I think that when I say that I have a special affection for Little Nightmares, I do not demonstrate an exclusive feeling. The franchise of Tarsier Studios It made a deep impression since its launch in 2017, especially for being supported by pillars such as a sinister setting, very accessible mechanics and a plot full of mystery that is impossible to catch you.
Without becoming a survival horror, but without slipping towards the simplicity of a platformer, the saga has managed to pivot successfully between the light horror and engaging puzzles. A formula that has not led to the creation of a sequel, but rather is heading towards a third part that aims as high as its predecessors.
Since I want to approach that sequel with all the pieces on the table, I made it my task to catch up. I had only aired Six’s adventure seven years ago, so I had to go through the checkout to get the triplet of expansions, as well as unseal Little Nughtmares 2 to find out what was hidden beyond.
What Six never saw
I was aware that The Depths, The Hiding Place and The Residence They formed a union of DLC that moved away from any point of view of Six. In this case it is the Child’s turn, without pretense or boasts. A brief name, without depth, that barely defines him as the protagonist and that is the first clue that indicates what is coming for the future.
I like to compare the aura that the ship gives off Little Nightmares with a sort of Tim Burton film, in the style of what we have seen with Beetlejuice, although with greater malice. The designs of enemies like the Janitor or the Grandma dance between parody and intimidating, as if you wanted to touch them to see what material they are made of, even though you are almost certain that the result is not going to be pleasant.
What is not at all friendly is the journey that the Child must make through the nursery or through the depths, always with his breath on the necks of his most immediate pursuers. Every time we have to sneak through nooks, dodge claws bigger than our own body or run like hell, I smile. It is a method that I love of maintaining high tension, creating fear, hitting with the feeling that you are on the verge of failure.
A form that Limbo and Inside, cousins of Little Nightmaresand that I really liked to remember again. I have also enjoyed getting to know the underworld of the gigantic ocean liner captained by the Lady and dirty by dozens of clients whose sole purpose is to devour whatever is within reach of their greasy hands. Who are those tiny gnomes that flutter around the caldera area?
Based on the sad end of the Child, they are still other children who have had a relatively merciful end given how sad their destiny can be; Better to be part of the forced labor force than to end up in the stomach of an undesirable. One of the most requested requests for DLC is that they add variety to the main equation or that they deviate wildly, as happens with Blood Dragon or Undead Nightmare.
Sometimes all you have to do is give more and repeat the ABCs of success, which is exactly what game expansions do. Little Nightmares. The puzzles are still as fun to solve, the jumps are just as complicated and there is no way to shake the pleasure of advancing. All this even in a context as complicated for the Boy as finding himself in the Lady’s cabin, who reveals an absolutely terrifying face that she does well to hide behind her mask,
Vietnam memories of how at the end of Little Nightmares is capable of surprising Six I was assaulted while I was trying to figure out how on earth I should direct the light rays in his chambers. And yet, even when he demonstrated all possible courage, the Child not only ends up becoming a gnome, but is revealed to be the one that Six devoured in his food derangement. The young woman in the yellow raincoat appears out of the corner of her eye, with a fleeting role, and it is clear that here everyone is going their own way. Or at least that’s what I thought.
Applause… until the end?
Six is already part of the past in Little Nightmares 2 and it all begins through Mono, a boy with a bag on his head, who wakes up in the middle of a forest and surrounded by televisions. The intrigue no longer lies in the protagonist himself, because it is no longer the one that I did not know until now, but rather I kept wondering what the hell those scattered devices are doing in a place like that.
And it’s not that there is much time to think as a kind of hunter or ranger, very bad-tempered in any case, who decides to shoot everything that moves. I’m surprised that the other child who was saved doesn’t allow cooperative play, because it seems absurdly obvious to me that that should be a possibility. I do not demand that the same thing happen as with the productions of Josef Fareswhere it is an inevitable requirement, but it cries out to heaven.
In any case, better two heads thinking than one. I’ve always liked that the enemies along the way are adults, noticeably larger than Mono or Six. It is a faithful and direct representation of what a child feels when he meets someone older, because he is very defenseless against their strength. Short stature and intelligence are the few, but valuable, tools they have.
The striking thing is that the relationship between televisions and Mono is… peculiar. There is some kind of connection between it and the distorting transmissions, which are everywhere. It doesn’t matter if we go to a haunted house, a school for living dolls, a hospital full of mannequins or we tour the city where it never stops raining, the panorama is always the same. Monkey enters the television, walks down a hallway at such a slow speed that it is reminiscent of the classic dream we have all had where we are chasing someone, and returns before he can reach a door with an eye symbol.
The desolation is total, because even if they did not want to move forward, the two have nowhere to hide. The scene of Little Nightmares 2 It is fabulous, with buildings in ruins, corpses everywhere and the feeling that there is no possible protection from misfortune. And what about the bosses, possibly the most sinister to date. I don’t want to miss the opportunity to mention the excellent design of the school teacher, but above her are the sections of the school itself and the hospital.
The students are a bunch of rude, barbarians, merciless and potential vermin who do not know any other rule than to bow their heads when their teacher appears. Beyond that impassable border, The world is a place where chaos is allowed.. The nervousness that its hallways manage to provoke can only be matched by the gloom caused by the mannequins in the health center. Dread, and the good kind, is caused by a figure without a head or hand that moves towards Monkey when he is not looking. Creepy cool.
However, the resolution of the plot has its problems that have not completely satisfied me. It seems absolutely correct to me that the traveling companion is Six and that the revelation comes halfway through the game. I have no problem with The Thin Man rising as the final enemy and I loved the script twist of Six abandoning Mono to his fate.
Everything is fine, except for the obvious detour into the realm of the supernatural. Little Nightmares 2 I would have liked it to follow in the footsteps of the previous game, fantasizing that not everything was well in this world, but not falling into the hole of monsters, paranoia and daydreams that take real shape. It is not a crime, it is not an irreparable sin, it is simply a person who would have liked to remain in another line.
And it made sense that The Thin Man would become so important, especially with his elusive appearance at the end of the first DLC. Little Nightmares. I like that Six has no soul, that he shows that survival is the only thing that matters, even in a circumstance where he shouldn’t have done what he did. From what we’ve seen in the previews for Little Nightmares 3, it seems that he won’t appear again, although I would like to see his return and find out what kind of ace he has up his sleeve. Will he be the antagonist? It wouldn’t hurt.
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