Little Nightmares Left Me Feeling Uneasy and Alone
I picked up Little Nightmares primarily as a Halloween game. Something fun and spooky. Or so I thought. Instead I found something deep, dark, beautiful and horrifying. This is one of those games that seems like a children’s game that is absolutely not a children’s game. Thematically, it’s one of the bleaker experiences I’ve had in recent memory. And yet also- some of the most fun I’ve had playing a platformer in years.
On it’s surface, Little Nightmares seems simple. Crouch, run, grab, jump, don’t fall, don’t get caught, fun puzzle. But this classic platforming gameplay loop is quickly, quickly!!, offset by the dark and intriguing atmosphere and environment. This isn’t Mario- people don’t fight in this world using comical head jumps and head butts. There’s real violence in the world of Little Nightmares, the kind of violence that leaves you feeling entirely unequipped for the monsters you will face.
But even as I found myself disturbed and at times stunned at the world of Little Nightmares, I also found it to be incredibly charming, creative and addictive. The gameplay feels amazing, with each motion having the perfect amount of weight behind it to feel immersive but engaging. You may be playing as a child, but you learn quickly that this child is gritty, athletic, scrappy, tough, persistent, clever, conniving…all the adjectives that come with surviving in this harsh world.
So let’s dig into story: in Little Nightmares, you play as Six, a nine-year old girl who wears a yellow raincoat. You (Six) wake up in a suitcase in the Maw (pictured above). You (the player) have no idea what is going on except that there’s vents and you need to crawl through them. Then there’s ropes and you climb. You’re introduced to the gameplay loop through this gorgeous introductory level called “The Prison”, which, while essentially a tutorial, quickly hints that there’s more to this place than meets the eye. You see a freakish long armed abomination called The Janitor lurking around at one point in the level. You just know you’ll see him later.
By the end of the level, you’re asking yourself “where the hell am I?”, “why the hell is this place?” and “how the hell do I get out of here?” As you should. The Maw is a mystery, and remains so to this day, seven years after release. What’s even stranger to you is how Six seems so comfortable with this world and it’s crazy stakes. Your (the player) hear will be pumping in double time while Six is acting like this is another day in the office. Such a brave child, you think. Well, maybe brave, but also traumatized.
Six may not fight, but you quickly pick up on her personality. She’s a fighter, a survivor and something of a psychopath. Ruthless, relentless and undeterred. She’s unflinching, unflappable, un-phased by the horror that surrounds her. After a few hours in, her demeanor begins to seem more frightening than brave. Any sane person would hide in this situation. But Six is long past sanity.
The original title of this game, back in development, was “Hunger.” And hunger is the dominant theme. Six is starving. The Maw is a place for beings in this world to gorge themselves on food. Children are eaten. Hunger, and the desperation that comes with it, are central to the narrative of Little Nightmares. You need to eat, but everything wants to eat you, but also, you’ll eat anything. It’s a morbid and exaggerate play on the concept of “Dog Eat Dog World” and it’s hard to avert your eyes.
As dark as it is, the Maw and the art design in general is very enthralling. As nervous as you are about what might be around the corner, you’re going to be curious as well. The Maw really is like no other venue in gaming and it’s unique brand of hopelessness has carved a spot in recent gaming history. Even as I feared it, I started to also like it and I remain fascinated by it. It’s such a cool concept. Like “Howl’s Moving Castle” from Hell.
The level design is immaculate. What’s really cool with this game is that you have all this platforming and puzzling and for the most part, it doesn’t feel staged. I rarely found myself going “Gee, how convenient that there’s a climbable pile of garbage next to that ledge” like in other platformers. The world of Little Nightmares is random and chaotic enough that nothing really feels out of place and you feel as if you’re geniunely interacting with a world, not just a game environment. Levels like “The Lair” and “The Kitchens” are classics in my opinion. Some of the best platforming content to come out in the 2010s.
This is a game that I myself was skeptical that I would truly enjoy and yet…I truly enjoyed it. I would recommend this to all types of gamers. Casual, hardcore, semi-casual, semi-hardcore. Even people who don’t even play video games. This is that kind of game. It’s approachable, but not generic at all. It proves why people love video games. This experience is only this experience in this context and it’s awesome.
Little Nightmares isn’t the longest game, but as soon as I finished, I wanted to play more (which I did- there’s DLC). There’s something about this simple yet brilliant gameplay loop that demands mastery. There’s a trophy in the game for completeing it under an hour without dying. I want to get it. Like, it’s that fun. I hate challenge runs too. But I think this game is perfect for it. It’s the kind of experience that lends mortality more credence. The grim juxtaposition between death and childhood hangs heavy over the whole game. It’s an excellent game, but also an elegant thematic work that functions on every phase. The gameplay loop feeds into the themes and atmosphere, the characters aren’t tailored to optimize said loop, the level design plays into everything. It’s such a balanced work.
Little Nightmares is not a game I expected to love. (I expected to like it.) But it won me over, one frantic jumpscare at a time. And despite being seven years old at the time of writing, it holds up incredibly well, with it’s signature art style feeling as fresh as it did when it came out in 2017. This is one that you should go download right now. You won’t regret it, even if you wish you did.
