Little Nightmares 2 analysis: never had a prosthetic arm, a teacher and a remote control aroused so much fear

Little can be blamed for a game that does just what was expected of it. Little Nightmares 2 is bigger, longer and more ambitious in all its facets, from the visual to the playable, but if there is something that stands out above everything else, it is that it proves to be much more coherent .

What in the past might well seem like a hodgepodge of more or less threadbare ideas, here proves to be a little horror tale in which there is no stitch without thread. All of your moments may not be perfect, but the ones approaching that milestone are an experience to frame .

A new lesson in storytelling

The sum of another character is just the excuse to carry the plot forward. It is appreciated not walking alone through gloomy scenarios that we were used to going through anguished, but if Six’s participation in the new Mono adventure does not admit complaints, it is precisely because it implies rather little in the playable .

Mono is the absolute protagonist of the story and will prove it not only by solving puzzles – I can count a couple of times when Six has actively helped – but also by being completely alone in many situations.

This, which from the outside could well be considered a problem, is highlighted to emphasize that it is not such a thing. Six is where he needs to be and shows up where he’s supposed to be to help you, so you shouldn’t have the slightest bit of worry about having an AI-controlled adventure buddy. It comes to add, not subtract .

More importantly, it seems that, despite being an ornament for much of the game, you miss his company when you don’t have it. Based on extreme situations , a link is created between characters to which, out of sheer empathy, you also end up joining. A relationship that, especially at the end, is difficult not to make more yours.

A more and better manual

The great ally in this formidable narrative achievement of a game without dialogue or cinematics is the coherence with which we previously filled our mouths. The chapters of the Little Nightmares sequel are not just an excuse to change scenery and introduce a new monster. They have a greater meaning here.

Like the good big N, Little Nightmares 2 focuses those small portions of history in a specific mechanic or situation, maintaining the characteristic stealth of the saga that involves hiding inside boxes and under beds, but adding a unique twist that accompanies you during that stretch.

It makes, based on that but also with its monsters and its stunning visual spectacle – the games of light and shadow are to put a floor on the beach for Tarsier Studios – that you can easily separate one world from another and, therefore, that You can also face them to decide which part you liked the most.

The bad news is that the bar rises very fast and, already in the second level, reaches a zenith that is difficult to overcome . He briefly approaches with ideas such as the hospital, but if this game will be remembered for something, it is for the moments that the school part gives up.

Leaving between desks and devilish students a perfection that combines a monster as terrifying as it is surprising, a rhythm that is impossible to fault and a level design that is the icing on the cake, it is easy that the final section ends up knowing little .

A pity that it is there, and not at any other point in the game, when fear, originality, and the packaging of the visual and the narrative, falters more than necessary. Only a much more satisfactory final combat than the one experienced during the first adventure – although with a less surprising outcome – manages to straighten that section a bit.

For the rest, a more and better manual that is responsible for polishing some ideas -the fact of keeping the key in your pocket instead of carrying it is a tremendous leap at the playable level- and adding new ones -wait to see what that awaits you with a flashlight in his hands -.

There are few times when you can drag a smile almost from start to finish in a video game, but Little Nightmares 2 is without a doubt one of them. If it attracts your attention the least, do not see anything and go headlong for it. I highly doubt that you will regret it.