When the unique Little Nightmares was launched in 2017, it received reward for its contemporary tackle puzzle platforming horror. Its sequel upped the scare issue even additional, incomes crucial acclaim whereas deepening the sequence’ mythos. With a brand new developer on the helm of its threequel, the query on everybody’s minds is whether or not the franchise’s third outing sticks the touchdown.
The reply is, ‘Yeah, kind of…’ however with some main caveats. Little Nightmares III is actually a mushy reboot for the sequence with an all-new storyline and lead protagonists, but it faithfully adheres to the well-trodden gameplay components and degree design of Tarsier Studios’ earlier entries, leading to an expertise that leans maybe an excessive amount of into reiteration relatively than reinvention.
Whereas competently executed below the auspices of Supermassive Video games, the third instalment did not spike my cortisol or wrack my nerves the way in which Little Nightmares II did. The sequence’ trial-and-error gameplay is current, together with its oppressive atmospheres and macabre set items, nevertheless it all felt extra brisk, gentler, and fewer pulse-pounding than its celebrated predecessors.
Boasting multiplayer for the primary time within the sequence’ historical past, the implementation of this fandom-requested characteristic plainly misses the mark. Whereas the sport is constructed round variations on intelligent co-dependent puzzles that require two gamers to unravel, co-op is locked behind on-line multiplayer to protect “ambiance and immersion”, in accordance with the developer.
Whereas I can perceive the intent behind not wanting Little Nightmares to play like a celebration sport, this feels to me like a case of the builders overthinking issues. After I started my evaluate, I had a pal over who had crushed the primary two video games and was keen to leap in, and the truth that I couldn’t simply hand them a Pleasure-Con felt antithetical to the sport’s multiplayer hype.
It’s a welcome addition {that a} Buddy’s Cross will likely be obtainable at launch, permitting you to play with a pal who doesn’t personal the sport, which means just one copy must be bought. Nevertheless, each gamers will want their very own consoles. Whereas cross-generation play between Nintendo Swap and Nintendo Swap 2 is supported, cross-platform play stays unavailable.
Because of these limitations (solely a single Swap code was obtainable to us in the course of the evaluate interval), I accomplished my evaluate playthrough in single-player mode, aided by an AI companion, which left issues feeling loads like Little Nightmares II, which paired its single-player mode with a bot, however much more streamlined as a result of on this entry, your CPU accomplice basically solves half the puzzles for you, given its two-player cooperative design.
You management one among two new leads: Low, a bow-and-arrow-wielding boy donning a plague physician masks, and Alone, a lady with pigtails and an aviator helmet geared up with a wrench used for melee fight and puzzling. However what’s actually puzzling, although, is the absence of any sort of character swap mechanic tailor-made particularly for single-player mode.
Whereas your AI-managed companion is mostly competent, there have been one or two cases the place it stood idle or did not carry out key actions, creating soft-lock conditions that required checkpoint reloads. These moments broke immersion and highlighted how the puzzles, clearly designed round teamwork, lose a few of their supposed satisfaction when performed solo.
Puzzles contain synchronising an motion with the wrench along with timed arrow photographs to control the surroundings, get hold of keys, and traverse obstacles, providing a brand new wrinkle on in any other case commonplace fare for the sequence. Fight conditions occurred loads much less often than I used to be anticipating, however equally required a bow and wrench pairing to complete off enemies.
Very similar to It Takes Two or Cut up Fiction, you may replay chapters, or your complete sport, as both of the 2 protagonists, experiencing how every character’s distinctive toolset alters puzzle-solving and exploration. As in earlier Little Nightmares entries, collectible objects return, cleverly hidden all through every degree to reward curiosity and thorough exploration.
What Little Nightmares III actually will get proper, although, is its ambiance, with tension-building and evocative sound design in addition to fantastically crafted biomes that convey the sequence to beforehand unseen locales, from a haunting arid desertscape with churning mills and updrafts that may be ridden with umbrellas to an deserted institute on a sub-tropical island teeming with deadly flora.
You’ll navigate crumbling fairground buildings at a surrealist nightmare carnival, evade grotesque adversaries in intentionally gradual, nail-biting stealth sequences, and be chased down by monstrous creatures impressed by anxieties surrounding authority and adolescent vulnerability. In different phrases, it nonetheless appears to be like and looks like prior Little Nightmares video games.
That stated, this entry feels distinctly extra ‘by the numbers’ than its predecessors, taking part in comfortably inside established boundaries punctuated by a couple of modest improvements to gameplay mechanics. Its storytelling unfolds in the same vein however concludes in a approach that felt like the extra chapters of paid DLC — deliberate for launch in 2026 — are wanted to completely grasp.
I accomplished my playthrough in round 4 to 5 hours, which makes it so long as previous titles, regardless of having solely 4 chapters, as in comparison with 5 in each prior entries. Efficiency on Swap 2 left a lot to be desired, basically feeling like a base Swap construct concentrating on 30fps with mushy, grainy visuals and micro-stutters aplenty when the motion ramped up.
The top-game boss, particularly, moved in a distracting, virtually stop-motion trend throughout sure sequences. Although the sport’s efficiency falters — at the very least at launch — it positively stays playable regardless of being a far cry from a ‘next-gen’ third-party expertise. Gamers who’re delicate to efficiency points ought to take into account grabbing this one on one other platform.
I encountered a irritating problem within the last chapter the place a key merchandise required for development repeatedly despawned earlier than it lastly appeared in its correct location, permitting me to proceed. Though the general gameplay expertise was in any other case easy, this incident means that a couple of lingering bugs and optimisation points should be lurking below the hood.
Conclusion
Little Nightmares III faithfully preserves the oppressive temper, intelligent environmental puzzles, and visceral unease related to the sequence, however looks like an echo of what got here earlier than. Whereas its darkish attract stays potent, the baffling absence of native co-op undercuts the sport’s most formidable characteristic. Although its multiplayer idea shines in principle, the absence of a character-swap characteristic to complement single-player mode looks like one other missed alternative.
