If you liked the terror of Little Nightmares, you cannot miss its sequel. The new monsters, their nightmare scenarios and moments of maximum tension will make you suffer and enjoy an adventure with an amazing artistic finish. In this analysis of Little Nightmares 2 I tell you about my trip to hell.
Although it may not seem like it at first glance, every time we face terror in a video game, movie or novel, we do so equipped with a breastplate. We are always alert , expecting the worst; anticipating what is sure to happen in just a few moments. It happens! A monster appears, the music deafens you, and you respond with a start. It is such a common resource that precisely because of this, and because of that armor that we wear, it quickly loses its effect. Yes, you will surely jump and scream at specific moments, but it is something you see coming. Little Nightmares 2 , like its predecessor, seeks to make you have a bad time in another way using uncertainty with great skill. You know that there is something lurking in the shadows, that at any moment you will have to run for your life but, either nothing happens … or it happens when you relax. And that instant is great.
Everything around you is so disturbing and twisted, so grotesque and mysterious, that the sense of danger never leaves you . And it’s not that Little Nightmares 2 is a terrifying video game of those that make you scream to the point of wanting to leave the game, but it knows how to create tension and make you uncomfortable with its devastating staging, with its impossible scenarios and, of course, with those fearsome and puzzling creatures that will haunt you relentlessly for nearly five hoursthat the adventure lasts. And what to say, it’s an incredible feeling. You walk slowly afraid of falling into a trap and then … you hear something, you see a shadow, you feel a presence that you do not identify, to which you do not put a face, and when you see it, you think the worst because it is difficult not to feel uncomfortable with it. Dantesque spectacle that you have before you. And you run, jump and even let out a cry of anguish while fleeing from situations typical of the worst of your nightmares in an adventure reminiscent of Limbo and Inside , but whose great reference is the mythical Another World .
The best thing about Little Nightmares 2 is that in one way or another it manages to surprise you by facing new dangerous situations in which, yes, in the end you always act practically the same way, but at the same time they also feel different. All the more reason to avoid talking about its monsters , since playing blindly without knowing what awaits you behind a door is a great experience that improves the less you know about it.
Fear of the unknown, the best of Little Nightmares 2
There are few feelings more agonizing than running for your life in a trap-ridden setting where you can barely move with ease. You run and jump and slide across the floor almost instinctively, like an act of faith trusting that everything will work out. But you die. And you fall from grace again; and then one more time. Like its predecessor Little Nightmares 2, it is a game that abuses trial and error , which often breaks the magic by charging the rhythm of the action. You are so into the chaotic and insane spectacle that you try to escape that you die over and over again just because, because it is practically impossible to avoid an obstacle that you do not see coming, it is not fun at all. Or at least it detracts from scenes that are a brutal spectacle. Imagine.
As the action flows, Little Nightmares 2 is any horror fan’s dream.Everything around you crumbles to the passing of an abominable creature that snaps its teeth here and there; that crawls, that hits and screams furiously … and you go and die. It is part of the grace of a video game, to accept the challenge and overcome it, but when it no longer depends so much on your skill but on knowing what awaits you and how you should act, the experience suffers. And you can see it. While the action flows, Little Nightmares 2 is a horror fan’s dream. Tarsier Studios has given me some of the most terrifying and exciting moments in recent years, with gameplay situations that take your breath away., which always surprise; emulating and overcoming some of the best moments that the original title has already left us with that insane final stretch that I will not forget as the years go by. There are many more scenes of the style, as if hell had opened its doors wide, letting out unimaginable horrors. And that is music to my ears.
Each new creature you face carries a brutal bad vibes , which is precisely what makes you walk with a certain fear. When will the nightmare break out? At what point will I have to run? That automaton … will it attack me? The great thing about Little Nightmares 2 is that it plays very well with uncertainty. You never know what is going to happen or when, so the game always keeps the tension very high, surprising you just when you thought everything was over. At this point it is quite faithful to the original, but it has a couple of new features that contribute to improving the experience. The most striking is that you are no longer alone, because the protagonist of the original, SixAccompany the new boy to help him escape from the monsters thus creating some memorable scenes.
When the game was introduced, with two characters on screen, it was thought that Little Nightmares 2 would have cooperative multiplayer, but not …
I confess that the idea of cooperating on more convoluted puzzles in the style of the now classic ICO had me excited, and while it is something that works, I feel that it does not show its full potential. the puzzlesthey are good, they encourage you to explore the scene in search of clues, and there are even some that you must solve in the middle of a dangerous situation; but they never go beyond very simple actions that are not exploiting that idea of surviving as a team. Don’t get me wrong. I have enjoyed as a child touring the nightmare world of Little Nightmares 2; and when I shook hands with Six to run, or when I handed her an object for her to clear the way, I felt part of a journey that I never wanted to end. A good sign in a game that always knows how to surprise you with subtle nuances that change the course of action .
