Supermassive Games have put out a demo for Little Nightmares 3, so you can give the spooky co-op puzzler a whirl before it arrives in October. “Step into the Necropolis”, the studio say. Go on then, that sounds like it has zero potential to end badly.
As our Nic conveyed earlier this year, Little Nightmares 3’s coming out October 10th. That date was unaffected by Supermassive laying off up to 36 people and delaying interstellar horror Directive 8020 in July.
Watch on YouTube
As you can see above, the demo’s come with a quick trailer heavy on sinister humming. The two titchy protagonists Low and Alone wind levers, climb through flaps, and otherwise platform. Oh no, this platforming has attracted the attention of a giant baby monster with grubby fingers that can reach for the duo like they’re the last Bourbon cream in the cupboard (other biscuits are available). Its gaze can also turn them to stone, which is a power alll babies have, they just hide it very well.
As in the full game, you and a mate can wield the bow and wrench of Little Nightmares 3’s pair, or you can play alone with an AI companion. Maybe give them the bow, I bet their aim’s pretty good. 30 minutes of small nightmaring await you either way.
If you’ve not given the Little Nightmares series a go before, here are a couple of extracts from former RPSers Adam and Alice B about the first and second games in the series respectively:
It’s a grotesque, horrid and eventually hopeful in its own morbid fashion, and despite many moments that feel like reimaginings or echoes from elsewhere, it has enough extraordinary images and sequences to stand alone. It’s precisely the kind of horror game I love – grotesque but not gross, and interested in thoughtful pacing and escalation rather than jumpscares and shocks. Also, linear though it is, there are some collectibles I’d like to hunt for and the whole game is short enough that I’ll happily play it again, or watch someone else playing.
These flaws are small enough that I’m happy to place Little Nightmares II up on my shelf of excellence right next to the first one. Childhood fears are such a rich vein to slice open, and Tarsier Studios do it in a very thoughtful way. Little Nightmares II is such a splendid mix of cute and creepy, beautiful and awful, that it sort of defies categorisation. A childhood terror gothic, perhaps?
You can find Little Nightmares 3’s demo on its Steam page.