Little Nightmares 3 Review — Twice Dreaming

Ah, October, my absolute favorite time of year. Though I’m a fan of horror all year round, the Halloween season really is when all of our ghoulishness and desire for frights bubble to the surface. While I was disappointed to learn that I won’t be able to celebrate this year as I usually do, putting on a mask and makeup and frightening guests at one of my local haunted attractions, my job as a game reviewer has still afforded me the chance to get my hands on some of the creepiest horror titles of the season, and we’re barely a week in. You can imagine my freakish delight when I was given the opportunity to review Little Nightmares 3, the latest addition to one of my favorite horror games of all time. Though the title carries with it enormous expectations, I’m glad to report that this threequel did not disappoint and was as frighteningly clever and immersive as the breakout original.

Much like the second game in the series, Little Nightmares 3 follows two new characters as they venture into the Nowhere, a dark parallel world that appears to be accessible only to children in their dreams, despite being a very un–child-friendly place. Unlike the second game in the franchise, however, Little Nightmares 3 features an entirely new pair of characters, and rather than one being a sort of summon who comes and goes, these two friends are in it together and share the entire journey with each other.

Having two protagonists is more than a narrative gimmick; it’s a vital component that the gameplay of Little Nightmares 3 is developed around. Each character has a unique tool of their own, with goblin-coded Alone carrying a massive wrench that can turn mechanisms or break down barricades, and the tragic Low’s bow being used to cut ropes or hit high targets, among other things. Not only is each tool required in different segments, but all of the game’s puzzles are designed in ways that only two people can solve, with it often taking the strength of both children to open doors or navigate old mechanisms in this world that was clearly not made for them.

This two-character aspect comes with a new feature for the Little Nightmares franchise: multiplayer. Two people can, in fact, play the game at the same time. While this isn’t something I was able to experience in my lonely pre-release playthrough of Little Nightmares 3, it’s a promising feature that had me excited to share the game with friends in the near future.

If you are forced to play alone like yours truly, you’ll be surprised to know that the AI controlling your companion (whichever kid you didn’t choose to play) is actually fairly competent. In elements of a puzzle where only the AI character can interact, they’re quick to get into place and interact with them, so you’re not left waiting for the AI to figure out the puzzle too. Not only that, but there are areas in the game where the AI actually knew what to do before I did—something that saved me some trouble, but not a feature that removed the difficulty of figuring out puzzles from the game. While the AI might point you in a direction you hadn’t thought of or interact with a piece of the environment you didn’t know you could interact with, it never outright solves puzzles for you, so you can’t coast through the game.

The game’s scares remain rooted in the atmospheric tension of its setting as you explore the strange and hauntingly beautiful Nowhere with a morbid fascination paired with the knowledge that everything here wants you dead. It’s hard not to admire the macabre sets or frighteningly surreal creatures you find along the way, but that curiosity is never strong enough to beat the tension in a chase or encounter with one of these creatures—a long-winded way of me saying that you’ll admire the freaks when you see them, but you’ll be running for your life when they see you.

For those unfamiliar, there are surprise moments of tension throughout, but the game does not rely on cheap jump scares to get a fright out of you.

If I had one complaint about the title, it would be that you probably want to play with a controller, as the game recommends at the start. While it is playable on keyboard and mouse, the three-dimensional navigation of the set pieces can be a little awkward if you’re trying to pull it off with the WASD keys. This wasn’t enough to ruin the game for me—not by a long shot—but there were certainly moments where I failed to escape a fiend or missed a jump because I navigated awkwardly into a pillar or stepped too close to an edge.

Little Nightmares 3 did not disappoint this fan of the series, and in fact, I’d say it holds up just as well as the others, if not stands above them. The game is as creepy and disturbingly immersive with its setting and tension as the others, with the addition of co-op being a fantastic improvement to the franchise. I was pleasantly surprised at how capable the AI companion is in single-player as well, making either way to play as viable and fun as the other.

Try Hard Guides was provided a Steam code for this PC review of Little Nightmares 3 . Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles on our Game Reviews page! Little Nightmares 3 is available on Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch.