LittLe nigHtmares
Will leave you wanting Maw
released OUT NOW! Reviewed on PC
Also on Ps4, Xbox One Publisher Bandai Namco
videogame Following in the footsteps of puzzle-platformer
Inside, Little Nightmares tasks you with leading a hapless child through an overwhelmingly bleak and sinister world. Much of your time is spent manoeuvring around the eerily dark, abandoned rooms of the Maw – a hellish vessel filled with all manner of strange and unsavoury people.
The game is divided into chapters, each of which focuses on a different section of the ship. Navigating its rooms takes a clever blend of puzzling and platforming: the young protagonist, Six, can push and pull objects, climb, sprint and illuminate her surroundings using her handy lighter. Solutions to puzzles vary from simple options, like moving a chair to reach an electrical box, to more inventive methods, such as crafting a string of sausages to fashion a makeshift rope.
While the puzzles are inventive, they are never overly perplexing. The straightforward nature of the gameplay also does little to expand the short runtime. Nonetheless, there’s a definite emphasis on quality over quantity, making for a well-crafted, intense experience.
While enemy numbers are relatively low, the foes that Six encounters are memorable. Take, the Janitor. This blind, long-armed, creepily grinning fellow can’t see you, but he can hear and smell you. Then there’s the Chef – the melted marshmallow man with respiratory problems.
The cat-and-mouse dynamic of enemy encounters injects the game with some spectacularly hair-raising sections. Hiding in boxes or under tables is genuinely unnerving and, at times, is followed by a thrilling chase sequence where you desperately dash for a small opening.
With its grim and haunting atmosphere, creative mechanics and standout enemy encounters,
Little Nightmares is an exciting take on the puzzle-platforming genre. While there are similar games, the acute feeling of vulnerability is more pronounced here thanks to the emphasis on building tension. Despite looking like a nightmare this game is the stuff of dreams. Anne-Marie Coyle
The Tarsier Studio team’s influences included Roald Dahl, videogame series Clock Tower and Japanese mythology.