Little Nightmares II (2021)

The game from beginning to end had a morbid and creepy atmosphere to it, I truly loved it. The new protagonist had a memorable look and instantly matched the one from the first game. In my opinion, it's even better. Having a buddy system also gave puzzles and the journey a whole new level of gameplay. Overall, I found the game quite memorable, but sadly it was a tad short and certain mechanics got tedious, but the journey was very worth it, and those villains! Wow!.

What a jump in technical quality. There is still some lack of polish and a couple of issues here, especially when it comes to fast-paced segments scenes and the introduction of combat (which I totally could’ve done without), cracks which begin to show more prominently as you progress on your playthrough. However, there is a much better, more realised and sense of space, a clear mechanical improvement and better platforming. The game finally locks your movement in properly in its 3D environment, making moment-to-moment gameplay a lot more fluid and enjoyable as a result, which in itself is reason enough to dive into it.

But LNII brings more to the table than just that. Once again there is a great feel to its atmosphere and aesthetics. The overly grotesque cartoonish vibe of the the first game isn’t as obvious here, but personally I thought it had a creepier tone overall, and JFC there’s one particular enemy who is visually terrifying (if you’ve played the game you’ll know who I'm referring to). I really liked the inclusion of so many varied outdoor segments, which come with an even more notable Inside-like inspiration. Every single one of these environments is incredibly atmospheric, and you truly feel like exploring the more expansive world LNII offers you. I also appreciated the puzzles slightly more, since they felt a bit more intuitive than in LN, and the environmental storytelling is, once again, stellar, capped off with a really cool, enigmatic ending. But by far the best addition to the sequel is the introduction of companions during most of your playthrough. This actually worked a lot better than I would've anticipated not only journey wise, but also due to the amount of new gameplay systems and possibilities it allowed for. Great stuff.

I once again took umbrage with the instadeath moments, where you basically have to fail and die to figure things out. I'm not a fan of this in any game, and right or wrong it will always feel to me like a cheap trick that tries to mask a lack of technical knowhow with a fake sense of tension and unnecessary repetition. But overall, Little Nightmares II is a clearly better game than its already likeable predecessor, with top notch aesthetics, sound design, environmental storytelling and gameplay mechanics, one that deserves to be experienced by everyone who loves their platforms with a dose of eerie. 8/10