This review contains Little Nightmares III spoilers.
Most people at this point in the franchise have played or at least heard of Little Nightmares. And, if not, you’ve got quite the series to catch up on: The story of small children making their way through dark backdrops, fighting terrifying enemies, and trying to escape.
Little Nightmares III
Release date: October 10
Developer: Supermassive Games
Platforms: Steam, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
The long awaited third installment to the Little Nightmares franchise brought a tidal wave of excitement and uncertainty to the games followers as it news spread of the original development team at Tarsier Studios that worked on the first and second game would not be involved with the making of Little Nightmares III.
Now that the game is out, here’s a review of the good, the bad, and the frightening — playing solo and with the new two-player co-op.
The Story
The third installment follows the story of Low and Alone.
You become immersed into their horrifying world as you travel through the Necropolis, the Candy Factory, the Carnevale, and finally the Institute. Each has their own challenges to overcome together as a team.
The Necropolis is a desert civilization frozen in time. It feels as though you are walking through Pompei with people frozen in place. It tells a sad story of Necropolis’ citizens that lived here, how this was once a very lively city, and finally meeting the disaster that destroyed the city.
After making your escape from the Necropolis, you are thrown into the Candy Factory. Here you find the disturbing production lines, including large piles of lollipops and candy apples, and the Supervisor. What should be a dream come true for a child is immediately transformed into a skin-crawling nightmare.
The Carnevale takes all of our darkest thoughts about the carnival and makes them even darker. Rides and attractions are plenty, but so are the horrors.
After escaping the Carnevale you find yourself crashing onto the the shores of the Institute and these halls seem hauntingly familiar.
You explore this final location as you search for the mirror that you’ve been searching for.
Each area has it’s own frights, but some mentions for those with phobias would be the warning of bugs — both big and small — living dolls, clowns, and mental health facilities.
Gameplay
Although developed by a new team under Supermassive Games — who developed other horror games like Until Dawn, Man of Medan, House of Ashes, and The Devil In Me — the game keeps a lot of its previous mechanics from Little Nightmares I and II. It also adds some new ones.
You get to have your pick of which character you would like to play as: Alone is a tiny mechanic with a wrench that allows her to smash through walls and enemies, while Low uses his bow and arrows as well as being their ticket through the mirrors to advance levels.
You now have an umbrella to traverse heights, Low with his bow and arrow set, and the main star of the show is online co-op with a friend’s pass.
That’s right! Much like the games It Takes Two, A Way Out, and Split Fiction, the game only needs to be purchased by one player for both of you to enjoy the adventure. It is recommended that both parties buy the cosmetic DLCs (explained below) as those are not shared.
If you do not have a partner to team up with, Little Nightmares III has an intuitive AI partner for you that takes the form of the character you do not select at the beginning. While the AI companion is not perfect, it is a good for showing subtle hints you’re going the right way as well as a real help to getting through the game.
The Expansion DLC
Along with the Little Nightmares III launch was the Secrets of the Spiral expansion. At release, however, the only accessible part of the expansion is the Ferryman Costume set, which gives a cosmetic costume for both Low and Alone.
The expansion includes the promise of two additional chapters: Chapter One with a release date range of April to June 2026, and Chapter Two sometimes between October and December 2026. Both claim to dive deeper into the Secrets of the Spiral.
Should you buy it?
After playing Little Nightmares III both alone and with a partner, I can understand why it currently has mixed reviews on steam as of the time of this publication. I ran into my fair share of glitches in both playthroughs.
As a long time fan of the series, I did feel like the atmosphere fit but the story felt like we were missing something. I longed to see returning characters, such as Six or Mono, that did not make a return, though we did see some previous side characters.
The game felt like it understood the template but had something missing.
However, I strongly feel like if you go into the game without comparing and enjoying the story for what it is this is actually a pretty good game worth playing.
On it’s own it is a story worth exploring, plus getting to finally explore a Little Nightmares game with your friend has been a long requested feature! Overall, the game has its own quirks and stands as its own story within the Little Nightmares universe.
