Image Credits: Little Nightmares™III & ©Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe S.A.S. via www.bandainamcoent.com
With the success and popularization of the Little Nightmares franchise since the series began in 2017, the third installment in the franchise is finally here, with Little Nightmares III. Releasing on Oct. 9, the game had much speculation around it, mostly considering the fact it was being made by a different studio, Supermassive Games. While Supermassive Games have made other popular horror games such as Until Dawn and The Quarry, the developer of the first two games, Tarsier Studio, had such a distinct style that many were still left worried. From the trailers, it seemed Supermassive Games knew exactly what they were doing, but now that we have a hold of the finished product, it’s a completely different story.
Instead of taking this opportunity to flesh out the world, add more lore and build off of the past two games, Little Nightmares III seems to do everything it can to have absolutely no connections to the last game. Besides a few easter eggs, the only connections to be made are from the game’s art direction. This to me is a huge missed opportunity, and a mistake that sourly affects nearly all aspects of the game.
For the first time in the series, Little Nightmares III is a co-op game, where one player controls a small child named Low, and the other controls a character named Alone. As these two characters, you travel through mirrors to strange parts of the world in the hopes of reaching a mysterious destination. You can technically play the game singleplayer, with the other character being controlled by an AI, but it was meant to be played with two people. While the idea of a co-op Little Nightmares game sounds really interesting, I can’t say this game really benefits from it at all. Little Nightmares III does add some unique puzzles, chase sequences and a new combat system that are solely focused on being two player, but they are still not as interesting as previous games.
A large reason this is the case is Little Nightmares III’s unforgiving gameplay. In both of the previous games, all aspects of the gameplay focused on quick decisions, whether that be in stealth or chase sequences. Tarsier Studios did this effectively by making these decisions slightly confusing, but not painfully obvious. Supermassive Games, on the other hand, have made these quick decisions so far from easy that it takes multiple deaths to figure out what you are supposed to do. There were numerous occasions where I had to continuously die or circle a location until I found out what I was actually supposed to do. While there have been difficult and confusing parts in the previous games, they never were so annoying that the game just stopped being scary. This is a problem that persists in nearly every section of this game, and instead of being creepy, the game is just irritating.
While I went into the game expecting it not to be as scary, giving Supermassive Games a little leeway, I was hoping they’d put a little more effort in. While the enemy designs aren’t bad by any means – they do match the Little Nightmares aesthetic quite well – I wouldn’t say any of them are scarier than the previous games’ enemies. A big part of the lack of horror in this game also comes down to purpose. In the other games, while the story was mysterious, I was still very interested in moving forward, making these scary parts a lot more intense. In Little Nightmares III though, the story is wildly uninspired.
Instead of continuing the story of the previous games, Supermassive Games decided to just do their own thing, which is absolutely absurd to do in the third installment of a franchise. I seriously don’t understand why they didn’t market this game as a spin-off, because there are zero tie-ins to the previous games. On top of all of this, the story is just straight up not good.
The big reveals were obvious, there are no stakes, so there is no tension and most importantly, the game gives me no reason to care about these characters. By the time I reached the embarrassingly bad ending, I was left in shock at how uninspired and lazy this game was. Again, if this was marketed as a spin-off, then I would have been more lenient with less tie-ins to previous games, but it wasn’t, so everything here feels out of place. It feels like the creators just thought it’d be cool if Little Nightmares took place in the desert, a factory and a carnival but didn’t know how to connect any of it, so they just added in random mirrors.
The one seriously nice thing I will say about this game is that it is very beautiful visually. Each area not only looks stunning, but all the small details in each area perfectly engross you in the world. If only some of the level designs weren’t so formulaic, there could’ve been more interesting rooms. Also, the gorgeous cinematography from the previous games is not as relevant in this new installment, and while I do miss it, I can give Supermassive Games some more leeway since that was very stylistic of Tariser Studio.
The biggest kick in the gut, though, was the severe lack of social commentary. While the game certainly does have something to say with the dangers of child abuse, loneliness and the coping mechanims children use, it feels very downplayed. There is a lot more they could have done, but I feel like I could say that for pretty much every aspect of this game.
When the credits rolled, and my anger was at its highest, I was seriously left asking: Why did they even make this game? While there are certainly parts that are creepy, and the co-op at its best is a lot of fun, a majority of the game feels like a shell of a Little Nightmares game. I found myself getting way more annoyed and fed up with this game, just waiting for it to be over, and by the time it finished I found the ending to be more infuriatingly underwhelming than I ever thought it would be. It never fully realizes its potential due to laziness, and it sadly makes me appreciate the first two games a lot more.
In good news, Tarsier Studios just released a demo for their new co-op game, REANIMAL, that seems a lot more promising than the mess that was Little Nightmares III. As a fan of the series, I am widely disappointed, and I hope that if there is a new Little Nightmares game, Supermassive Games and Bandai Namco Entertainment learn from the mistakes of this poorly put together embarrassment.
Game Score: 4/10
Samuel J. Beadle is a second-year English major. SB1033446@wcupa.edu