Huge environments and claustrophobic corridors could make Little Nightmares 3 the next big thing in trial-and-error terror
With new characters and a new development team, Little Nightmares 3 is a fresh chapter for the series.
Little Nightmares has some of the most realistic monsters in gaming.
A weird world warped through the eyes of a child, almost everyone can relate to the uneasy feeling of an environment that’s not made for you, where everything’s too big or too small, and every lumbering beast or skittering terror seems ready to set on you for the deviant act of simply existing in their space.
Going into another sequel, I’d wondered how Little Nightmares 3 could up the ante again. The original Little Nightmares was a great example of a well-executed concept with a limited scope but striking direction that really resonated with a lot of people - a spooky, puzzly, atmospheric creeper that was memorably chilling and dark as pitch without the grindhouse gore of more action-oriented horror games.
But then Little Nightmares 2 expanded the scale and depth of the experience in almost every way; first introducing a more direct and twisty narrative with mystical sci-fi elements that grew to a really powerful climax, before widening its mechanics, as Six and the new character, Mono, teamed up to escape dark and dense forests, the towering skyscrapers of The Pale City and even frantic close-combat sections in a monstrous schoolhouse.
The success of these puts Little Nightmares 3 in an interesting position, with new-found status as one of the biggest, most-recognised and anticipated releases within Namco Bandai’s slate of upcoming games. But that also plonks a really tough task into its hands, asking it to deliver a tangible step-up on that promise without undermining the feel that made Little Nightmares’ name in the first place - particularly since the series has a new developer.
Little Nightmares 3 is made by Supermassive Games - of The Quarry, Dark Pictures and Until Dawn fame - rather than its originators, Tarsier Studios. But while that seems like a bit of a left turn on paper, Supermassive does have DNA in platformers from when it produced LittleBigPlanet DLC while working closer with Sony around the 2010s, so actually, it does seem like a natural fit.
In the two sections of the game I played at Gamescom 2024, it looks like Supermassive has tried to continue Tarsier’s work by both cranking up the scope, scale and complexity of environments - which ranged from sprawling, endless dunes to smoke-choked cities - and expanding the amount of environmental interactivity, with two new unique characters to play as, Alone and Low.
Alone can whack things open or twist bolts with a big wrench, while Low can push buttons and break off useful objects with their bow and arrow, both of which give some welcome new dimensions to puzzle-solving.
The first demo started in a barren, sandy desert, devoid of life in every direction. Despite the surroundings, the sense of depth that the art style manages to conjure in the relatively small play area on-screen looked very crisp and the lighting and soundscape were both immersive and atmospheric.
I never expected to be so instantly whisked away by climbing a really, really long ladder, but forcing you to sit with the whistling wind and foreboding ambiance does a lot to set the tone.
Next up was a classic Little Nightmares staple, where Alone and Low needed to slip past a six-armed secretary as she menacingly went about her work. Near the beginning, a silhouetted reveal of the secretary’s leftover limbs was excellent, but overall it was the part that felt least removed from what I’d already played in the last two games.
This could’ve just been because I was thrust into an unfamiliar area with mechanics that are introduced earlier or later in the cadence of the full game, but I did feel like the new kids’ handy equipment - particularly Low’s bow - led to me trying a bit too hard with the different puzzle rooms. It was easy to fixate on shooting a standout piece of background detail that you couldn’t actually interact with, which would then get you caught by the monster and have to trudge back through a lengthy checkpoint a couple of rooms earlier to have another go.
The trial-and-error in Little Nightmares’ puzzles, especially when you’re being chased down by not-so-little nightmares, has always been the most contentious part of its design, since the frustration can undercut the tension that’s been so well built up to that point. But whether it’s achieved with tweaked signposting, clearing away a bit of background clutter, or stronger lessons on what you can and can’t do in the game’s world, I hope it’s a quibble that can be overcome.
Little Nightmares 3 is slated for 2025, and will likely come to PC and PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo consoles.