Having someone with you during scary moments usually makes things easier, but not in Little Nightmares 3.
This spooky game, set to come out in 2025, takes place in the creepy world of The Maw, and I got a sneak peek during a demo. The biggest new thing is that you can play with a friend, which might make the game even scarier. In my demo, my partner and I explored a “candy factory” filled with gross sweets and creepy assembly lines of bodies. We played as two new characters, Alone and Low, each with special skills.
One character uses a heavy wrench for hitting big buttons, while the other has a bow and arrow for shooting things out of reach. You have to work together to survive, or else you fail. This could be tricky because working with others isn’t always easy, like when you’re playing Overcooked and your friend isn’t chopping onions fast enough. But maybe Little Nightmares 3 is perfect for this kind of teamwork, even more so than games like It Takes Two.
Sometimes, the puzzles give you plenty of time to think and try different solutions. You might fall or get zapped, but there aren’t any scary enemies around. Working together on these puzzles can be fun. Other times, failing a puzzle can alert an enemy, which is scarier because it often ends in your character getting caught or eaten. I played with someone from the game’s team who let me mess up on purpose to keep things real.
Fans really enjoy figuring out puzzles together.
Then there are the heart-pounding chase scenes. As soon as you enter a new area, you might have to run and find a way out immediately. Making even one mistake can get you caught. In past games, messing up these parts felt like a bad dream you couldn’t escape. Now, with two players, one might escape while the other gets caught, forcing both to start over.
This could get frustrating over time because relying on someone else in a stressful situation is tough. Some might find it scarier to depend on another person than to be alone. The game uses these moments to make you feel more connected to your co-op partner, even if they sometimes cause problems.
Alone and Low are the only nice characters in The Maw, so you might feel sorry for your co-op partner and want to help them, even if they accidentally drag you back into danger. I’ve liked the previous Little Nightmares games, and this new one seems just as good, even though a different studio is making it now. I’m excited to play it with my easily scared wife and see if we can survive together.
You can preorder Little Nightmares 3 now, even though it’s not coming out until 2025.
