4.00 for each of the three chapters or $9.99 for all chapters in a bundle. If players wish, there are add-Ons for the game in the form of masks Six can wear throughout the game priced at $0.99 each.

9. Final Verdict

Little Nightmares is an interesting game to play. It may not be for everyone, especially for those who are not fans of there being no direct story guiding the gameplay. But for those who enjoy discovering the story and creating their own game theories, than this game will be just what they are looking for. I give this game an 8 out of 10 only because some of the puzzles were extremely difficult to figure out without the use of a guide, controls being difficult to manage at times, and it was very easy to fall off platforms or ledges due to depth inaccuracy. But the game was pleasing to play and discover and offers a re-playable factor in going back to find missing collectables and searching for subtle hints that had been clues to future events in the game.

Pros