Review

Quick Byte Review – Little Nightmares

Little Nightmares is a dark puzzle-platformer from Tarsier Studios that is free on with Xbox Live Gold for the month of January, 2021. Little Nightmares sees the player control a small girl in a yellow raincoat named Six and is set on a large underwater sea vessel, known as the Maw, that is inhabited by freakishly large and inherently creepy creatures that imprison children. Armed with only a lighter and the player’s wits, the player must stick to the shadows and think quickly on their feet to evade capture. 

Six awakes in a dark, dilapidated room and immediately makes a move towards freedom. Little Nightmares plays like a survival-horror game, with detection avoidance being a priority as there is no way of combatting opponents. While the character movement is quite simple and responsive, sometimes the camera can be in an awkward position that makes it difficult to maneuver along tight walking spaces; I fell to my death a number of times because of this. The layout of the Maw is that of an underwater residency, but on a very large scale and Six’s small size allows the player to get in and around tiny spaces that can be hidden in or under, making sure to take in their surroundings and planning a next move. The player can also climb and interact with objects around the Maw that can be moved in to place in order to get to any out of reach places.  

puzgzv

bkkdynj

There is a chance to escape and hide in another spot if ever spotted so it is always a good idea to remember the layout of each area. Though there is a chance of escape, some creatures have a marginally quicker pace than Six, so it is easier to just avoid detection all together. 

The world of Little Nightmare is full of exactly that; “Nightmares”. Almost every area is engulfed by darkness and while the player has the ability of lighting the way with a lighter, a lot of the time the player will not know what is in front of them until they have walked in to it. The creatures that inhabit the Maw are human-like, but with such mutations that it leaves an anxious feelingeven though they are seemingly going by their day-to-day lives.

saijytol

The sound pairs well with the dark setting as the grunting of creatures, the wet sounds of leeches that slither slowly in the darkness, or the snoring of a giant laying asleep on the bed above the player each leaving an apprehensive feeling. When it is quiet, it truly is quiet and all that can be heard are Six’s tiny footsteps and dripping water in the surrounds and at other times it can be loud, like a horrific horn being blown when spotted by a creature that sets the heart-rate up to an all-time high. 

aqggag

Do not play this in front of any children. Though it is not grotesquely violent in any way, the dark themes and objectively creepy creatures of the world are enough to give any young viewers actual nightmares. It is easily paused, fortunately, but it would be easier to have a crack once they have gone to bed. 

 

[wp-review id=”10060″]

Brando for One More Game

9 – Amazing – as near to a 10 as you are going to get without it being a 10. It’s an amazing experience that just requires that little something else to make it a masterpiece. Your hard earned cash and time would be well spent here.

Please click the link here for a full rundown of our rating scale.

Little Nightmares was reviewed on an Xbox Series X and is available for free for all Xbox Live Gold members through the month of January, 2021. It is also available for purchase on PC, PlayStation and Nintendo.

All thoughts on this game are ours and ours alone.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *