During PAX West 2024, Bandai Namco invited us to a press demo of its upcoming title, Little Nightmares 3. As a fan of the first game, but having somehow skipped the second, I jumped at the chance to play the newest entry in the series. Interestingly, while the company had a demo of Little Nightmares 3 on the PAX West 2024 floor, we were treated to a different, more exclusive version.
I was curious to see how the game would fare with the change in developers—Tarsier Studios, the team behind the first two titles, had been replaced by Supermassive Games, known for The Quarry and Until Dawn—It’s not some random developer, but one who has a pedigree for crafting horror games. Once I grabbed the controller and dove into the eerie world of Little Nightmares 3, one thing was immediately clear—this is no longer a single-player experience. While the haunting horror and suspense remain, co-op gameplay has now been introduced, something new to the series.
Little Nightmares 3 follows the journey of two characters, Low and Alone, two children who, in this demo, were attempting to navigate a terrifying version of a candy factory. Trust me, you wouldn’t want to eat any of the candy here—everything was rotten, with bugs scuttling around our feet as we made our way through the decaying levels. Strange, twisted creatures loomed everywhere, including one particularly menacing enemy—a multiple-armed woman who pursued us relentlessly at every turn.
Although Low and Alone never speak to each other, they each carried tools—a bow and a large wrench—that could be used to solve puzzles as they advanced through the world. With the introduction of co-op, players can either team up online or rely on an AI-controlled partner to assist them. Unfortunately, there’s no local co-op, but the game will include “Friend Pass,” meaning only one person needs to own the game to play it with a friend online. It’s a feature similar to Steam’s remote play, something I’ve come to appreciate since it lets my friends and me enjoy games together even if only one of us has a copy. Honestly, more developers should implement this.
As Scott and I traversed the eerie levels, the audio design stood out. The ambient sounds were spot on, and I found myself constantly listening for cues, almost as if they were warning signs for what was to come. If you never played any of the Little Nightmares titles, this is a game that screams “Use headphones!” That multiple-armed woman I mentioned earlier made our journey through the demo extremely tense. At several points, we struggled to figure out how to evade her, and every misstep led to our capture, ending our run. It felt like she could sense even the smallest mistakes.
This happened to us multiple times, but instead of frustration, we found ourselves laughing and giggling after each capture. It wasn’t because we’d lost our minds—rather, the blend of fear, tension, and fun was addictive. However, I could see the frustration setting in if this keeps happening in the later parts of the game, especially when you’re determined to complete a challenging section.
Eventually, we managed to get past that terrifying woman, but in classic horror fashion, she wasn’t done with us. In the final room of the demo, she chased us once more, forcing us to scramble to open a massive twin door. We barely escaped, only to fall into what seemed like certain doom—but thankfully, it wasn’t the end.
Despite the shift in developers, Little Nightmares 3 still feels very much like its predecessors. Supermassive Games has succeeded in capturing the elements that made the first two games so terrifying and suspenseful. The addition of co-op is a refreshing change, and I can already see it being a great game for streaming or for friends to challenge each other in this nightmarish world.
Sadly, while Little Nightmares 3 was originally slated for a 2024 release, it has been delayed until 2025. Still, I’m all for giving developers the time they need, and if this delay results in an even better game than what I’ve already played, then by all means—take as much time as needed.
