Review for Little Nightmares 2. Game for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, the video game was released on 11/02/2021
Version for PlayStation 5 is scheduled in the 2021
Version for Xbox Series X is scheduled in the 2021
In the vast landscape of survival Horror there is a great abundance of titles that aim to scare players by resorting to threatening monsters, jump scare and high-tension situations where the biggest challenge is to keep a cool head to cope with critical situations. Then there are games like Little Nightmares which they use horror in a more subtle way, arousing a kind of unspoken fear, immersing ourselves in confused and chilling situations in which the only thing we feel we can do is hide, escape and survive. In 2017, the guys from Tarsier Studios managed to stand out from the crowd with their Little Nightmares, no small feat in a year particularly full of successful titles. A game that has been enriched with short but interesting DLC, then packaged in a valuable Complete Edition.
Almost four years after the release of their little dark pearl, the Swedish development team gives us a worthy sequel just as scary, more varied and full of many tweaks to the original formula.
In Little Nightmares II we will find ourselves in the minute and silent role of Mono, a child we know absolutely nothing about who found himself for no apparent reason in a wasteland. Along his way he comes across a gloomy house inside which a strange and cautious little girl is held prisoner; it's about Six, the protagonist of the previous chapter. After freeing her, the two join forces to escape from that terrifying house and its owner. Their journey will take them to the Pale City, a very unpleasant place where you will soon realize that something dark is at work, making everything extremely eerie and twisted.
We could give you more details, but in this case we think we would do you wrong. Not so much for any spoilers, but because the story of Little Nightmares II (as well as that of its predecessor) is not told explicitly, but must be read and deciphered in the first person; describing the details would spoil this experience, which we want to leave to you instead.
The charm of his silent and purely visual narration lies precisely in the need to observe the details of the settings, the design and the mimicry of the gruesome characters that we will meet, and in the interpretation of the themes contained in this mise-en-scène that recalls the stylistic features of Tim Burton.
While appreciating the peculiar style of the story, the fact remains that perhaps too much of its substance is left open to personal interpretation and speculation. The ending of the game particularly struck us with a truly surprising twist, but it is completely normal that there will be someone who will find himself confused and with several pending questions.
Returning to the settings, they must be recognized as having a central role in the expressiveness of Little Nightmares II. While the first game had us exploring a single location - the giant ship The Maw - this time we will explore different buildings of the Pale City, each with its own theme, opponents and a monstrous main figure who will hunt us down. The dimensions of this creepy world seem enormous compared to Mono and Six, and the minimal features of the two children accentuate the contrast with the exasperated ones of the adults, represented as empty shells or repulsive beings with nervous animations. All this, combined with various disturbing and macabre details, contributes to creating an atmosphere of inadequacy, discomfort and hostility for the protagonists.
In Little Nightmares II the sense of danger is contained in every visual detail, which conveys the constant feeling of being where we shouldn't be, of being able to be surprised at any moment by something lurking in the shadows. In this sense, the sound design also helps to create a sense of tension with creaks and strange sinister noises, and then explodes in excited tones when Mono is discovered by one of the creatures that will start furiously chasing him.
The gameplay of Little Nightmares II is very similar to that of the original title, so get ready for an adventure in 2.5D in which we will have to move using our stealth skills to avoid being seen by the nightmare creatures that inhabit the Pale City. To advance among its decaying buildings we will have to solve environmental puzzles, climb and jump on furniture and various rubble.
Despite the familiar formula, there are several improvements that Tarsier Studios has included for this sequel. The most important and obvious is the presence of Six as the second character controlled by the game; the girl will mainly help us to solve some puzzles (also giving us some vague clues with her behavior) and overcome obstacles, for example by helping us to reach door handles or push heavy objects, or by grabbing us on the fly from the other end of a gap from overcome with a jump. Six's AI generally does its duty and only on very few occasions has it crashed due to some strange collision with the environment; luckily, to have some control over her, we can have Mono call her or take her hand. Their collaboration will become increasingly close and a bond will tacitly develop between the two born as much from the need for company in the oppressive silence of the ruined city, as from the mutual protection of the creatures that inhabit it.
Another novelty is the possibility for Mono to use certain objects as a weapon, such as metal pipes or axes, useful for shattering fragile obstacles or defending against enemies of his size. However, it is not even remotely an action drift: these "weapons" are however large compared to the child who can hardly swing them to strike in front of him; they are therefore mostly situational tools that the game gives us momentarily to test our ability to position Mono and make him hit with the right timing. In general as you progress through the game, there are always different dynamics of exploration and survival that make the adventure certainly less repetitive than the previous title; although we must say not extraordinarily longest-lived.
There will therefore be many ways in which we can lose our lives, but luckily the game features a rather forgiving checkpoint system, and above all faster loading times than in the past. A particularly welcome convenience especially considering that sometimes the cause of our death could be the deceptive perception of distances; Unfortunately, the movement in space in 2,5D is sometimes difficult, even if it does not represent a serious impediment and certainly does not ruin the gaming experience.
With Little Nightmares II the authors of Tarsier Studios have managed to replicate the expressive effectiveness of the first chapter, but they have also been able to improve the original game formula, making it more varied and multifaceted just enough not to distort its identity. The cryptic storyline might leave some players perplexed and unsatisfied, but its atmosphere of constant tension in its grotesque world packs a truly special experience.
► Little Nightmares 2 is an Adventure type game developed and published by Tarsier Studios for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, the video game was released on 11/02/2021
Version for PlayStation 5 is scheduled in the 2021
Version for Xbox Series X is scheduled in the 2021
