A child, barefoot and in shabby clothes, walks through a dimly lit room whose furniture clearly does not fit her size. Off screen, loud knocks can be heard, getting ever closer. She crouches in the corner, hoping the shadows provide enough cover, as a towering figure makes his way into the room. The dimming ceiling light slowly reveals his true monstrosity, a grotesque, barely human abomination with eerily elongated limbs.
The child has only one choice here: either stay out of sight, or die.
Sound familiar? Situations like this are exactly what makes Little nightmares A very compelling series. It was initially developed by Tarsier Studios and published by Bandai Namco Entertainmentpuzzle-based horror adventure titles were highly regarded for their intense atmosphere, eerie use of visuals, and twisted monster designs. Little Nightmares IIIthe next installment in the series, aims to continue that tradition, all under the developer's new leadership Super huge gamesthe team behind 2015 Until dawn And 2022 Quarry.
Geek Culture was given the opportunity to get an early first look at the upcoming title with a hands-on preview session consisting of curated gameplay sections from two of the game's six new locations. In addition, we also had the opportunity to speak with the game's producer Coralie Fenello About what to expect in your next horror adventure.
Perhaps the biggest question on everyone's mind is how the new development team has adapted the game Little nightmares IP to suit their style, as the team is known for creating some of the most engaging, narrative-driven interactive drama games in recent memory. For Feniello, one of the most important factors to consider when embarking on this project was to stay true to the roots of the series.
“Although we allowed the team to bring their own elements into the game, in the end we worked hard to maintain the DNA Little nightmares “In the game,” she explained.
From our brief experience playing through the demo sections, this statement certainly rings true, as everything players know and love about the series is still there, from its dark, almost survival-horror-like environments to the design of both the heroes and enemies they encounter.
And confronting the enemies we did. Right out of the gate, the game introduced its newest hulking antagonist in the form of the Overseer, an elderly woman with thick, beehive-shaped gray hair and six outstretched arms. Another new enemy, called Monster Baby, also makes a brief appearance, appearing right at the end of the demo section, purposely remaining out of sight apart from occasionally extending his massive hand in an attempt to crush players.
General gameplay remains largely unchanged from previous titles, with players navigating a 2.5D world and solving environmental puzzles along the way while avoiding the gaze of various enemies. The biggest difference in the game so far, and perhaps its biggest selling point, is the integration of online co-op, where players take on the role of one of two new heroes, Low and Alone, and experience their entire journey either with a friend or solo with the AI.
From the beginning, the team decided to build the game from the ground up as a collaborative experience.
“(Having online co-op) was the most important feature to take into consideration when we made the game,” Finello described. “After all, it was the most requested feature from our community, and therefore the biggest game changer.”
To take full advantage of the added co-op feature, the team introduced a new system to the core gameplay loop – including character-specific tools. The game's two protagonists each have their own unique item, a wrench for Alone and a bow for Low, which players need to strategically assist each other during environmental puzzles. Alone, she can use her wrench to unscrew objects or activate rotatable switches, for example, while Low can drop hanging objects to clear a path forward.
These items aren't true “weapons” per se, as Feniello was quick to point out, and thus players shouldn't expect to go through levels like this that were an action game. “Although items are useful for defending players against small enemies, they may not be able to do anything against larger monsters,” she explained.
“That's why we say items. We don't refer to them as weapons, because while it's important to feel like these additions are useful, we need to make sure players still feel as though they're vulnerable enough in the environment.”
Having constant cooperation is all well and good, but what about players who want to venture out on their own? To that end, the team has made great strides to ensure that the AI-controlled teammate is a suitable replacement for solo players.
When not controlled by another player, the companion character automatically follows the player's actions, quickly adapting to assist in interactions that require both characters, a feature already implemented in the second game of the series. Furthermore, the AI character will sometimes provide hints when players stumble upon a puzzle, which is a useful feature for newcomers who are not used to these types of games.
This may ultimately be a double-edged sword, as throughout play we have encountered instances where the AI-controlled character will automatically solve some puzzles for us, which detracts from that sense of accomplishment gained from discovering a solution to a problem ourselves. Fortunately, Feniello and the team are well aware of this, and are taking aggressive steps to balance AI assistance.
“We work hard to make sure that the AI is balanced and that you don't have too many instances where the AI solves the problem and to make sure that when it does happen, it doesn't feel unfair,” she explained.
“Yes, there will be a situation where this happens, but most of the time you will need to manually call the AI to come and help you, making sure you fully understand the puzzle before allowing the AI to provide assistance.”
“The team is also working on a key points system, similar to what has been used in Little Nightmares IIwhere upon approaching a certain point where the AI was needed to advance, only then would the AI be activated to do the action automatically. “This way, the AI will not be able to activate the path forward if the player is on the other side of the room, or in a completely different area,” she added.
The Little Nightmares series was known for providing a creepy atmosphere, along with a constant feeling of vulnerability, and since players will now be accompanied by a companion, a valid question arises as to whether the title is still able to maintain the same fear factor as its predecessors.
Even with the inclusion of a companion, the team remains confident that players won't lose that sense of dread, even while playing in co-op, for one simple reason: it doesn't make a difference if there are two characters when they both die. In one fell swoop, and from our experience, this has certainly been the case.
From the first encounter with the supervisor, the tension was instantly cranked up to eleven, from silently sneaking around while her back was turned to the final confrontation and chase sequence, and it didn't matter that there was a real person controlling the companion's character. These sequences were still incredibly stressful and heart-pounding, and failing one character would cause both players to restart from a checkpoint, further embodying the need to work together under pressure.
Another way the team has added to the overall tension of the game is with regards to sound design, or more specifically, the absence of sound, cleverly using the lack of sound during certain instances to induce a sense of apocalyptic anticipation. For example, during one of the demo areas called Necropolis, players will be constantly chased by the aforementioned Monster Baby, and in this case, the absence of sound ends up being even more terrifying because once the sound effects stop, players will be left with no An indicator of the presence of their enemy, which increases the feeling of constant tension.
“By playing on the concepts of sound, when players hear certain enemies and when they don't, we make sure we create and maintain that tense feeling,” Fenello explains. “In fact, sound is so important that sometimes, when developing certain sections of the game, we work on the sounds first and foremost to make sure we convey the tension to the right level.”
Although the preview sections only offered a brief glimpse of the game and its mechanics, what was on offer was enough to generate anticipation for more disturbing moments to come. The developers are currently being very tight-lipped when it comes to revealing much about the game's events, which one can hope is a good indicator that the team is saving the best moments for the full release of the game.
Little Nightmares III It is set for release at some point 2025 For PlayStation 5, PS4, Xbox Series
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