Ready your flashlights and prepare to cover your eyes! Little Nightmares II has come to town. The latest release from Tarsier Studios brings in all the horror, atmosphere and creepiness that one could desire, and more. With twists, turns, and a story that will keep you on edge throughout, be ready for an experience like no other.
The game features a lead duo, a young boy named Mono and his newly befriended companion Six. Together, they are looking to discover the cause of a transmission which has distorted and destroyed the world they both reside in. Facing unique and terrifying adversaries who desire to stop their progress, they must work together should they want to succeed.
Little Nightmares II is a game of suspense. While many games use jumpscares and violent imagery to invoke fear into their players (and this game is not entirely devoid of these), this game instead relies more on the tension that continues to build as the player progresses through each stage.
This is also how the story progresses throughout the game. There is no spoken dialogue, no names of characters outright stated. Only ambient noise, the tense and evocative soundtrack, and the sounds that the antagonists make through simple actions of breathing or moving. Much of the game’s story is left up to the player’s interpretation, which also lets each player have a different experience as they traverse through the world of the pale city and it’s corrupted inhabitants.
The game progresses in a linear fashion, as you move from room to room to complete puzzles and discover new secrets of the world. This does not mean that there is no exploration possible, but it is not like some open-world games that you can check every crack and crevice. You can climb bookshelves, search air vents and squeeze through cracks in the wall, but only in limited spaces. However, as there is much to see and experience, it does not take away from the game much at all.
As the game is a sequel, the developers included many small references to the first game in the series which help build the world of the Little Nightmares games. Having Six, the protagonist of the first game, as a companion not only ties the games together but also helps fans of the series draw more conclusions surrounding her story and how she came to meet Mono. There are many subtle images and objects that can be missed by first-time players, but to long time fans of the series will be reminders and clues as to where the story is progressing, and where it may lead to afterwards. All this combined with a secret ending (should you decide to find every hidden item and complete the game) creates an expansion and continuation of the world that both games take place in.
So will you choose to dive into a nightmare? Are you ready to be afraid? If so, I would highly recommend this for you. Overall, a new masterpiece of a game sure to be enjoyed by many for years.
Little Nightmares II is rated “Teen” for blood and violence, and is available on Windows, Nintendo Switch, Playstation and Xbox.
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