Little Nightmares is a tough game to review, as it is in a genre (the 2.5d "walking simulator-platformer-puzzle-setpiece-em-up") that tends not to have a whole lot of action, and when it does, tends to be rather ordinary.

Most games in this genre, such as Inside / Limbo / Black the fall / 7th sector / Bramble King / DARQ, are often about atmosphere and narrative. With a focus on those elements generally outweighing any reflex driven platforming (they're usually quite sedate as a challenge, if at all) or set-pieces such as stealth sections, which are usually pretty rote in execution.

Unfortunately this is Little Nightmares summed up to a tee, as none of the game-play elements are anywhere near the standard a "proper" game would deliver. The same could be said for many others of its ilk, but in this case it is at a very dreary level that underwhelms with limp scares, and set-pieces that are cool to experience yet never get your pulse-pounding with adrenaline and fear.

Which is awkward, because this clearly does want to be a frightening game, albeit one at a somewhat soft un-adult level of cartoony grotesqueness that's like Resident Evil meets Coraline.

As an hour and a half long stop motion animated film this would have been compelling, but as a "game" where the game-play is mediocre throughout, well, it gets pretty boring.

On the one hand: the character designs are great and the visual presentation unquestionably delivers upon the style.

On the other hand: any action here is distinctly trite, and the puzzles are just outright dull, with none of them requiring anything more than box pushing and lever pulling.

A couple of the chase sequences / stealth sections are...okay. I've seen worse examples, but, uh, have also seen many that were much, much, muuuuuch better. Whilst one of the later ones was excellent, at least to experience as a sensation, if not, you know, when broken down into its game-play mechanics, which were as basic as you can get without it just being a QTE.

At no point does this ever attempt to be more than simplistic padding, and if you come across a puzzle and have some clever solution in your head, well, ignore it.

Because the puzzles here are 100% the opposite of satisfying brain-teasers. I don't recall a single one where it gave a eureka moment, or anything more head-scratching than having to deal with the fixed camera perspective that makes some bits quite fiddly.

This also made some of the platforming sections more trickier, as it wasn't the design that made it challenging, but the clumsy controls and unhelpful point of view.

I loved Inside despite it having similar characteristics in many regards, but the puzzles there had a weird charm to them, and DARQ was also very satisfying in a way that this really, really...really! isn't. It's boring AF, and only saved by the visuals and story.

As to what that story is, and how it ended, well...(a) it's hard to say if this is a metaphor for child abuse, or if its to be taken literally, and (b) if its to be taken literally then I resent some of the actions my character took, that seemingly I had no choice in making.

During the course of the game I encountered several cute little creatures that were no threat to me, and if they were trapped I was setting them free. At various points your character (a bit of a starving waif) gets desperately hungry and aches for food.

On one such occasion one of these creatures offered me some meat as thanks for helping. My character then violently murdered them and ate them instead.

This wasn't totally out of the blue, at least as far as the narrative vibe wasn't at odds with this direction. You can understand why your character did this (they'd just discovered the meat was the remains of people), even if you can't justify it, or the dissonance it creates between your "choices" as the player and this sudden lurch that doesn't reflect any of those choices.

These little creatures were simple beings and unaware of why this offering would cause offence. They didn't kill those people and they weren't the ones relentlessly hunting my character with the intent of eating them. But, no! For "dramatic" purposes the story decides you are now playing as a massive piece of sh*t, in utter contradiction of any actions you took previously.

It seemingly never occurred to the writers that this undoes your connection to your "avatar", because its conclusively not your avatar anymore by this point, or that you would lose sympathy for the character.

Maybe I missed something that would have changed this outcome, but the game ended with them irrideemably corrupted by the experience and killing every single living thing that they came across. For a rather boring game it was quite an unsatisfying conclusion, and whilst I was erring towards a not-super-positive thumbs up, it was enough to drag it down into a negative review.

The puzzles are bland, the action is no better than okay (the kiss of death for any game intending to be even vaguely scary), and the story is ass if taken literally. If its a metaphor for some deeper themes then it was done so in a manner lacking in nuance.

Personally: if "my" character had died at the end, I would have said good riddance given how murderous they are by this point. To feel that way about someone whose world you were meant to be inhabiting, and presumably sympathising with, it totally throws me out and makes that fours spent playing the game a further waste of time.

It almost succeeded through the atmosphere, but in every other department it's either a non-event or a disappointment.

If you can acquire it during sales, it's a great game. Remember that even though the story was brief and spooky, it was ultimately a wonderful experience. The mood is eerie and disturbing, but not as scary as other games. I get a little uneasy when I first start playing.

An ideal for spooky month ^^)/


SPOILER ALERT!!
The fact that she ate that small gnome surprised me. The poor little TvT, who is being kind.

While the graphics are indeed stunning, the complete lack of depth perception in this game makes the platforming borderline unplayable.

You will find yourself missing jumps over and over again, despite being 100% convinced that your character is lined up with the intended platform.

It's the equivalent of lining up a free throw and being so off that your shot ends up going into the other team's basket.