I've only played a small amount of Little Nightmares 3, but after around 45 minutes of being hunted down by a sinister secretary, I can already tell it's going to haunt my dreams when it launches next year.
At Gamescom 2024, I tried out Supermassive Games' upcoming horror adventure in a demo that saw me wade through a crowd of creepy crawlies, get killed multiple times by an intimidating foe, and take in the forbidding sights of Nowhere – a thoroughly unsettling location that ranks in my top 10 game settings I'd never want to enter in real life. Thankfully, I wasn't on my own, as I teamed up with a fellow journalist for the experience. She took on the role of Alone, a pigtailed girl with a hefty wrench, while I was Low, a boy with a bow and a slightly ominous raven mask.
While both protagonists can run, jump, and climb in identical fashion, their two unique tools ensure that there are certain tasks that only one of them can do. There was one point where we needed to traverse a dangerous puddle with a live wire dangling into it, and as Low, I could use my bow to fire an arrow at a switch from across the room, turning off the electricity so we could safely pass. Similarly, there were some obstacles that only Alone could smash through using her wrench, so teamwork and cooperation is key.
A new way to play
Although my teammate was sitting right beside me for the demo, for the first time in the series' history, Little Nightmares 3 can be played from start to finish in online co-op. This is an incredibly exciting concept for any friends who don't live near each other, and may end up making this a contender for one of the best co-op games to play when it releases. Game producer Coralie Feniello tells me it was "really important" to include online play this time around, as it was the most requested feature from the community.
You can also play solo with an AI companion, but I'm very relieved I won't have to do so, as Feniello teases that there's going to be a whole "melting pot" of childhood fears to face that've been contributed by the development team. "Depending on yourself, I think each enemy will touch you in a different way," she says.
For me, there's no doubt that the spookiest part of the demo was sneaking past the aforementioned enormous, animatronic-like secretary, who – to her credit – was just minding her business rummaging around in filing cabinets until Low and Alone entered her room. She doesn't seem to be having a great day at work, though, because if she spots you, she charges at you, snatching you from the floor and forcing you to restart the section. As I snuck around the room, I noticed that getting closer to her prompted the feeling of a heartbeat in the DualSense controller to beat faster and faster, which definitely ramps up the tension even further.
This section wasn't without its frustrations, mind you, as we ended up dying to that same enemy more times than I'd like to admit. Evading her means stealthily moving to different points in the room as she sashays around, but figuring out where to go and when is a real trial and error experience unless you get very lucky on your first attempt. I love solving puzzles, but failing again and again until we got this part just right pulled me right out of the immersion of the game, as I was quickly desensitized to the fear of dying, and the mood shifted from terror to annoyance.
Scarily sweet
Despite this, it's hard to remain frustrated when underneath its unsettling surface, Little Nightmares 3 houses so much cuteness. Even in this short demo, I saw the two pint-sized protagonists caring for each other with small, endearing gestures, like helping each other up from the floor and holding hands through passageways, which is ridiculously sweet to watch, and makes you care about them and their journey all the more. Feniello says striking that 'cute but creepy' vibe was "super important" as "it's in the DNA of Little Nightmares," which is ultimately all about being a "charming horror" experience.
"It's like, charming with cute animations and cute relationships, but at the same time, the world you are in is really made for you to feel like you are not welcome in there, like it's not a world where you want to stay – you want to leave," Feniello says. "I think it's one of the things that makes Little Nightmares really cool for me, because it's not really a balance, it's more like the way both of the two things are a bit contradictory, but at the same time work so well together."
So far, Little Nightmares 3 is definitely shaping up to be a promising new installment in the iconic horror series, complete with all the unnerving atmosphere that fans of the first two will remember all too well. Much of Low and Alone's upcoming adventure is still a mystery, but here's hoping it'll have what it takes to be one of the best horror games of 2025 when it launches next year.
12DOVE was in Cologne playing the most anticipated new games of 2024, and speaking to the developers bringing them to life. For more of our hands-on previews and exclusive interviews, visit the Gamescom 2024 coverage hub.
