Darkness scares you? Little Nightmares II exploits children’s natural dread of the unknown. Many gamers avoid horror games like Resident Evil because they’re too graphic and scary. Bandai Namco’s franchise is so creepy you could cut it, but it doesn’t focus on blood and gore like so many other games. It earns its Teen rating with dramatic confrontations and just enough scary visuals to please horror enthusiasts and non-fans.
This sequel review won’t answer what’s improved or if it’s better than Little Nightmares because I’ve never played it. However, Little Nightmares II can be played without having played the first. Six, the original game’s protagonist, returns as a non-playable character. You play Mono, a little child caught in a strange world, and you must help him escape. Both characters are children, however most doorknobs are out of reach and grownups fill the screen. These grownups will do whatever to keep you from escaping, making them nightmares.
Explore, platform, solve puzzles, and fight. The sequel’s publicity materials say weaponry are new. Hammers and pipes assist defeat lesser adversaries. Because they’re bigger than the character, it takes practice to time when you push the action button to when he swings and attacks. I struggled with time even in the later stages, and having to replay sequences may be irritating. The checkpoint system is forgiving, so you won’t be stuck for long, but it’s still unpleasant. Combat isn’t the game’s focus, therefore it didn’t hurt it too much.
Exploring places and solving puzzles is the game’s main appeal. The game makes you feel smart when you find out what to do. Six, your friend, occasionally gives visual hints. She often runs to a screen point to indicate a task. She can propel you to higher platforms and pick up items to give you hints. She enhances the tale and makes you worry about her. ICO, a PS2 classic, lets you call and hold her. In a gloomy world, this link brings hope.
Screens and trailers make it look like a side-scrolling 2D platformer, yet each level is deep. Entering and exiting the screen may reveal surprises. New headgear for your primary character are scattered around, however they only change your costume. If you uncover all the shadowy figures that seem like static from a defunct TV station, maybe something spectacular will happen? Suffice to say, you can take your time exploring the views, and I did so for the first half of the game, but most sections have nothing to find, so I sort of main-pathed my way through the second half.
The game seems dark and dreary, but in a good way! The lighting creates dimly lit environments with perfect shadows, even if the colors are predominantly brown and gray. Graphic designers deserve praise for creating a scary universe from start to finish. The skyscraper-filled city in the second sector is one of my favorites. The lofty structures’ tops bend like Tim Burton’s creations. Then there are the horrifying mannequins with their body parts scattered, hanging from ceilings, and in foreboding poses. I held my breath through these stages of the game, waiting to be grabbed. This game may be best at making the anticipation of something terrible worse than the actual event.
The foes are scary, especially the adults. A hunter in his shed dismembers an animal in the initial step. Despite your best efforts, he will catch you escaping his residence. You’ll feel anxiety and adrenaline as you run as fast as you can to hide from his shotgun fire. The game’s chase moments will make you sweat. All enemies have beautiful animations. In one scenario, the hunter shoots his gun and you have to scramble up a wall as he reloads. I wanted to admire his animations, but I had to focus on getting out of there. The teacher, an early enemy, is creepy. Trust me, you don’t want to get on her bad side, especially since any noises she hears will cause her to turn her head and—well, I won’t reveal the awful surprise—it’s not something you want to endure!
Game music enhances immersion. Little Nightmares II doesn’t need music in every scenario. When you’re safe, the game’s music is soothing, but when you’re being hunted and have to sneak through an area, the controller’s heartbeat will increase. If you make a mistake, the music will swell, giving you seconds to escape, hide, or pay the price. The audio enhances the experience.
As I mentioned with combat, the game’s gameplay is lacking. Little Nightmares II feels slower than Celeste, a precision platformer. It resembles Little Big Planet’s clumsy controls. The 3D settings can make it hard to hop from platform to platform, resulting in unnecessary deaths. Due of imprecise controls, some problems are harder. The makers wanted things to seem heavy and slow because you’re a small kid holding these huge items. They delivered that in spades, but who wants to play a heavy, slow, and plodding game? Thankfully, the game does its one job. Despite control flaws, it makes you care about the protagonists enough to keep playing and see what happens. Intentionally making the controls heavy and slow adds anticipation when trying to achieve an impossible jump. However, patience wears thin when you die repeatedly due to a control issue and no fault of your own.
Despite some minor gameplay issues, Little Nightmares II is a thrilling journey through a dark universe full of creepy graphics and enemies that you’ll remember for years. Horror fans will love this. If you want to try another horror game from an indie developer, Granny is a good choice. The game features maze-crawling, puzzle-solving, stealth, suspense, jump scares, and even action into a very cryptic setting.
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