Little Nightmares

Little Nightmares is a psychological puzzle-platformer designed in a realistic horror style by the Swedish Tarsier Studios. From the first seconds of playing you understand that your primary goal in this game is to escape from rooms as fast as you can. A background interior with a game’s terrifying atmosphere will make you look for an exit shortly.

There are no dialogues, subtitles, notes or clues; all soundtracks are completely cleared of speech. So there is nothing that you might know about your hero - a small girl in a yellow rain slicker - except that she is named Six and armed with a lighter. This Little Nightmares’ mystique and wordless game style make a storyline more intriguing as well as exciting for players.

Graphics 5/5

While the gameplay might be not that understandable for somebody, the game’s graphics is just a digital masterpiece. The game's style is so beautiful and uniquely artistic that you will enjoy the visuals even though they are deathly scarring.

However, the game has some occasional graphic issues. For instance, the environments can be wider sometimes than the camera’s field of view. So you have to look into their dark corners and try to guess when the horrors will come out of there. Also, the camera itself moves with a slight delay, and even its small displacement is enough to make every move end up with a fall.

Gameplay 4.5/5

The game starts from the moment when a little girl wakes up and finds herself in a true nightmare: darkness is everywhere, creepy sounds come from unknown places and a deadman lifelessly hanging from under the ceiling.

The girl is armed with a lighter only, and she needs to go through the various obstacles to get out from this terrible place: creep along the narrow wooden beams and avoid crashing into the abyss, jump over the pit, run to the door before it slams, etc.

You're playing as the little girl who is not alone in this terrifying world. There are several characters that will make your pass towards freedom not that easy: a blind underground caretaker, the chef twins who wear people’s skins as masks, bloodsuckers, and others. Little Nightmares never really tells you what’s going on, instead, guides you in the right direction and lets you think out what’s going on by yourself.

Controls 4/5

The PC’s controls in Little Nightmares are pretty simple and intuitive. You can climb, run, jump, pick up small things, throw them and simply do any kind of childish property damages.

However, to hold something in the girl’s hands, you need to clamp the buttons which can be a little bit inconvenient: carrying the key for ten meters is okay, but getting over pits by ropes and ledges - no. You risk to lose the key and die right away going back to the latest save point.

Replay Value 3/5

Luckily, Little Nightmares doesn’t have highly complicated levels, so it usually takes a couple attempts to overcome even the most challenging parts. Persecutions, chases and dangerous enemies in the game make you over excited, but such moments as solving puzzles, for example, might seem too short and straightforward. So after escaping all rooms, there is no point to come back later to the game and start over everything. It will unlikely bring you the same enjoyment one more time.  

In-app purchases

Little Nightmares costs  $19.99 and offers an Original Soundtrack to players for an additional fee.

Conclusion

Playing Little Nightmares feels like you fall into a toddler’s nightmare. This game has successfully braid together unique design, fantastic storyline and an intriguing puzzle solving process. However, Little Nightmares can not be called as a complicated game and a 5 hours gameplay feels like it’s not enough. All active stages in the game don’t take more than three or four attempts, running away from the enemies is not that difficult, and puzzles are also simple enough.

Anyways, the developers made an incredible mystic atmosphere in the game full of stylish details and completed with attractive pictures. So, this game deserves your attention.

• Graphics 5
• Gameplay 4.5
• Controls 4
• Replay Value 3

Pros

frightening atmosphere;
unique art style;
intriguing gameplay;

Cons

gameplay seems too short;
lots of useless space;
lack of storytelling;