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After being announced back in 2023, Little Nightmares III has been several years in the making, with initial planning most likely starting back in 2022. The original planned launch for the game was set for 2024, but after some delays for more polishing and work being done, it’s now set to launch next month, but not a whole lot of the game’s progress as been shown publicly during its development cycle, with only snippets of gameplay here and there.
Until now, that is, since last week, we finally got a chance to sit down with the game and experience it as it was intended, with the co-op mode active, getting the chance to play through an entire chapter of the game, giving us the chance to see what’s in store for the final game when it launches soon.
When we asked the producer, we were informed that we’d be playing a level that’s somewhere around the middle of the game, in a stage at a carnival, which hadn’t been publicly showcased before, and were told that it’s just small piece amongst the game’s many stages. This one stage ended up taking almost two hours to complete on a first playthrough, giving confidence that this will be just as long if not longer of an experience than the previous Little Nightmares games.
The stage started off with mostly puzzles, allowing us to get familiar with the controls and mechanics, and then after about fifteen minutes or so, we were introduced to our first combat encounter, which was a jolt to the system, and where we saw our first difficulty spike, since the combat is quite complex and took many tries to learn how to overcome the enemies.
The combat functions very similarly to the combat from Little Nightmares II, but now with extra complexity related to the co-op mechanics, where each character has a dedicated duty that only they can do during combat, requiring full cooperation in order to survive.
The teamwork element continued to be satisfying throughout the whole experience, with the collaborative thinking required for the puzzles and the joint action required for the combat, it truly felt like you were connecting with your partner and establishing systems of communication to endure the challenge.
The imagery and creepiness of the world generally seemed very authentic to the rest of the series, where the monsters and traps at every turn would make you wince or shudder just by witnessing their actions, and it made the whole experience have an uneasy feeling about it, in the best way.
While there wasn’t any one part that felt quite as intense as some of LNII‘s most intensely terrifying moments in the slice of the game we got to play, the producer assured me that the intensity will definitely be ratcheted up in most of the game’s other stages.
We also clarified a few other details regarding playing the game solo versus playing it in co-op, and they said they’ve worked very hard on finding a balance where the single-player version of the game is still just as satisfying, and possibly even more immersive in the horror experience when you’re playing alone (with an AI teammate.)
In regards to the co-op mode, we also clarified that the co-op will be online only, with no couch co-op mode available, but that the game includes a Friend Pass when you purchase it, allowing you to play the full game with a friend without your friend needing to buy a copy as well.
Overall, we had a great time with Little Nightmares III and it’s already exceeded the expectations I had for it based on what I played. I can’t wait to check out the full experience next month and see what else lies in store for this continuation of the franchise.
Stay tuned for a full review around the launch date of October 10th, and you can also now wishlist the game on most platforms as we patiently wait for the next few weeks to pass.
