I’ve been slacking on getting this post done, but Little Nightmares III released earlier this month! The game released with four acts. It is incredibly short and it’s the first one to feature a co-op mode. My husband and I finished it in a weekend. I’m currently doing another play through with my niece and we’ve just reached the fourth act. So now that I’ve played it through a couple times, what do I think? Does co-op work for the game? Let’s get into it!

In case you didn’t know, I love Little Nightmares! It’s actually the reason I started this blog. I was posting videos from the first game on my Instagram and a lot of people were asking me wtf it was. I love the art style of this game, the storytelling, the creativity. It is one of my favorite series of all time. The third installment deviates from the first two in a big way: Six is not part of the story! Yes, you can get a costume to look like a shadowy Six, but she’s not here. There is a bit of an homage to a big bad from the first game in one of the chapters, but otherwise, you’re following a completely new set of characters.

Playing with a friend is fun, but it does introduce some complexity. The game is pretty forgiving in terms of checkpoints, but you’ll probably spend some time in a few areas really trying to iron out the details of each person’s role in the scenario playing out. Each character has their own tool: one is equipped with a wrench and the other is the bow and arrow. Sometimes, only one character has the ability to move you through to the next area. Other times, you’re coordinating to fight enemies. Don’t watch the next video if you don’t want a spoiler, but it shows how a shared fight can play out.

The fights are also a big departure from what I’ve been used to. In previous games, there are smaller enemies to evade on top of the big boss for the chapter, but now you can fight back. This is one of those areas that might require a few tries to iron out. The enemies and timing are pretty scripted so you can plan where to go and what to do as you see it play out, but it does kind of take some of the excitement out of the encounter. Depending on the area you are in, your teammate dying can restart your checkpoint. Other times, they might die and just respawn leaving you laughing at whatever just happened.

I’m not sure if the bosses are just not very scary for me this time around, but I didn’t feel my heart pumping during this game like I did in previous titles. I think a lot of this is because it is co-op. Not being alone makes things feel a lot less scary to me. I do think they did an amazing job with some of the encounters, especially the cinematic chase scenes. The way the camera pans and changes shots during these moments was gorgeous and really showcased how beautiful the environments were. They really elevated the chase scenes in this game, but the co-op element does add some hiccups. If you run into the back of your teammate or something, you can slow down and get stuck on each other which is pretty frustrating and can quickly take the wind out of what would otherwise be a heart-racing finale to a chapter. Again, do not watch the next video if you don’t want a chase spoiler.

The game also has different types of tools you can find in some levels. An umbrella and a flashlight are two of the items you can find depending on the chapter you are in. I ended up dying after getting a flashlight and it never came back which was annoying, but it doesn’t hinder being able to play. It just removes an element that would be nice to have otherwise. Thankfully I had it when it mattered most though: to highlight this drawing of a pooping dog.

As you’re progressing through the chapters, a story unfolds through cut scenes where more and more is revealed over time. By the end, I was “awwing” and felt some feelings in my heart for our little characters. Even though it wasn’t my little demon Six, it was still a story that had you rooting for them all along and hoping they’d escape to a happier place. No spoilers!

It would’ve been nice if the game had couch co-op, but after playing through the story, I understand why they didn’t. Split screen would ruin the immersion and because you have to leave each other sometimes, it just wouldn’t work on a shared screen either. Luckily, the game does have a friend pass you can download meaning if your friend buys it, you can download a free friend pass to join them. I appreciate when games allow for that instead of making you buy the game twice. And don’t worry, if you don’t have someone to play with, you can have a little AI buddy help you out instead.

So did I enjoy the game? Yes. Did I love it more than the previous games? No. If I ranked them in terms of my favorites, they’d be ranked in the order they’ve released. The magic of the first one just can’t be duplicated for me, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t have a good time with this as well. I do wonder if some of that is because a different group made this installment of Little Nightmares. They knocked it out of the park with the art style and the story came together for me, but I don’t know. It makes me even more excited to see what the original studio does with their next game, Reanimal.

I’m interested to see what the DLC for this game looks like. Hopefully we won’t be kept waiting too long! Are you playing this game? What do you think about the co-op element? Let me know in the comments!