Littered with a combination of disgustingly designed villains and tropey terrors, Little Nightmares allows players to re-experience the very visceral dread elicited only by the darkened corners of a childhood bedroom. What I love about it most is the use of common fears to create an unsettling experience for players of any age. That said, the playing mechanics are pretty simple – though occasionally a bit difficult to navigate the “2.5D” setup – which makes it a great game for getting into gaming. This I did often, passing over the controller, like we were instead playing hot potato, whenever a certain long-armed janitor reared his head. The dark world of Little Nightmares was fun and exciting to navigate myself, but also fascinating to watch my partner play through.
It’s like watching a movie, only I can yell, “go left!” and the player next to me might heed my advice (unlike most horror films, in which the characters are unable to hear my urgent pleas for logical decision-making). If the game requires any shooting, I am probably bad at it (thanks to my aptitude for panic), but still find enjoyment in the second-hand experience of watching others unfolding an engaging story. My preferences lie in surprising narratives, clever writing, spooky vibes, or party games. You could describe me as a casual “ girl gamer” (though it is high time that the term be put to rest in order to abolish gender biases in the gaming industry). IGN describes The Maw to be “something like the world’s worst dollhouse” and I am inclined to agree, as an admirer of both dollhouses and terror. Following a tiny, raincoat-donned girl named Six, the player makes their way through The Maw, a vast, mysterious iron vessel inhabited by monstrous, twisted beings and captive children. (Fret not, this is a spoiler-free zone.) The puzzle-platform horror adventure game is both aesthetically satisfying and masterful in its visual storytelling.
You may ask yourself: what’s everybody screaming about? While I have yet to play the recent instalment, I just this week made my way through the first and absolutely loved it. Last month, the sequel to Little Nightmares was digitally released, exciting and terrifying gamers far and wide.