It has been over a year since the game was revealed, and Bandai Namco finally gave us a chance to get a hands-on demo of Little Nightmares III, the highly-anticipated next installment in the much-loved horror adventure series.
While this latest Little Nightmares game will no longer feature Six, it does introduce two new protagonists that players can control. Aside from a single-player option that plays similarly to the second game, this new title also features an online co-op mode where two players can team up to explore the Nowhere and find a way to escape.
As the game is fairly short at around 7-9 hours, we only got to try around an hour of the game, with the first 30 minutes being played in co-op while the rest of the playthrough was solo. As such, this hands-on impressions will focus first on the co-op gameplay as this is no doubt the highlight of the game for many players.
The Co-op Experience
Given that Little Nightmares II already had two characters together in the levels, making Little Nightmares III a co-op experience seems only natural. To add to the theme of needing to work together, the protagonists Low and Alone also have different mechanics. Specifically, Low has a boy and arrow while Alone has a big wrench. Using these items is key in solving the various puzzles that the levels present.
Speaking of levels, the co-op gameplay I got to experience was at the Candy Factory level. This area is set in a creepy factory that should feel familiar to players of the first two Little Nightmares games.
I’m not exactly hard to scare when it comes to horror, though I did find the Candy Factory to have a good level of creepiness. Still, it did lack a bit of that scare factor, likely because I was playing with someone as that dampened the scariness a bit. After all, it’s less stressful when there’s someone I can also rely on when enemies are out and about.
Even though it’s not that scary, I still enjoyed the Candy Factory level as it flowed well and had some interesting puzzles. It’s hard to judge right now, but I found most of the puzzles here to be quite easy, though there was one part that had me and my co-op partner stumped.
I have to admit, my brain wasn’t working properly there as the way to progress through a certain part was fairly obvious in hindsight. On the flip side, this co-op communications aspect might be a potential issue with the game.
While I played the game with my co-op partner right beside me, that won’t be the case for the vast majority of players when this game launches. That’s because Little Nightmares III won’t have local co-op. So, you’ll need to communicate with your online co-op partner via simple signals which might be a bit frustrating for some puzzles if they turn out to be difficult (or if your brain just isn’t working on that day like what happened to me).
More than the potential communication issues when playing online, the lack of local co-op is probably going to be the biggest knock against the game. After all, Little Nightmares III seems very much like a game that’s perfect to play with your partner while on the couch.
Taking this fact aside though, I still think the co-op aspect has a lot of promise overall. Even though the scariness is lessened, I think the game’s atmosphere is still strong enough to give a memorable horror experience, at least based on my hands-on with the game. Plus, the co-op mode also has the potential to give a memorable time like other puzzle adventure games like Journey, albeit with a horror twist.
Familiar Yet Fresh When Playing Solo
After my time with the co-op mode, I then jumped into the single-player mode. While I played as Alone in co-op, this time I played as the bow-wielding Low at the Necropolis level.
This area is set in a desert environment that’s surprisingly bright for a Little Nightmares game. Given the look of the desert level with desolate buildings, I was reminded of Demon’s Souls Stonefang Tunnel – at least the exterior of that level. That’s because they share the same barren atmosphere.
In fact, I would say that the Necropolis level is even less scary than the Candy Factory which was interesting given that I was playing solo this time. Personally though, I thought this level was more memorable as the desolate vibe of the Necropolis felt fresh yet still retaining the DNA of Little Nightmares. This might be a biased take as I love these kinds of levels in games, but I think a lot of players will appreciate this fresh take on the series formula too.
Atmosphere aside, the game as a solo experience should still be good. Sure, the interaction with the AI-controlled ally is simply just pressing a button to call them so that they can interact with puzzle mechanics, but the simple gameplay is far from boring.
Speaking of mechanics, there are also some interesting mechanics in this level like an umbrella that you can use to ride updrafts or glide down without dying. Hopefully, the game has more of these interesting mechanics to keep things interesting.
Little Nightmares III Initial Impressions
Because I only played a small slice of the game, it’s hard for me to give a proper verdict right now. But based on my hands-on, Little Nightmares III seems to have a good balance of signature mechanics/elements from the original, all while adding new twists such as the brighter yet desolate desert level.
Sure, the co-op mode will be limited to online play, but the experience itself has a lot of promise. The only question now for co-op is how the puzzles will work in the later levels as having them too easy will remove even more tension, but making them too difficult might result in some frustration for players.
Little Nightmares III will be released on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC sometime in 2025.