Reissued on Wednesday, July 27, 2022: Following the announcement of the PlayStation Plus lineup in August, we’re bringing this review back from the archive. The original text is:
Like LittleBigPlanet, the creepy puzzle platformer Little Nightmares contains sugar, spices and everything else. The decapitated body parts simply stir them into the mainstream soup. Having worked with Media Molecule for many years, it’s not surprising to see this interpretive case performed in the same way as some of Sackboy’s outings. Simply replace the sponge sponge with the sausage string and you’ll get the right idea.
In a three- to four-hour adventure, you’ll take on the role of Six, a imprisoned toddler imprisoned in an underwater facility called Mo. As with Playdead’s ingenious Inside, you’re given little context about your plight, it’s just enough to make it clear that you need to escape. Environmental storytelling reveals a little more about your predicament, but there’s no doubt that the bones of the story don’t have enough flesh to guess exactly what it is.
But hunger is a permanent theme, as your debilitating tummy rings. The artwork is a lasting treat, as it guides Tim Burton inside it with a curious Gothic piece. But where former film directors are plump in search of tall and slim dolls, plump caricatures dominate the nightmare cast here. The cleft lip chef is a particular highlight, but there are many others along the way.
Unfortunately, puzzles are hard to remember and rely on basic stealth gameplay and simple object manipulation. I see a makeshift bridge from Bratwurst, but I don’t rush to remember many others. This is exacerbated by some cumbersome controls. These controls are heavy and slightly prominently tilted to an unpleasantly long trigger hold to perform important tasks. I just feel sick.
Perspective is also an issue, playing from a cross-section perspective, but incorporating 3D depth into the scene. This increases the chances of exploration and gives the impression of a deadly diorama wandering around, but inevitably creates the problem of misjudging one’s position and destroying it. The additional depth enabled by virtual reality may help minimize this issue, but PlayStation VR is not supported.
That said, the mood inside a Sony headset can be unbearable for some. The game isn’t scary in the traditional sense, but it’s anxious. The combination of moody lighting and dark art direction helps set the scene, but it’s the sound of tasting gloomy food. The game may reduce the soundscape without noise, but the controller pulsates in harmony with the throbbing heartbeat, crescendo to the discordant Inferno during the tracking sequence.
Conclusion
Little Nightmares is like a fledgling chef interpreting gourmet food. It looks like it’s there, but if you eat it greedily, it won’t last long. A good presentation, combined with some forgotten puzzles and slightly fragmented fiction, leaves a satisfying feast without exploding the taste buds.
