Review - Little Nightmares (Updated)

One of the complaints about the gaming industry I hear almost on a daily basis is "they're all so violent", and while there are plenty of options for the opposite, many are indeed more violent than what you would find on your television. The only difference between the two being one is clearly fake and the other isn't. Indie titles such as LIMBO, Inside and even Unravel have had their moments where violence is shown against even the most innocent of beings; a young boy and a spider, a yarn figure and animals, etc etc. 

Little Nightmares immediately reminded me of these titles and more. Players take control of Six, a young girl tucked away within the innards of some sort of facility. Awaking from a nightmare, she begins her journey through the bowls of this mysterious place on an undefined quest that still isn't entirely clear after the credits have come and gone. It's this alone that can set this game out from the others, and what follows these paragraphs is my understanding as my journey as Six.

Gameplay in a nutshell is standard and simple to use and any fan of puzzle games could pick it up and play it with no problem. Early on in the first two chapters, the game will offer help when you spend a minute or more stuck in an area but beyond the control hints, you and Six are on your own. However as you progress, the concatenation tends to be straight forward and many puzzles beyond Chapter 2 (aka the majority of the game) follow the same principle: run/sneak away from enemies and keep low/high. Finding keys is the most strenuous parts of the game, but their locations are much too obvious to be hidden for long. Overall, what will truly set you back is the 2.5D world and the fixed camera: players overlook Six like a forward looking maze and guide her around obstacles, enemies and more. The issue I'm pressing is the objects themselves make guiding Six a pain at times, particularly during enemy chase scenes. Be prepared to fall off the map a lot.
Sounds effects and musical score are hauntingly well done and extremely realistic. The lack of voice acting (minus the human enemies' grunts and moans) brings your attention to subtle music here and there, the background noises in the distance and Six's movements in the world. The graphics also complete the game's theme with faded browns, blues and shades with Six's bright yellow raincoat being the only bright light in the world as you journey to whatever lays outside the doors.

This brings me to the story itself and what I can piece together. It's this here that sets Little Nightmares on another level compared to LIMBO or Inside. Games such as those show incredible horrible, dark themes around a person trying to keep their childish innocence while doing their best to survive. Six does whatever she has to to survive, and the game will continue to get darker and darker as the game goes on.
-Beware of story spoilers below-
As you progress, Six will face another pressing issue; hunger. Starving, a grey boy will hand her his dinner. But this was just by chance, what would Six do if she was starving? With a live rat caught in a trap, Six rips at its neck and begins to eat, it only finally dying after she's full once again. But what if there was another option of food? As a small grey creature offers her a scavenged sausage, Six sets on the creature, once again tearing at its body and consuming it with greed.
But what does she do with her greatest enemy, The Geisha Lady?
As she lays defeated, Six sets on her, killing and eating the woman who runs the facility (an artificial island-ship floating in the middle of the sea) to set herself free. But not before she begins her revenge to kill every human who tries to eat her.
-Beware of story spoilers above-
The final mission was by far the most terrifying, setting chills down my spine. The Geisha Lady is by far the most terrifying in my opinion, but also the easiest. Chapter 2 (The Lair) was the hardest and the one I struggled the most with. You'd think the final chapter would be the longest/hardest but absolutely not, as I managed to finish it within 15-20 minutes.

To be honest, for a $50 game, I expected a little more out of the series. The pull to replay the game is there for those who want to hunt the collectables, or perhaps make more sense of the story, but other than that there isn't much more to go on. I finished the game in four and a half hours, but I've seen playthroughs done in less than two. A second playthrough to get all the collectables would only take that long. So six hours to complete the entire game, 100%, for $50?

-Update-

Upon replaying the game for over 20 hours, several issues with the game have been found. Hidden walls on edges and stairs (especially in Chapter 1 and 2), timing properties as in under/over responsive AI,  AI glitches through walls and doors, breaking vertexes in Six and other characters and so on.

Due to these and remaining factors, with addition my lack of noting/finding these the first time, I have concluded that for the first time in my reviewing history, I must rewrite this review to show these issues and deduct a point from the final score.
I will endeavour to make sure this doesn't happen again in the future.

To be absolutely fair; the story itself is phenomenal and developers should take notes. A protagonist that isn't entirely a good person is too rare these days. The camera angles can be worked around if you take your time (unless you're going for the Hard to the Core achievement) or use the right joycon to look around but there's simply too little to play. 
I'd recommend this to casual players, fans of puzzle games and those looking for a fresh perspective in the gaming industry. Otherwise, perhaps wait for a price drop or find a cheaper option. Personally speaking I would recommend both LIMBO and Inside before playing this title, as you can buy both and have a longer gameplay experience for half the cost. 
One thing is for absolutely sure, by the end of the game, I'm not entirely comfortable with the small figurine of Six on my desk as I write this review, knowing what she's capable of and willing to do. Such a small, young girl to do such dark deeds. Little Nightmares is not for the faint of heart.


Little Nightmares - 6/10