Little Nightmares (Playstation 4)

Powah Dunk | April 26, 2017 | Review | No Comments

Little Nightmares the latest title behind the creative minds of Little Big Planet & Tearaway published by Bandai Namco has been released with the task of offering horror enthusiasts something unique and new, is it more Insidious or just a case of Jason goes to Manhattan? Read on to find out.

Little Nightmares puts you in the boots of the hungry and terrified 9 year old Six, trapped in the Maw, an underwater resort for those with extreme tastes akin to those of the Hostel franchise. Six being a nine year old girl you are naturally equipped with the skill set and physical assets of a nine year old girl, fortunately if there is one thing children can excel at it’s hide & seek, trust me you’ll need it!.

From the second you turn on Little Nightmares you are swept up in this tense tale, asthetically it’s a marvel and has some of the best lighting effects to date. The art style of the game though somewhat unusual really works and just adds to this macabre little tale, everything is dirty, dangerous looking and in some aspects downright creepy, nothing quite gets your back up like navigating a child’s playroom in the dark while hiding from the child who towers over you waiting for you to slip up.

I could go on & on about the art and the lighting of the game as it really adds so much to it’s overall package. Often you are in a pitch black room with just your lighter, should you use it to illuminate your surroundings you could either alert someone close or bare witness to whatever sinister creatures await in the darkness.

Aurally speaking Little Nightmares ticks all the boxes, Jump scares are loud, ambiance is in abundance and manages to make you feel unsafe the whole time. The audio is a big factor in making the game as special as it is, highly recommend you play this one with headset on and loud!.

From the second you start Little Nightmares you are thrown into the world with no idea what’s going on or what you have to do beyond escape. There is no hud, very rarely there is any button prompts and certainly no hand holding. The lack of HUD suits the game as it doesn’t obscure any of the scenery or potential danger, there is no health because everything is instant death and no ammo count because you have no way of fighting back.

Talking gameplay the game is a very tight platformer, the controls are all responsive and have some weight to them rather than Six feeling like she has the qualities of a Quaver. Sometimes you’ll make leaps of faith which feel amazing when you stick them, use the quirky surroundings to navigate the hellish Maw and play around with some fantastically authentic physics, it’s not the most varied in it’s gameplay but what it does Tasier Studios have made sure it sticks with you.

When you aren’t platforming you are either solving some of the mind bending puzzles the game has to offer which can have you stumped for some time or avoiding the horrifying main cast by crouching, avoiding light and praying you don’t knock anything over the in the dark, this is where the game truly messes with you.

The constant feeling of uneasy is with you throughout the 5 to 6 hour campaign but nothing is more tense than running into one of the psychopaths. For anyone who has played the recent Resident Evil 7 it’s on par and often higher in tension due to lack of weapons. You’ll navigate rooms jumping from shadow to shadow, crawling under tables praying you aren’t spotted and using light and sound to get the hell out of dodge so you can lower that heart rate. These are easily the best parts of the game and that’s saying something considering how tight the whole package is.

As I just mentioned the game clocks in at around 6 hours on your first run and there are some collectibles you can run through again and collect, the difficulty isn’t too bad but there are some sections that you will have to tackle a few times as it can be quite punishing if you don’t know what’s coming up.

Summery

I enjoyed my time in the Maw like you would a classic horror film/experience, it’s harrowing and it spends all it’s time toying with you creating such an uneasy feeling. You’ll physically take breathes of relief when you successfully avoid one of the antagonists and navigate into a slightly less dangerous room. You’ll bond with Six and feel it in the pit of your stomach when she gets caught or see her demise due to one of the many death traps throughout the Maw.

Little Nightmare may have a short story to it but for the price and quality of the game I can’t do anything other than recommend it, much like the recent Resident Evil 7 it quenched my horror thirst but left me chomping at the bit for just a little more which any good horror should do. The game may be called Little Nightmares but for any horror fan it’s far from it!.