Little Nightmares

Little Nightmares is an adventure puzzle-platforming video game, developed by Tarsier Studios and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The game takes place within a big house, where Six, a little girl in a yellow raincoat, tries to find her way out of captivity. The gameplay will have the player search for ways to allow Six to escape, traversing the dark basement and narrow vents, spacious rooms, and long corridors. The world observed from the perspective of a child seems enormous and larger-than-life threats wait around every corner. Little Nightmares received positive opinions of the critics, who praised the game’s story, level design, suspenseful atmosphere.

Big and scary world

The gameplay of LN mixes exploration with platforming and solving environmental puzzles. Six, the main character of the game, is a very little girl, locked in the basement prison of the mysterious location named the Maw, from where she has to find the way out to freedom. To do that, the player will have to lead her through various rooms in the house, solving environmental puzzles, flipping switches to open new areas, and avoiding monstrous inhabitants of the Maw. Six’s only companion is her lighter, which lights her way through the Maw’s dark corridors, keeping the monsters at bay. Along the way, she will meet Nomes – tiny, shy creatures who observe her actions from the shadows.

The story of a child’s nightmare

Six just woke up from a dream, but her real horror nightmare is about to begin. The girl finds herself trapped in the basement of the Maw, a mysterious vessel inhabited by large human-like creatures. Here, not only are the people huge - everything is bigger, scarier, more dangerous, fueled by Sux’s fear and desperation. Armed only with a lighter to guide her way, Six delves deeper into the bowels of the Maw encountering unfathomable terrors and chased by the inhabitants of this dreadful place. The little girl in yellow raincoat must use her wits to escape and avoid capture.

Reception

Little Nightmares was met with a very positive critical reception. Reviewers praised the games level design, which contrasted the protagonist minuscule size and the Maws ginormous locations. More praise went to the game’s ambient sounds – creaking floorboards, water dripping from rusty pipes, etc. The critics also noted the unconventional and suspenseful story of LN as one of the game’s strongest points. The game was nominated for several awards and won 2016’s Gamescom Indie Award.

Key features

• Venture into the Maw and help a little girl find her way out.
• Explore the gigantic bowels of the mysterious place and avoid being captured by those who live here.
• Use your lighter to reveal the way forward.
• Watch out for the Nomes hiding in the shadows, watching your every move. Who knows what they want.
• An eerie and suspenseful atmosphere, amplified by level and sound design.