Little Nightmares 2 Review

Despite a troublesome development, Little Nightmares was released to critical acclaim. Fans loved the dark atmosphere and sinisterly designed characters. Little Nightmares 2 carries much of the same wicked charm that the original had. Newcomer Mono takes the helm as the protagonist, and Six accompanies him in this cooperative adventure.

You'll find yourself once again solving puzzles and evading deadly monster-like humans while learning what happened to the people through the environment. Little Nightmares 2 retreads many of the concepts that made the first game such a hit and provides a familiar journey that fans of horror and the original will love.

Little Nightmares 2 has you in control of Mono, a young boy who wakes up from a dream and ventures into an unknown area. It isn't long before Mono encounters Six, the previous protagonist, and saves her from the Hunter.

The two travel together, heading into a large city full of horrors and a distorted signal that has mutated and entranced the populist. The two must navigate the city and search for a way through while being hunted by numerous horrifying figures.

The story of Little Nightmares II is amazing, with an array of shocking twists, but it doesn't add much to the series as a whole. The game's narrative doesn't provide anything players familiar with the first game already knew. As an isolated adventure, it's wonderful, but as a sequel, it doesn't push the series forward storywise. 

The first game's visuals were already amazing, but the developers stepped it up with the sequel. Incredible lighting and shadows help sell the tension when exploring. This, complemented by fantastic cinematography, highlights the incredible animations, especially those of the mainline creatures who hunt Six and Mono.

The new landscape and setting are drastically different from the Maw. There's an array of homes, a school, and outside locations that give the entire city a lively feel.

People's lives are told through the environment, with remnants of their past littered around. The soundtrack sells this entire world as it provides a complementary rhythm to amplify each situation, whether you're exploring the empty streets or being actively chased.

The creative design is outstanding and truly the stuff of nightmares. Unsettling designs include a teacher with a statue grin or a mortician who climbs on the ceiling like a spider. There's plenty more, and each one complements the setting where it's placed. Horror gamers will find that the developers took inspiration from other iconic survival-horror games like Silent Hill.

While this game is cooperative, it doesn't overly rely on these mechanics. Occasionally, you'll need Six's help to leap to a high ledge, pull Mono up when leaping a large distance, or pull a heavy object.

You never have to babysit Six or control her since he's entirely AI-controlled. Enemies ignore her, so you don't have to worry about her during sneaking areas as well. She also provides a guiding hand when in chase situations and will often point the player in the right direction.

When her input is needed, Mono simply has to call Six, and she'll position herself correctly. Occasionally, you'll need to grab Six's hand as a sign of moral support to guide her, which feels out of place.

Given Six's nightmarish journey through the Maw, it seems out of place for Six to need Mono's hand to guide her, and gameplay-wise, it just reduces Mono's speed. It just seems like an empty mechanic that wasn't fully utilized either emotionally or within gameplay.

Much of Little Nightmares 2's gameplay remains largely unchanged as you unlock doors and avoid the dangerous creatures in this adventure. Much of the game focuses on remaining hidden, as many of the monsters can easily kill Mono, but combat has been added here. Mono can grab axes and hammers to defend himself during very specific situations.

The combat is the worst part of Little Nightmares 2, as Mono is small and slow, and you need to be very precise with your swings. 1 miss and you die, which can lead to incredibly frustrating moments. Thankfully, checkpoints are plentiful, and load times are non-existent.

The controls are the same: You can run, jump, and grab. The developers did change the need to physically carry keys now; instead, Mono just places them inside his jacket. Platforming can still be problematic due to the camera position, especially when making precise jumps, but the player will need to simply adapt to this. It's a fairly standard control scheme and works very well.

Little Nightmares 2 doesn't attempt to fix what isn't broken. The incredible setpieces and atmosphere still provide that uneasy tension. Navigating the unknown and hiding from monstrous humans is still a thrill.

The combat is lacking and can be frustrating at times, wishing that Mono could just swing a little faster. Little Nightmares 2 is an incredible journey back into this dark fantasy world that will leave you yearning for more.