This review is based on a digital download code provided by the publisher. With an excellent blend of horror and puzzles, Little Nightmares 2 is a homerun for Tarsier Studios and Bandai Namco Entertainment.
Pale City is a great new location full of unique characters and creatures. Yet, it keeps that personal, closed-in feel that Little Nightmares established. Little Nightmares 2 is bigger (literally twice as long) and better than the first game. Instead, it’s just another solution to some puzzles and obstacles. One It’s sprinkled in nicely, never becoming too pervasive or overshadowing other elements of game design. When attacking, there’s a bit of a wind up, which means players will need to time their swings in order to actually hit an enemy. Since he’s a small kid, the weapons are super heavy, dragging on the floor behind him. Mono can find objects around the world, such as a hammer, and wield it to destroy enemies or break objects. Little Nightmares 2 also adds combat as a new mechanic. I do wish that there were stronger visual clues or indications as to what area/item to focus on for some puzzles, as I sometimes found myself running back and forth and interacting with everything until I got on the right path. I also really liked how Six is used in puzzles, as she will help players cross a bridge, or reach a high place. I found a majority of the puzzles in Little Nightmares 2 to be clever and challenging, and quite satisfying upon solving. Usually woven excellently into the environment, players are tasked with using the various items and structures around them to solve issues and move forward. A puzzling mysteryĪt its core, Little Nightmares 2 is a puzzle game.
Silence can be a valuable tool in horror, as it builds up anticipation, making the player feel like something is about to happen. The game is also quiet when it needs to be. Mostly subtle, small hits of music or a pickup in pace during a chase sequence drive up that sense of dread. The sound design also helps the game amp up those feelings of uneasiness. One of the creepiest moments in the game for me was early on, when I walked into a room where a family of distorted humans were eating dinner. Instead, you're just fed disturbing imagery, often with little to no explanation. It doesn't rely on cheap jumpscares or loud booms to get you jumping. It's the scares that I really appreciate about Little Nightmares 2 as a horror game. Whether it be the Teacher and her twisting neck or the Doctor climbing on the walls, the design of the creatures in Little Nightmares 2 is superb. There’s so many characters from Little Nightmares 2 that I’ll probably be seeing in my sleep for weeks to come. This is evident in the character/creature design, as the sense of realism really works to amplify the scares. From the grassy forests to the bursting metropolis, the world is full of lifelike detail. The first game was gorgeous, and Tarsier Studios ups the ante with the sequel. It came as no surprise to me that Little Nightmares 2 is a visually stunning game. Sometimes I felt as though her behavior was a little wonky, or would take too long to take a cue/get into position, but other than that, she was a great part of Little Nightmares 2. Her appearance has some interesting implications for the ending of the first game, and she’s also cool to have from a gameplay standpoint. It’s really neat having Six around as an AI companion in Little Nightmares 2. She helps players solve puzzles, and gives clues about the surrounding world. However, Six is still very much in the picture, as she’s the AI companion throughout the game. Instead of Six, the girl in the yellow raincoat, we play as Mono, a young boy who wears a paper bag over his head. Despite the drastic change in setting, Little Nightmares 2 still delivers unique environments, and has absolutely no shortage of creepy characters and creatures.Īnother major shift in Little Nightmares 2 is the change in protagonist. Little Nightmares 2 ditches The Maw in favor of Pale City, a metropolis being distorted by an evil transmission coming from a signal tower. The first Little Nightmares was set entirely on The Maw, an expansive underwater vessel full of diverse environments and peculiar characters.
Tarsier Studios’ Little Nightmares 2 has all the makings of an excellent horror game, with clever puzzles and a compelling narrative to go along with it. Games where even when things may seem rather normal, you know deep down that something isn’t right. Ones where even in the quiet moments, you can’t escape that feeling of uneasiness. The best horror games are the ones that keep you at least slightly on edge from start to finish.