Why You Should Consider Laying Your Hands on Little Nightmares
Ah! Looking for a puzzle format video game to keep your brain cells engaged, but also fond of the dark and macabre? Fear much, because Little Nightmares does just that. The Bandai Namco Entertainment game title developed by Tarsier Studios is a delicious puzzle-platformer horror and adventure game that can be played on your Windows desktop, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, or Xbox One.
The gaming title was released for the Switch in 2018, while the single-player released itself for other platforms the year before. The game released to positive and welcoming reviews, with critics coming forward to praise Little Nightmares' graphics, sound effects, and the overall atmospheric design. The game is available on Steam and has earned Very Positive reviews.
Rated 16+ for violence, it supports gameplay in 13 different languages, including German, French, and Italian. A special edition of Little Nightmares is sold, which contains the Little Nightmares game and the Little Nightmares Secrets of The Maw Expansion Pass. Little Nightmares maintained a score of 81 on Metacritic and was chosen as one of the Best Games of 2016 in the Indie Game category by BeyondPixels.at.
Premise
You have to help Six, the protagonist character of the game who is a young girl in a yellow raincoat, escape the Maw. The Maw is a vast and mysterious vessel in which corrupt and dark souls are trapped and hungry for their next meal. Little Nightmares offers gamers with a dark and whimsical tale where they are forced to confront awful childhood terrors. It really plays on your psychology with a playground full of secrets provided that you must uncover, and a disturbing dollhouse, which is a prison for you to escape out of. The game asks you to reconnect with your inner child as you harness your imagination to devise a way out of your troubles.
The game begins with Six waking up in the depths of Maw. She navigates out of these depths while trying to stave off excruciating hunger and keep away from the carnivorous leeches that populate Maw. Whenever Six accepts any offering of food made to her, the surrounding area flickers in her vision, and she is subject to the sight of a dark version of herself nearby. She meets the Janitor of Maw as she traverses through the ship, and the Eyes, artificial devices that could turn her into stone with their lights. She must avoid both to preserve her life. The Janitor successfully captures Six at one point, and she is brought to the Lair. Six meets the other imprisoned children here but manages to escape.
Six is successful in neutralizing the Janitor but has to deal with the grotesque Twin Chefs once she's done this. The Twin Chefs man the Kitchen where the imprisoned children are eventually sent. Six must escape being killed by the Twin Chefs and find a way out of Maw's Kitchen, outside. Six's next task is to defeat the Lady, who is the leader of the Maw. She is masked and Geisha-like and possesses magical powers. If you succeed in killing the Lady as Six, Six gains her own magical powers, which protect her further from being murdered. She finds the exit out of Maw soon after and is able to escape the nightmare vessel relying on her sheer wit and determination.
Minimum and recommended system requirements
OS – Windows 7. 64-bit
Processor – Intel CPU Core i3 minimum, preferably i7
Memory – 4GB RAM minimum, preferably 8GB
Graphics – Nvidia GTX 460 minimum, preferably GPU GeForce GTX 660
DirectX – Version 11
Network – Broadband Internet Connectivity
Storage – 10GB available space
Additionally, SSE4.2 required.
Similar titles
If you enjoyed Little Nightmares, you are advised to check out Resident Evil, A Plague Tale, Sekiro, and Ori and the Will of the Wisps. You will get a similar kick out of playing these games.
Gamer consensus
Little Nightmares enjoys favorable reviews by gamers who've played the game. These people have reported the three hours of gameplay this title provides as having been extremely entertaining and engaging for them. Likened to other legendary games in the genre like Silent Hill, Alone and Spirited Away, it is challenging to come across negative reviews for Little Nightmares.
The game teases you with slow-burn horror without cheap jump scares. Just like any well-executed atmospheric horror movie, Little Nightmares builds up tension as the gameplay progresses. The only thing gamers complain of is how short the game is! But don't worry; a sequel for Little Nightmares has been announced for release in 2020. It will feature Six from the original title, as well as introduce an entirely new character – Mono.
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