Its soul is that of a puzzle and platform adventure in which exploration is everything, but the story changes a lot when darkness dominates everything and only the light of a flashlight can save you from a heinous death, or when you must resort to stealth to escape from a monstrous creature capable of killing you in an instant, or when you run and jump like crazy because the world around you falls apart as you go, and you will even face scenes where you will have to fight using hammers and other heavy objects that you find along the way. A pleasant surprise… which is also part of some of the most frustrating moments in the game. Already the first Little Nightmares boasted a crude control systemthat it was not as precious as it should be, and in this sequel, although it is slightly improved, the sensations are similar. It is especially noticeable in fights, in which more than hitting left and right you must adjust well the exact moment in which you execute an attack. The control does not always respond well and sometimes, in addition, the position of the camera can make you measure distances wrong. As when you die you return to the action practically immediately, it is not something that ruins the experience, but as I said, Little Nightmares 2 shines more when the rhythm of the action flows without interruptions; When you dodge death
So far I have not mentioned anything about the story , the settings or monsters so as not to ruin anyone’s surprise, but it is inevitable to mention the excellent work done by Tarsier Studios with this nightmare universe. The design of the enemies, so grotesque, so strange and to a certain extent comical, generates a feeling of hallucinatory bad vibes that is increased by the environment that surrounds us. They are everyday places with a twisted nuance that further reinforces that feeling of helplessness in the face of a lethal threat. And then we have the story. There are no words, no text, only scenarios, monsters and small details that help you to put the pieces of the puzzle together yourself until you make sense of the horror that you have before you.It is not necessary to have played the first Little Nightmare , although if you have, many of the scenes with Six will make more sense. Speaking of her, it’s great to see how she acts on her own without having to go after her, ask her a thousand times to follow you or to be still.
As in the original, there are hidden secrets on stage. This time, they are hats that you can wear at any time during the game.
Little Nightmares 2 is master of subtlety ; a game that never says things clearly, that prefers that you be the one who theorizes, the one who puts the worst in the face of a new threat, and that is transferred to the character of Six. Not sure how to solve a puzzle? She, as if nothing else, will give you that key clue you need to move forward. And those kinds of gestures have made me appreciate even more the cooperative adventure style that defines this new horror, puzzle and platform game. It is true that he does not always delve into his virtues as much as he would have liked, and that the final stretch , far from being apotheosis, loses some strengthcompared to other high points of the adventure, but it is a game that is enjoyed – and suffered – a lot, and even though it is quite faithful to the original, it manages to convey different sensations during the course of the action. For this reason, and although you might think that I did not like it, the truth is that I liked it very much.
Little Nightmares 2 shines brightest when the pace of the action flows seamlessly; when you dodge deathIt is capable of putting you in tension without resorting to easy scares: its disturbing music, its staging and your own imagination are the tools it uses to frighten you. Also the scenarios through which you move, larger, with a greater depth for you to explore freely … and suffer atrocious deaths. Although the mechanics of trial and error have sometimes put me out of action, I can only recommend that you enjoy the twisted nightmare journey that Little Nightmares 2 proposes. We’ll see what Tarsier Studios does, although it looks like this horror series will be taking a break. At least we can say well deserved .
“At the height of the original”
Little Nightmares 2
8.0
Readers
(1)
The fear of the unknown is a very powerful weapon that Little Nightmares 2 wields masterfully. It is not a horror game to use, but it knows how to make you suffer with its monsters and nightmare scenarios. Sometimes he overuses trial and error, which affects the rhythm of the action; But when everything flows, it is hard not to get excited about the twisted spectacle that Little Nightmares 2 shows on screen. It brings the right news so that its action feels somewhat different from the original, and although it sins of repeating a rough control, his is a nightmare from which you will not want to wake up.
5 things you should know:
- The game knows how to surprise you with new challenges and monsters. Sometimes the enemy is the dark, sometimes a creature that does not stop chasing you.
- Although there are two characters on the screen, there is no cooperative multiplayer option.
- The final stretch of the adventure loses steam with respect to the most spectacular moments of the adventure.
- You don’t need to have played the original, but you will understand certain scenes better if you completed the first Little Nightmares.
- Try again to overuse trial and error, facing dangers that are difficult to escape without warning, and this ends up breaking the rhythm of the action.
