Little Nightmares 2 Review: Should You Play It?

The adventures of Six was thought to be finished back on the first Little Nightmares game. And from a certain perspective, it is. However, that’s not the case, and this time, she’s accompanied by another friend. Little Nightmares 2 was a surprise for a lot of people—a pleasant one, sure—but still a surprise. The game has its additional scares for people about to play it. So let’s start, shall we?

What Is Little Nightmares 2?

The game is a horror/adventure puzzle-platformer published by Bandai Namco and created by Tarsier Studios. It’s also the sequel to Little Nightmares released back in 2017. In the game, you now play as a new character by the name of Mono. Also, the protagonist of Little Nightmares, Six, is an AI-controlled character.

Mono and Six have to work together if they want to survive the world around them, as well as finding out the secrets of the Pale City. The game was released on the PS4, Xbox One, Stadia, Nintendo Switch, and the PC back on February 11, 2021. The developers also stated that the game will be released on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S later this year.

If you are looking to try out more platforming games, check out our reviews of Crash Bandicoot 4 and Cyber Shadow.

Requirements for PC

Now we don’t need to put in the requirements on consoles as they’re already pretty good. However, for PC, here are the requirements that you’ll need.

Minimum

4 GB RAM
Intel Core i5-2300 CPU or AMD FX-4350 processors.
Nvidia GeForce GTX 570 GPU or AMD Radeon HD 7850 GPU or better.
Windows 10 as your OS.

Little Nightmares 2 Review

Gameplay

Just like the original, Little Nightmares 2 is a platformer that takes place in a 2.5D world. You must explore the world of Little Nightmares 2. Sometimes, you need to solve platformer puzzles and other mysteries so that you can continue.

In addition to that, you’re no longer alone or helpless. Mono can use some objects to defeat smaller enemies. However, you still need to run from the bigger monsters in the game. Thus, you still need to hide and sneak your way through the environment to outmaneuver them and escape.

One thing that you should take into consideration is that you might want to use headphones when playing. We’re not talking about the game’s great score, though that also counts. Six can sometimes call you when you can interact with her to do things, and there are levels in the game where you follow the music to go in the right direction.

Finally, Little Nightmares 2 has collectibles! These come in the form of different hats scattered all over the game. So, if you’re not OK with the plain paper bag on Mono’s noggin, you can change it on the menu.

However, that’s not the only thing that we need to talk about, there’s still a few things that should be mentioned.

Combat & Controls

The combat in Little Nightmares 2, if it can be called that, is incredibly simplistic. Simply take a long object, and smack the little enemies you encounter with it, that’s it. The game’s main draw is still in its puzzles and incredibly terrifying monstrous creatures harassing and chasing you throughout the world. You’re not allowed a moment of rest, and if you do get to rest, you’re pretty much required to be on guard. Never let your guard down because a moment of lapsed judgment will be a game over.

Overall, that’s basically what amounts to combat in Little Nightmares 2, nothing much, but it’s there.

In terms of its combat controls, you can’t say much. However, other than the combat, the game plays pretty well. You jump around, solve puzzles, and simple stuff that you do on the original Little Nightmares. Do make sure to hide when the various enemies are around because they still will go and kill you.

The start of the day on the game is still to hide and ensure that Mono and Six are safe. Make sure that you hide when necessary and run when you need to.

However, as per usual for this game, Mono moves as if he’s stuck on sticky substances. His sprints feel as if he’s standing on water. Mono is so slow, you’re screwed if you make a mistake, and in a game like Little Nightmares 2? A single mistake can and will kill you, and it doesn’t matter if you recover quickly. Because of this, you might need to restart any level due to Mono moving like a snail, and with levels being incredibly strict on the fumbles part? Yeah, you’re gonna need precision.

Story/Setting

The story of Little Nightmares 2 brings you out of the Submarine called the Maw and into the wider and more dangerous world. You play as a boy named Mono, who awakens from a dream only to find himself in danger from everything around him. Along his journeys, he encounters and rescues Six, the protagonist of the first game. Together, they’ll have to brave this world filled with nightmarish creatures, dangerous areas, and things of pure evil. Combine all of this, and you get a pretty compelling game and story, especially if you look close enough.

There are a lot of things that are incredibly unnerving in Little Nightmares 2, similar enough to the first game. And overall, the feel of the first game is amplified by an incredibly unnerving degree. One of these things is the feeling that you’re never fully safe no matter where you are. In Little Nightmares 2, you feel as if you’re on the edge of a knife and the edge of your seat. Why is that you ask? Because the game conditions you that there’s probably some creepy bullshit that’s about to happen if you’re not paying attention.

On every level, some traps can and will kill you if you’re not careful. Hell, these traps appear on the very first level. Now if that’s not enough paranoia fuel for you, I don’t know what is. And those aren’t the only ones either. From the school of horrors to the various other areas in the game, you’re always on edge and always terrified of something. Even if you don’t see anything you’re terrified, that alone should be a good indication as to where the game’s going.

