Little Nightmares Review for Xbox One

System: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Dev: Tarsier Studios
Pub: Bandai Namco Entertainment
Release: April 28, 2017
Players: 1 Player
Screen Resolution: 480p-1080p	Blood, Violence

Yet despite a few cleverly designed conundrums, most of the teasers are easily solved; you should reach the games conclusion within a few short hours. It’s a little disheartening actually, considering the potential to delve deeper with the content. There were countless rooms that housed a bevy of possible puzzles, and yet a singular rudimentary and linear answer allowed me to quickly escape to the next area. More rooms could have gone beyond simply running from one end to the other. With the surrealism made factual, the boundaries and complexities could have been stretched much further. There isn’t much to do apart from the task of escape, though you can scour the house for porcelain statuettes, shattering them to signal they have been collected. You can also chase down Nomes (gnomes) and capture them in a hugging embrace. Little Nightmares is likely a story that you will skim through a single time, even though many of the impressions will be lasting.

Little Nightmares Screenshot

It’s nice to see the horror genre taking on a variety of forms. Little Nightmares follows in the vein of developer Playdead’s Inside and Limbo and offers engaging and disturbing quasi-2D platforming to counterbalance all the zombie shooters and jump scares out there. Tarsier Studios has a great vision and the game is priced right at twenty dollars, but after completing the journey, it feels a little unfinished even after the final period in the story was dotted.

Giving the story a few rounds of proofreading might have inspired the designers to add more obstacles and offered more flexibility to the players. Still, the well-presented aesthetic and emotional impact make Little Nightmares more than worthy of a playthrough.

By
Sean Engemann
Senior Contributing Writer
Date: 04/25/2017

RATING OUT OF 5

RATING DESCRIPTION

4.4

Graphics
Beautiful yet disturbing, barren yet full of detail, the contradictions make this game a unique visual experience.

4.0

Control
There isn’t much more to do than run, sneak, grab, and pull objects, but the simplicity solidifies the limited capacity of a starved nine-year-old in a prison of a house.

4.2

Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
Apart from a few up tempo escapes, most of the music is subdued, allowing the echoing drips of water and Six’s padding feet on concrete resonate louder than any orchestra.

3.8

Play Value
The price is right and the impression lasting, but story ends too quickly and the puzzles solved too easily and linearly.

4.1

Overall Rating - Great
Not an average. See Rating legend below for a final score breakdown.

Review Rating Legend
0.1 - 1.9 = Avoid	2.5 - 2.9 = Average	3.5 - 3.9 = Good	4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
2.0 - 2.4 = Poor	3.0 - 3.4 = Fair	4.0 - 4.4 = Great	5.0 = The Best

Game Features:

EMBARK ON A GRIM ADVENTURE: Confront your childhood fears in this darkly whimsical tale, set in an immersive world of great sensibility, interactive storytelling and outstanding sound design. Discover the foul secrets of The Maw and survive the attentions of its monstrous residents as you bid to help Six escape to the world outside

VISIT THE MOST INTRIGUING DOLLHOUSE: Explore a disturbingly charming dollhouse, a place that is both prison and playground. Peek into Six's world, part dream, part nightmare, where every step feels like a leap, and every shadow a vast darkness! Start from the bottom of The Hull and look for a way to The Above.

REKINDLE YOUR CHILDLIKE JOYS: Each room is a cell, each resident a threat, and both are puzzles to untangle. Reconnect with your inner child, unleash your imagination, and stay out of harm's way. Master Six's every movement in a super-sized world where even the smallest doubt can lead to a fatal misstep.