Little Nightmares III
Developer: Supermassive Games
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Switch, Switch 2, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S (Reviewed), PC
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $39.99 USD – Available Here $64.95 – Available Here
Overview
It’s always a little concerning whenever a franchise shifts hands to a new developer, even if the new developer happens to be one just as skilled in the genre as the original. Such is the case with Little Nightmares, a game that saw its first two titles created and handled by Tarsier Studios only now Supermassive Games of Until Dawn and Dark Pictures fame have taken the reins with Little Nightmares III, trying to implement a different twist to the horror that fans have come to expect from the series. The question is, with these new hands at the wheel and some new mechanics brought in to keep things fresh, have they managed to succeed or simply tread along for now under their predecessors’ shadow?
Story
Playing as either Alone, a girl with orange pig-tails wearing a jumpsuit and aviator mask and wielding a wrench the size of herself, or a boy named Low who wears a raven mask and wields a bow and arrow awaken in the middle of their journey in front of a broken mirror, finding themselves in the Necropolis within the “Spiral.” Little is known about who these two little children are, other than that there are horrors that they will need to run away from as they search for their goal with the first one being a gigantic ominous baby capable of turning anything it looks at into stone.
Throughout this short, little over four hour journey, players will slowly get to feel out a bit more of the storyline through snippets of flashbacks and some eventually quite clear examples of what is happening at least in regards to the relationship between the two main characters as they explore through the dead Necropolis, candy coated sweets factory, sprawling carnival, and generic hospital, but unfortunately that’s really all there is. Each stage has various main enemies that feel a bit too generic for their own good, lacking the impactful nature that many of the past games’ monstrosities have offered and even the final “twist” is lacking impact as well. Though this may be due to the fact that the game is being sold with two additional “stages” of content that will release sometime in the future which may address the ending’s nature, though how it might address it we can’t say to avoid spoiling it.
Gameplay
One of the key elements of Little Nightmares III is the fact that it is designed to be played with “co-op” in mind. So much so that the game launched with a similar element that games like Split Fiction and It Takes Two offered, a “Friend’s Pass” that means it only takes one player to actually own the game to play with a friend online. Unfortunately, cross-play is not available nor is the ability to “drop-in” and “drop-out” of gameplay so if players are playing with a random online or not a close friend, they’ll be out of luck. In fact, there isn’t even a couch co-op option in any way, something that is a surprisingly shocking absence given how undemanding the title seems to run even on “beauty” settings. This isn’t the first time that there have been co-op elements in the franchise however as the second entry saw players accompanied by Six who would assist in various tasks and if players are playing solo, then their AI partner will act almost exactly the same way and thankfully quite quickly more often than not. It is worth noting that it is possible for the AI partner to get in the way in some of the more finicky locations, potentially causing a fall or failed jump but thankfully the checkpoints tend to be right at the door to that room.
Depending on which character players select, since there is oddly no ability to swap between characters in single player mode, they will be limited to one tool. Alone will make use of her over-sized wrench to smash through pre-damaged walls or floors, turn items in the environment, or even perform the “coup-de-grace” on smaller enemies that appear during combat sequences. If players are playing as Low they will instead have access to his bow and arrow capable of hitting switches that are out of reach and can open doors, snipe through threadbare ropes to drop boxes, and knock smaller enemies out of the sky or the heads off of weaker foes for Alone to, as mentioned before, finish off. Solo players must always take and at least do their part and the AI will usually handle theirs quite effectively, though there are a few times they’ll wander into an enemy and die instantly during combat, and the same can be said for puzzles. The AI will generally always head to a lever that might need two people to pull, automatically shoot down an obstacle, or even “call” for the player to come over and smack open a wall if they haven’t noticed it yet.
That being said, almost every puzzle is shockingly easy and hardly frightening, which was quite a disappointment. While being stuck with a brain scratcher would be frustrating, the more likely “challenges” that players will face when it comes to puzzles would be side-objectives for Achievements like deliberately carrying a ball up an elevator to shoot a basket or feeding a trapped monster some sausage. Instead almost everything else tends to rely on simple pulling and pushing platforms around, doors open, or simply platforming in some rather hit and miss style platforming where players will often feel like they fell and died for no good reason other than the character not grabbing the platform correctly. These can feel real cheap during a chase especially as the chase sequences from the “big bads” of every stage tend to be make-or-break affairs where a single mistake will start the run over, even if it happens to be a mistake the AI made in getting caught. Thankfully there are quite a few checkpoints here and there to help make these issues more tolerable.
As mentioned before, there are various “random” things players can do for achievements in levels and some of these also include using random items such as an umbrella that players have access to for the first two stages that can be used to either slow their descent or glide with updrafts and a flashlight that well, is a flashlight only in the final two stages. There are also various collectables along the different stages, with each one having a certain number of dolls, some including the returning Nomes, and other things though there is unfortunately no reward for gathering everything.
Audio & Visuals
Each of the four stages throughout Little Nightmares III have a unique design to them and theme, giving at least some variance to the fact that most of the puzzles tend to be the same throughout. The best of these stages happens to be the carnival that is not only the longest level but also the most varied, featuring some monstrous Beasts of men and an even more twisted final enemy to deal with. The designs of Alone and Low are rather simple but work quite well overall, and it is worth noting that players can get extra costumes for these characters by purchasing DLC though, that being said, most of the costumes aren’t particularly good even for big fans of the franchise and the references.
There is no real dialogue throughout the game other than minimal soft-calling between Alone and Low as well as the screams and cries of the various massive bosses that will chase and grab after them. There are some great atmospheric sounds to help build up the suspense however, though it is also worth noting that there isn’t much in the way of a soundtrack for the game, which is surprising given how effective it was in previous entries.
Overall
Little Nightmares III still delivers the same atmospheric scares that fans of the franchise have come to expect, it just really doesn’t do it in any better way than before. If anything it almost lets it down a bit instead thanks to the designs of some enemies being a bit too substandard at times. It doesn’t help that the co-op gameplay is only available online and cannot be done through couch co-op, meaning players cannot experience the environmental puzzles and surreal exploration as intended, simply having to rely on AI to navigate the ever-growing horrors awaiting in this shorter game.
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