The Little Nightmares universe was originally dreamed up by Tarsier Studios, the folks who originally cut their teeth on another platforming and puzzle game – LittleBigPlanet. While they had their start making cutesy platformers, they really found their niche within the horror platforming of Little Nightmares.
Even though Tarsier Studios has moved on from the series, they’re working on another horror platformer. Thankfully, we have Little Nightmares 3 to look forward to, and I got the chance to preview the game at PAX West 2025. How does the series look and play with a new studio? Find out in our Little Nightmares 3 preview!
So what is Little Nightmares? The series began with a premise that’s essentially a young kid’s nightmare but a video game. So while the game is definitely creepy it’s not a bloody murderfest like other horror games. All of Little Nightmares is grounded in a child’s perspective of what is scary.
The games focus a lot on their physics-based puzzles and platforming, spooky environments, huge and grotesque monsters, all wrapped up in a gritty look with bokeh depth of field effects. The games may be third person but they really suck you in, creating a perpetual feeling of existential dread.
While the original Little Nightmares featured a solo protagonist, its sequel introduced two characters with the ability to call out commands to your partner. The threequel has dual protagonists but we’ve got co-op now, so you and someone else can be spooked together.
The game features the two new protagonists, Low and Alone, who are apparently best friends trying to escape from their collective nightmare. Like the previous game you can play solo and call out commands for your other half, or you can bring a real life person to control the other main character.
The entire game is centered around the two tiny teammates and has its puzzles focused on contextual triggers but solving them together. Puzzles range from moving things together, to bringing objects to activate things, or hitting a trigger to change the environment so the small stars can progress.
Little Nightmares has always been about contextual puzzles and adventuring and Little Nightmares 3 has that in spades. The demo I played was set in a circus-like region that combines a natural fear of clowns and big, ghoulish creatures. Think of Chihiro’s parents transforming into massive pigs in Spirited Away.
Everyone seems to be pigging out in the Little Nightmares games, or inflicting pain and misery on one another. So overall theme of the game, in my opinion, evokes a child’s fear of hunger, and being physically punished.
Maybe I’m getting a little too Freudian here, but either way the game’s are creepy, twisted, and yet you can’t look away. It feels like every scene, every puzzle, every visual or audio cue is planned out well and keeps you constantly in suspense.
Not much is really actually known about the world that Little Nightmares games exist in, save the fact that it only exists in your dreams (or nightmares). This is a brand-new adventure with two also-new protagonists, so the third entry takes place in entirely new places too.
Each character has their own unique skill like Low’s bow and arrows to hit faraway targets and Alone’s wrench that lets her break down walls or tinker with machines. You’ll get more accustomed to each character’s unique movements and abilities, solving puzzles alone or hopefully with a friend.
A main theme in all of the Little Nightmares games also seems to be that your main characters, seemingly ordinary kids, do not belong in this nightmarish world. The entire world feels out to get you, and there’s usually a reoccurring threat like some kind of big monster or boss.
The new areas that Low and Alone will progress through are also connected to all of the other trans-media releases Bandai Namco has done for Little Nightmares, like its audio-fiction series The Sounds of Nightmares. Even if you just want to play the games, there’s a ton of lore wrapped up here and it’s great.
I honestly couldn’t get enough playing through Little Nightmares 3, though my time with the hotly-anticipated sequel was sadly short. The game includes all of the same spooky flair, fun puzzles, and meticulously crafted yet grotesque worldbuilding seen in the previous two games.
After playing the previous games I can wholly say that Little Nightmares 3 feels like more excellent and creepy horror, though it is with a new studio. If anything this new entry has cemented the Little Nightmares as a solid franchise that can be hopefully expanded upon more.
Little Nightmares III is set to launch across Windows PC (via Steam and the Microsoft Store), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, Switch 2, PS4, and PS5 on October 10th.
