Fans of Little Nightmares 1 and 2 will love Little Nightmares 3. That tells you a lot about the nature of the game’s contents, setting, unsettling atmosphere, and flaws. Supermassive Games has taken over from Tarsier Games, but has remained faithful to the franchise to a teeth-chattering T.
There’s a perverse enjoyment in playing Little Nightmares games. After all, you’re basically forcing children to live out their nightmares and worst dreams come to life. But the cathartic conclusions make each journey memorable. Little Nightmares 2’s improvement over the first was incremental. I’d go as far as saying that’s the case for Little Nightmares 3 as well.
While the game’s air is thick with dread, the stench lingering in the air is recognizable. We’ve inhaled this scent before. This is Supermassive Games’ first attempt to awaken a new nightmare, and there’s a lot to love.
Little Nightmares 3 Review
Little Nightmares 3 follows in the footsteps of its predecessors: It’s a new game, a new world, with new unfortunate characters. This time around, we’re focusing on Low and Alone. The former wears a raven mask and sports a bow, whereas Alone looks like a perfect Sid Wilson Slipknot cosplayer with a full green jumpsuit, goggles, and a mean wrench.
The second game in the series introduced an AI ally to help you along the way. In Little Nightmares 3, you can either go this Alone, or, Low and behold, you can now team up to tackle the terror in co-op. However, it’s online co-op only. This means you can’t have a person join you on the couch to immerse yourselves and absorb the action on-screen together.
I played Little Nightmares 3 in single-player, so I only have the experience of my reasonably competent AI partner to call upon, but while the addition of co-op is much-needed, the decision to leave out couch co-op is a headscratcher, as it’s an obvious inclusion. On the plus side, the Friends Pass system—popularized by A Way Out and Split Fiction—is used, meaning two people can play together with only one copy of the game.
The AI has the odd moments of madness. I controlled Alone, and Low would occasionally ignore me—stopping me from getting a collectible or interacting with the environment—they would get in the way and block my path, and randomly not move, forcing me to restart the checkpoint. Otherwise, it was a fairly coherent experience, just one I wish I could’ve had with someone sitting next to me.
Little Nightmares 3 is split into four juicy chapters, with each biome proving to be as distinct as the last: From a crazy carnival to a madhouse. The goal to escape ‘The Nowhere’ took me around 7-8 hours—making it the deepest entry yet—and the signature blend of platforming and puzzles makes Little Nightmares 3 a scarily fun proposition.
Highs And Lows (And Alones)
The end goal is to make it through each level’s series of treacherous traps, chase sequences, and puzzles. Admittedly, these aren’t the hardest brainteasers, and I can count on one hand how many times I genuinely had to take a second to figure out what to do next. There are plenty of fun concepts sprinkled throughout the game, from a special doll that changes the world around you and opens up new avenues to thinking outside the box to get around deaf enemies.
Hidden trap doors, environmental obstacles, and remembering your character’s abilities are all required to push forward. Low’s bow triggers buttons, cuts ropes, and immobilizes enemies; on the other hand, Alone’s wrench breaks glass to open new paths, bulldozes holes through walls, and also finishes off the aforementioned enemies.
Even though you have weapons, the rare combat skirmish you encounter is awkward. The timing of strikes and the proximity of your characters to enemies feel off. I think it also takes away from the game’s defence mechanism when you can fight back, and the franchise benefits from the fear of helplessness.
Nevertheless, the chase sequences remain as exhilarating as ever, and the platforming never lets up. It feels tight and responsive, and even in scenarios where your perspective is horribly warped or your depth perception is challenged, the game does a great job of assisting you.
It does feel a bit repetitive towards the end of its runtime, and its biggest weakness is the same gameplay styling that has existed since day one: Trial and error. Sometimes you have to relive excessive passages of gameplay multiple times, which can greatly eat up time. While many can tolerate the intended nature of this loop, I found it frustrating in Little Nightmares 1, and it’s just as gratuitous and oppressive now.
Little Nightmares 3 Review Verdict
The addition of co-op (albeit limiting) and the use of a free Friends Pass system is a win-win. If you have played a Little Nightmares game before, though, don’t expect a wildly different experience, but it’s still different enough to help Little Nightmares 3 stand on its own four feet. Supermassive Games has more than demonstrated its expertise in horror and flexed its chops here, while adding in new mechanics and madness along the way. The franchise is in safe hands, and I look forward to the next installment of Tim Burton-esque horror.
The Insider Gaming forum is the usual go-to for all your thoughts on gaming. We also have other hot reviews to read about in 2025: Cronos: The New Dawn, Dying Light: The Beast. Killing Floor 3, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, Madden 26, and Dead Take.
Little Nightmares III
8
