Little Nightmares 3 Review: Less Isn't Always More

Little Nightmares 3 was a game I was incredibly excited for but unfortunately, it’s left me wanting more and not in a good way.

I adore the Little Nightmares games. Little Nightmares left me in awe by the time I finished the game with its tense and suspenseful gameplay as well as several huge story moments that left me questioning everything. Little Nightmares 2 acted as a prequel, with a story that could be enjoyed standalone or appreciated more if you played the first game.

While you’d expect Little Nightmares 3 to cap off the trilogy in a satisfying way, I’m here to tell you that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, Little Nightmares 3 has nothing to do with the previous games at all, and while that could have worked to its benefit, the new story it does offer feels both uneventful and uninspired.

We follow Low and Alone, two friends on a journey to destinations unknown to us. In single-player, Alone will be your AI companion but why would you want to play single-player when you play the game with a friend instead? That’s right, for the first time ever you can play Little Nightmares with a friend, fixing one of my biggest gripes with Little Nightmares 2. Together, you’ll navigate these strange new places, solve puzzles and evade the monstrous beings trying to snatch you. One player has a bow and arrow to sever ropes and hit out-of-reach buttons whereas the other has a spanner that can bash down certain walls and shatter other important objects. Overall, it was good fun and by the end of the game, my co-op partner and I became a strong and cohesive unit, the epitome of teamwork.

Even when things weren’t going our way and we were berating each other for messing up simple platforming segments, it was just fun to share the journey with someone. Something I was particularly thankful for was the freedom we had to split off from each other. There’s no magical tether joining you and your partner together and the display doesn’t awkwardly shift to split-screen when you stray too far apart. Being able to split up and look for clues or collectibles was nice and made it all the more humorous when one of us shrieked from another room.

Unfortunately, this novelty quickly turned into frustration whenever a chase sequence started. Chase sequences in the previous games were intense and would often have you on the edge of your seat. It always felt like you escaped by the skin of your teeth and that’s a credit to the great pacing. Those timings were designed with one player in mind though and in Little Nightmares 3 it still feels like it was designed for one player. When a chase began, unless we had perfectly synchronised reaction times, one of us would inevitably lag behind, but whatever was in pursuit seemed to keep pace with the lead player so the one not keeping up would get grabbed. This was especially apparent on a respawn when we knew which direction to run because if one of us took off a little early it’s like the AI would rubberband forward and kill us again.

Timing in general is much weaker than previous games. There were too many instances of insta-failing where it assumed we’d know what was coming next, like the ceiling falling after a little tremor, or a table we were supposed to hide under just looking like set-dressing. You’re not supposed to know what’s coming in a horror game yet too often it felt like the game was designed around us being clairvoyant.

Bandai Namco

Aside from the dodgy chase sequences, the game offers more of what we’ve come to expect from Little Nightmares as a series: foreboding locations and a story that makes you question everything.

Let’s talk about settings. Little Nightmares had The Maw, Little Nightmares 2 had The Pale City, and Little Nightmares 3 has…options. The game kicks off in an old, worn and decrepit city standing in a desert, its inhabitants turned to stone as they crumble into dust. Already, I was intrigued and I was looking forward to learning more about this strange and forgotten civilisation and what could have caused such destruction.

Unfortunately, that’s just the first chapter, and by the end of it, you learn of Low’s ability to travel through mirrors. Rather than stick to one locale, Little Nightmares 3 takes players on a whistlestop tour through insanity and depravity, never lingering in the same location for long. As cool as Low’s power is, it doesn’t do the game any favours as you’re never in one place long enough to appreciate the storytelling. You’re introduced to so many unique enemies too like a giant baby and a crazy carnival worker but there’s never really anything to glean from them. Every enemy on The Maw had a wider purpose and meeting them in order helped move and tell the story, whereas in Little Nightmares 3, they feel like they’re only there because there needs to be a threat.

It’s a shame too because like previous games, the environments are gloomily gorgeous and the monstrous beings you encounter are truly terrifying. The giant baby in the first chapter was legitimately distressing for a number of reasons and before we were whisked away to the next area, I really wanted to know more about it. Where did it come from? Why is it so big? Why is it in this random city? I don’t need the story spelled out for me; I just want a little crumb of lore here and there.

This brings me to without a doubt the weakest part of Little Nightmares 3, the story. Like I said before, the ending of Little Nightmares had me in awe by the end. I was left with so many questions, even more so by the end of the second game - and it was a lot of fun taking the discussion online to hear what everyone’s theories were. The ending of Little Nightmares 3, without trying to give anything away, left me with one big question: “Is that it?”

After going along with the location hopping in the hopes that it’ll all make sense by the end, it really didn’t feel like there was a pay-off. I was convinced there were multiple endings at first and we’d just gotten a bad one, but that was just how it was.

Little Nightmares 3 feels like a sequel in name alone. As a co-operative experience with either a friend, family member or partner, it’s a good time and should give you sufficient spooks and scares as well as a few laughs here and there. Visually, the game is on point with some gorgeous and intriguing settings, but they lack depth and get moved along too quickly. The story is the biggest drawback though, and if you’re expecting a story on par with the first game’s, look somewhere else.

Pros: Co-op is a nice addition, visually stunning and creepy environments, puzzles and exploration still feel tense

Cons: Abysmal story, lacking in depth, chase sequences feel poorly timed in co-op and often frustrating

For fans of: Little Nightmares

6/10: Good

Little Nightmares 3 is out now for PlayStation 5 (version tested), PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. A review code was provided by the publisher. Read a guide to our review scores here.