‘Little Nightmares II’ is messy, but also scary and charming: Review

Little Nightmares II is rough around the edges, but that’s honestly half the fun. 

In this ambitious sequel to the 2017 game horror fans loved, players re-enter the cute-yet-creepy world of Little Nightmares — a terrifying realm of childhood fears come to dangerous life. Raincoat-wearing hero Six returns as an AI companion in a much scarier follow-up adventure led by new protagonist Mono. He’s a little boy with a bag on his head, and a bunch of fun tricks up his sleeve.

Little Nightmares II is rough around the edges, but that’s honestly half the fun. 

Together, the dynamic duo venture further into the puzzle-filled landscape surrounding “The Maw” (the ship Six was trapped in during the original), and discover a treacherous plot being carried out through a mysterious signal tower hypnotizing the masses in this warped world.

Gameplay takes players through four levels: (1) dark woods guarded by a sadistic hunter; (2) a school house packed with feral bullies and ruled by a cruel teacher; (3) a hospital inhabited by a demonic surgeon and his ward of menacing patients; and finally, (4) the signal tower itself. It’s an impressive expansion on the original that falls short on technical execution, but makes up for any frustration with a narrative arc that’s full of charm and terror. 

Play even a half hour of Little Nightmares II and you’re likely to encounter some hiccups, a decent number of which go beyond your average platform slipperiness. As in the original, Little Nightmares II struggles to make interacting with its detailed environments a consistent experience, with Mono’s tiny fists and feet regularly going through solid surfaces they should not. You’ll get stuck against walls, pinned between objects, and occasionally snatched by enemies as a result. 

Image: TARSIER STUDIOS/BANDAI NAMCO

These flaws are amplified beyond the shortcomings of the original by the sequel’s increasingly elaborate environmental details, as well as expanded player abilities. 

Not only can Mono interact with Six as she hoists him over barriers and aids in puzzle solving, but he can also make use of an expanded skill set that facilitates the use of various tools, some light combat (where weapons are available), and monosyllabic communication with Six that comes in handy when separated by obstacles. They’re all great additions in theory, but they don’t quite live up to their practical potential. 

With so many more interactions to account for, Little Nightmares II labors under the weight of its story’s skewed reliance on the platform bit of puzzle-platforming. Six follows Mono so closely she regularly blocks your path. Opening doors is a time-intensive task that redefines “finicky,” with the controls sometimes requiring you to push the door, other times demanding you run at the door, and on rare occasion just refusing to open at all. The flashlight, similarly, defies all logic, with the complex joystick maneuvering needed to direct your light beam in front of you while walking backwards being tremendously difficult to sort out. (I spent a half-hour fiddling before I realized the whole thing is inverted; just be sure to point at your target with the right joystick and do the exact opposite on the left.) Truly, no one will escape being frustrated by this game.

Image: TARSIER STUDIOS/BANDAI NAMCO

That said, Little Nightmares has always been about children taking on challenges for which they are hopelessly ill-equipped. As a matter of character embodiment, struggling to execute tasks enriches the experience of “being” Mono — and considerably heightens some scares. 

Take using a hammer, for example. Stamping out enemies with the cumbersome weapon (which you do not carry with you, but instead find in areas where it’s needed) can be a punishing task. The tool is roughly the same size as Mono and requires a full-body windup for each strike, meaning you have to get your timing exactly right or you’re teeny tiny hero is toast.

Image: TARSIER STUDIOS/BANDAI NAMCO

As a matter of feel, it’s not a “good” play experience — neither fluid enough to be tactilely satisfying nor precise enough to be rewarding. But it does add to the overall dread of the Little Nightmares universe, making weapon wielding more anxiety-inducing than empowering. Struggling to point my flashlight in a warehouse full of moving mannequins, I felt a cold sweat on my back and actually opted to call it a night, remembering years being afraid of the dark as a little girl.

These sort of happy accidents are littered throughout the game, contributing to its spine-chilling experience design and endearing art style in equal measure. 

In a simple puzzle at the base of the signal tower, Mono is tasked with maneuvering a shopping cart many times his size — an authentically frustrating kid experience that put a smile on my face even as I mashed buttons in frustration. Sure, getting sabotaged by a glitchy tool or a stuck in a set-piece will always pull you out of a narrative. But if those sorts of quirks amplify other portions of the game in terms of emotional resonance, I’d argue it’s more an asset than a flaw overall.

Image: TARSIER STUDIOS/BANDAI NAMCO

Emotion is really what Little Nightmares II pulls off best. Of course, this sequel delivers massive aesthetic appeal, allowing developer Tarsier Studios to once again craft dream-like creatures and haunted storybook worlds that are tremendously enjoyable to explore. Collectibles make that venture even more enticing, with the “Nomes” from the original returning in a nice bit of continuity alongside mysterious new artifacts central to the finale. (Oh, and I will be going back for more hats. They don’t do anything, but they’re screamingly cute.) 

But it’s the game’s mesmeric final act and rich narrative themes that shine past its most apparent assets, and even its most evident flaws, as a hugely promising evolution for Tarsier. Whether there’s a Little Nightmares III yet to be announced or some other scary project in the works, these creators are steadily honing their craft and proving themselves masters of gaming nightmares — big and small.

Little Nightmares II is available Feb. 11 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Versions designed for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S are expected later in 2021.

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