Little Nightmares II
**This review contains spoilers for Little Nightmares II**
Little Nightmares II is very similar to its predecessor in that it’s an action/adventure horror inspired platformer where you need to solve puzzles and rely on stealth and the environment in order to avoid foes. It takes place in a 2D (ish?), desolate world where the inhabitants known as the “Viewers” are being possessed/brainwashed by a radio tower broadcast. Unlike the first game, however, you are not completely vulnerable; our protagonist, Mono, has the ability to pick up certain items (i.e. a small axe or pipe) and swing them as weapons to either crush an enemy or break through doors.
In fact, our first encounter with the axe comes when breaking down a door in the Hunter’s cabin where we find… (insert spoiler!)
Another new mechanic in Little Nightmares 2 is the ability to call out to Six for
her to scramble over to your location so the two of you can work together in
solving certain puzzles, or gaining access to alcoves that you normally wouldn’t
be able to reach on your own. Walkway cave in? Drawbridge break on you?
Incredibly long jump to the other side of a cliff where you could potentially
fall to your imminent demise? No worries! Ten to one, Six is already on the other
side of wherever with a helpful,
outstretched hand. Nothing like a leap of faith to solidify a friendship,
right?
There are also times where you and your partner have no choice
but to separate in order to progress further, only to be reunited with Six
sometimes acting a bit, well, feral? Which makes us wonder…what exactly
happened while we were off grabbing that power fuse to cause such an adverse
reaction in our partner in crime?
Graphically this game is stunning.
I’ve personally played it on the Nintendo Switch, but after watching some
videos and reading others reviews on the game noticed there is a slight difference
in ambience and colour vs play on the PS4. The PS4 seems to be sharper and
plays a bit smoother than the Switch, but it’s fairly subtle unless you’re really
looking to compare side by side. It takes nothing away from actual gameplay
and, crispness aside, these backgrounds are jaw dropping; from the way the
camera pans out while Mono runs across a clothesline to show you the bleak and
desolate city behind you, to the eeriness of the silhouetted shadows of hanging
prosthetics cast by Mono’s flashlight.
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| I've dubbed this the "Hall of Nope" |
So, just what is going
on in the world of Little Nightmares 2?
After escaping the Hunter on a broken door across the river with Six (Titanic style), we’re met with the
puzzling sight of broken televisions bobbing in the murky waters. Mono’s
makeshift raft washes up on a beach leading to looming buildings that literally
bend inward, almost as if trying to get closer to the glowing radio tower in
the center of the city. This radio tower seems to be emitting some sort of
brainwashing frequency, as the city’s inhabitants are all seen staring
listlessly at TV screens. As you progress through the game, you gain access to
a universal remote to these TVs and, when turned off, elicit a violent reaction
from the Viewers. Some are even seen plummeting to their deaths off rooftops,
either to try to get closer to the tower or because they couldn’t take it
anymore. Whatever the reason, it’s disturbing to witness.
Mono and Six traverse through several unsettling areas and
encounter equally disturbing enemies along the way:
The school is home to the Bullies, porcelain children with empty eye sockets and a savage demeanor that not only mercilessly attack Mono and kidnap Six, but also attack one another, often seen pouncing on other children, setting deadly traps, and generally trying to kill anything they come across. Only one thing seems to keep these Bullies under control, and that is the Teacher, this areas “boss”. If she’s not disciplining the Bullies, the Teacher is stalking the halls and library of the school. If spotted, the Teacher lets out a terrifying shriek and gives chase to Mono… by extending her freakishly long neck, bending and twisting it in inhuman angles in pursuit of Mono and Six. All with that damnable smile on her face.
Out of the school and into the rain, the next area we find
ourselves in is a dark and dank hospital. As if the previous environments weren’t
creepy enough, the hospital is blanketed in complete darkness with only your
source of light being a discarded flashlight. This area is home to several
creepy crawlies, including the Patients, Living Hands, and the Doctor. The Patients
are the Doctor’s disfigured creations, mannequins that are missing heads, hands
replaced with hooks or claws, mismatched legs. They chase Mono down in the darkness
and can only be stopped by shining light directly at them. Remember the hallway I mentioned previously with the mannequin arms? Yea, have fun with that.
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| Freeze Tag! |
If you think you’re free, think again. What could be causing the ceiling to shake and rumble in such a way? Enter the Doctor, a grotesquely large individual wearing thermal long johns (ew…) that dangles and crawls around the ceiling tiles while assembling his mannequins. Just like previous encounters, stealth is key here. Mono and Six can exploit the shadows of room corners as well as hiding under patient beds to stay out of the Doctor’s grubby paws. Eventually the chase leads us down into the basement where the Doctor is tricked into trapping himself inside the hospitals incinerator and, well, you can imagine how that goes…
We find ourselves back in the bowels of the Pale City where the buildings all seem to bend and bow towards that damned tower, our next destination. During our adventures, we’ve seen Mono being lured several times into the TV himself with Six being able to pull us back just before we reach the end of the hallway.
Not this time. This time we reach the end only to find the illustrious Thin Man, an enemy with an eerie similarity to Slender Man (*shudders* ugh) with the ability to glitch several paces ahead, as if skipping time, to close in on our heroes. While Mono gives him the slip, Six isn’t so fortunate.
Off to save our girlfriend!
The Broadcast Tower is hauntingly beautiful, illuminated in its entirety by a purple glow with floors and floors of stairs leading to the top…and to the Thin Man. The puzzles here are unique in that they require you to listen for the unnervingly innocent music coming from all around you. You’ll notice the music tends to be more quiet when you stand in front of certain doorways, yet louder at others. The goal here is to find where the music is coming from; though once you do, you’ll probably wish you hadn’t.
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