When the unique Little Nightmares was launched in 2017, it gained reward for its contemporary tackle puzzle platforming horror. Its sequel upped the scare issue even additional, incomes essential acclaim whereas deepening the collection’ 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 delicate reboot for the collection with an all-new storyline and lead protagonists, but it faithfully adheres to the well-trodden gameplay components and stage design of Tarsier Studios’ earlier entries, leading to an expertise that leans maybe an excessive amount of into reiteration fairly than reinvention.
Whereas competently executed underneath the auspices of Supermassive Video games, the third instalment didn’t spike my cortisol or wrack my nerves the way in which Little Nightmares II did. The collection’ trial-and-error gameplay is current, together with its oppressive atmospheres and macabre set items, however it all felt extra brisk, gentler, and fewer pulse-pounding than its celebrated predecessors.
Boasting multiplayer for the primary time within the collection’ historical past, the implementation of this fandom-requested function plainly misses the mark. Whereas the sport is constructed round variations on intelligent co-dependent puzzles that require two gamers to resolve, co-op is locked behind on-line multiplayer to protect “environment and immersion”, based on 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 assessment, 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} Pal’s Cross might be out there at launch, permitting you to play with a pal who doesn’t personal the sport, that means just one copy must be bought. Nonetheless, 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 out there to us through the assessment interval), I accomplished my assessment playthrough in single-player mode, aided by an AI companion, which left issues feeling quite a bit 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 companion primarily solves half the puzzles for you, given its two-player cooperative design.
You management one in every of 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 usually competent, there have been one or two situations the place it stood idle or didn’t 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 govern the surroundings, get hold of keys, and traverse obstacles, providing a brand new wrinkle on in any other case commonplace fare for the collection. Fight conditions occurred quite a bit much less regularly than I used to be anticipating, however equally required a bow and wrench pairing to complete off enemies.
Very like It Takes Two or Break up Fiction, you may replay chapters, or the whole 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 gadgets return, cleverly hidden all through every stage to reward curiosity and thorough exploration.
What Little Nightmares III actually will get proper, although, is its environment, with tension-building and evocative sound design in addition to superbly crafted biomes that deliver the collection 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 constructions 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 seems and feels like prior Little Nightmares video games.
That stated, this entry feels distinctly extra ‘by the numbers’ than its predecessors, enjoying 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 manner 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, primarily feeling like a base Swap construct concentrating on 30fps with delicate, grainy visuals and micro-stutters aplenty when the motion ramped up.
The top-game boss, specifically, moved in a distracting, virtually stop-motion trend throughout sure sequences. Although the sport’s efficiency falters — at the 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 contemplate grabbing this one on one other platform.
I encountered a irritating subject 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 still be lurking underneath the hood.
Conclusion
Little Nightmares III faithfully preserves the oppressive temper, intelligent environmental puzzles, and visceral unease related to the collection, however appears 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 bold function. Although its multiplayer idea shines in idea, the absence of a character-swap function to complement single-player mode appears like one other missed alternative.