Horrific Environment Design

In the game, there’s a time when you could see from a distance bodies that seem to be thrown off the roof of one of the buildings. However, the scene is incredibly foggy and rainy. Thus, you can’t see what’s happening and who’s dropping said bodies.

Eventually though, once you get closer and you can get a better look, you find out that they weren’t being thrown off. They were citizens of the Pale City, forming a queue and dropping themselves from the roof, committing suicide. Later on, you find out that the Pale City’s Signal Tower is transmitting brainwashing signals all over the city.

The signals are so mind-warping, so evil, that the people viewing and hearing them eventually lose all will to live. All the time when you play the game when you see the Viewers—you might get a chill crawling up your spine as they look completely and utterly desensitized and dead. They may be moving, they may be alive, but they’re not truly living, not anymore.

In addition to all that, though, another thing that makes Little Nightmares 2 so unnerving and creepy is that the game looks like what a city would be if the people lose any will to live. The game no longer takes place on the insides of a submarine, with the whole place looking like a demented mansion inside. Nor does it take on Hell itself or outer space. No, instead, Mono and Six go through locales and places that are so common in our world. A school, streets, homes of people, you name it, it’s there.

If you think about it, however, Little Nightmares 2 isn’t scary, not in a conventional sense. However, what it does best is to show an incredibly macabre, horrifyingly outlandish, and unsettling world. However, it’s a world that Mono and Six need to go through to escape together.

Sounds

Let’s just say that you’ll want to wear headphones while you’re playing Little Nightmares 2. However, you also need to make sure that you’re not playing this at night because the sounds of this game alone will give you nightmares.

From the incredibly terrifying Teacher to the Hunter that keeps chasing you, the various enemies in the game are horrible in their ways. This horror is partly reflected in what they sound like. The Hunter is a raving lunatic, who keeps chasing Mono and Six. Meanwhile, the Teacher is… Grotesquely horrible. The stretching neck along is incredibly nauseating, not to mention the things she does to the “students” of her school. All in all, you’re not in for a very fun time on Little Nightmares 2.

However, you also need to hear these sounds if you want to survive as they might hold vital clues. For example, you might hear the footsteps of the Hunter approaching and you need to hide. That, or you can hear singing or static and others. The sounds of Little Nightmares 2 can help you in navigating the world, don’t neglect them, you might regret it if you do.

Things That Make It Different From The First Game

The first Little Nightmares game places you in the little form of Six. And as you probably know, you don’t stand a chance on the bigger, more terrifying enemies that litter the Maw. You against towering monstrosities that can kill you with ease. Thus, run, run some more, and don’t look back. That’s Little Nightmares.

Now that doesn’t mean that Little Nightmares is a horror game in the traditional sense. However, the game is an incredibly unsettling game to play due to the constant state of vulnerability. The only thing you have on you is a lighter, the odds are always against you, and you’re pretty much screwed if you’re not careful.

However, that doesn’t mean you’re out of options as Six is usually smarter than the more monstrous inhabitants of the Maw. She sneaks around and uses the darkness to hide and convenient objects scattered innocuously around for cover. You want to survive? You have to claw your way out.

In comparison, however, Little Nightmares 2 gives you a bit more to work with. You don’t play as Six anymore, as she’s an AI companion now. She gives Mono boosts to platforms higher than usual and can catch you when you jump too far platforms among others. In this game, you don’t have to go through the dangers of Pale City alone.

Of course, the game also has new enemies for you to evade. And like the first game, they come with unnaturally elongated body parts.

Little Nightmares 2 vs Similar Games

Right, now that we’ve talked about how awesome Little Nightmares 2 is, let’s talk about other horror games similar to it, starting from LIMBO.

LIMBO

First off, let’s talk about LIMBO.

LIMBO, in terms of its gameplay, is similar enough to Little Nightmares 2. The only difference is, it’s all on black and white and has more focus on suspense rather than straight-up horror. Little Nightmares 2 also is graphically on a 2.5D landscape when compared to LIMBO’s 2D. However, some similarities need to be taken into account.

For one, both games are incredibly dependent on movement. Both the main characters in the two games in question need precise movement to survive the harrowing worlds they’re in. Also, if we’re being honest here, the fact that you need precise movement to survive is an additional spice to the horror.

Another thing to take into account is the fact that with the addition of an AI-controlled partner in Six, you have some strategic options in the game—even if these options are incredibly limited in scope. In LIMBO, your character is alone and doesn’t have anyone to be with.

Overall, these two games are extremely similar in gameplay, and even in execution, with some things unique between franchises.

Outlast I & II

Next up is a full-on 3D first-person horrror game series, Outlast.

Now, Outlast in terms of its horror is more on the jumpscare variety than anything else. You fight enemies in that game the same way you do on Little Nightmares 2, which is not at all. Stealth and subterfuge are still your friends. Also, you can fully expect that you can’t make it out alive on the first try. Full stop, you’re not going to make it to the end of the game without dying at least 10 to 20 times unless you’ve repeated the games over and over.

Verdict

So, you’re wondering if you should play Little Nightmares 2? The simple answer is yes. If you’re a fan of the previous game, and you want to know what happened next, play Little Nightmares 2. You won’t regret it.