Little Nightmares is Bandai Namco’s first attempt into more a much more smaller scaled, indie feel and it’s mostly a success. Featuring grotesque enemies, a haunting sound track, and a creepy story & setting, the game definitely lives up to its namesake, and it’s quite clear that Bandai has big plans for this little platformer.

Little Nightmares is a 2017 puzzle platformer, it is developed by Tarsler Studios, and published by Bandai Namco. It is available on PC, Playstation 4, and Xbox One,

Six traverses a level with a dwarf.

Little Nightmares is what can only be described as LittleBigPlanet meets Tim Burton in a mix of horrors. It’s twisted, scary, and downright nightmare inducing, but that’s all apart of its charm. You play as Six a mysterious, hooded girl who’s looking to escape her terrible situation, however she is forced to deal with hunger, monsters, and even cannibalism.

Running is your only act of defense.

THE GOOD: If you’re starving for a good, but not too gory horror experience Little Nightmares might be right up your alley. It’s design feels like a classic Tim Burton affair with an original spin of its own. Six is a tragic hero who must escape what’s essentially a ship of dangers full of giant characters that tower over her. Players use the environment to platform across differently levels of the ship , and learn a horrible secret kept within as the move forward in the story, including the dangers of Six herself.

Each scene of Little Nightmares features an appropriate as hell sound track.

Little Nightmares’ soundtrack is beautifully composed, Tobias Lilja new how to pick the right spots for his sound. There’s a range of different emotions and tones provoked from each track, including a silly yet still terrifying song provided for the background of a scene featuring an obese character. Sound design, as well as the atmosphere are also completely on point from beginning to end.

A beautiful nightmare, you’ll want on repeat.

THE BAD: Save points are a bit of a pain, in fact they can be missed if you aren’t being extremely careful.  Load times could also be annoying, mainly due to wanting to keep the ride going as long as possible. Unfortunately, in regards to the former, the game is quite short, with most played completing it in a few hours.

Just as it begins it ends.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: While short with some small hiccups here & there, Little Nightmares is a fun horror adventure with enjoyable atmosphere, writing, sound design, and gameplay. The level design is a thing of true nightmares, and it doesn’t have to rely on cheap gimmicks to be scary.