Little Nightmares II |OT| A Long Shadow

Dancrane212 · Feb 10, 2021

Platform(s): Windows PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, Stadia
Release Date:

February 11th, 2021

PS5, XBS S|X - August 25th, 2021

Genre: Cinematic Platformer
Price: $29.99 USD/ €29.99
Player(s): 1
Format: Digital/Physical
Developer: Tarsier Studios
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Size: ~6 GB

What is Little Nightmares II?

Little Nightmares II is a suspense adventure game in which you play as Mono, a young boy trapped in a world that has been distorted by an evil transmission. Together with new friend Six, he sets out to discover the source of the Transmission.

Should I play the original Little Nightmares first?
Little Nightmares II is a sequel to the original game and features the return of "Six," the protagonist of that title. There may be narrative threads you will pick up on having completed that original game—but you are seeing the world through the eyes of a new character, Mono, this time around so they can act as an entry point for a new player.

Does the game still have the "trial and error" gameplay that is typical of Cinematic Platformers?
Yes, as well featuring a more weighted character that you would find in these sorts of titles.

How long is the game?
Reviews point to a 4-6 hour length depending on playstyle.

Is there co-op in Little Nightmares II?
No, while you have a companion during the campaign they will only ever be controlled by the AI.

Is the game enhanced on PS5 and Xbox Series S|X?
Free next-generation upgrades will be made available to existing owners later in 2021.

How does the game perform on the various console platforms?
Demo analysis from ElAnalistaDeBits put the game at the following:
PS4: 1080p/30fps
PS4 Pro: 1620p/30fps
Xbox One: 1080p/30fps
Xbox One X: 1620p/30fps
Switch Docked: 720p/30fps
Switch Handheld: 504p/30fps

Next generation platform specifications are TBA.

Is there a demo for the game?
Yes, a demo is available for Little Nightmares II on most platforms.

Stadia Pro?
Little Nightmares II will launch into the Stadia Pro service. If you are a Stadia Pro member you can play it for no additional cost (provided you add the game to your account before it rolls off the service) for as long as you are a Stadia Pro member.

Physical release?
Yes, the game is available physically in a standard and collector's edition.

Ultrawide support?
Not natively (at least for the demo) but there is a workaround to get the game to display at that ratio:

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Metacritic
Xbox One | PC | PS4 | Switch
Opencritic

Trueachivements - 4/5

With Little Nightmares 2 Tarsier Studios has once again dreamt up a wonderfully unnerving world filled with grotesque and fantastical creatures that is a horrifying pleasure to explore. Gameplay is mostly the same as in the original, with the only significant exceptions being the addition of Six as an AI companion and some clumsy combat that actually feels more like a puzzle than anything else. If you enjoyed the first game, and you're looking for more of the same creepy goodness, you can't go wrong with Little Nightmares 2. Just maybe sleep with the lights on after you're done playing.

DualShockers - 9/10

Although some of its most pulse-pounding moments are held back by frustrating depth-of-field and lighting issues, Little Nightmares 2 is a cinematic, more action-packed take on the formula. While some of its design issues frustrated me more than the first game, a majority of the changes made are still improvements.

Push Square - 6/10

Little Nightmares II is worth experiencing for its art direction alone, although its hand cramping controls can be an obstacle at times. The title relies far too heavily on trial and error, which frustrates, but many of its encounters will live with you long after the credits roll, and so it's successful at creating a lasting impression. It's a stiff and rigid release, but its puzzles are constantly reinventing themselves, and each frame draws you in with its surreal and unsettling imagery.

Official Site
Review Thread
Spoiler Thread

ced · Feb 10, 2021

Can't wait to play tomorrow night.

Puroresu_kid · Feb 10, 2021

This looks fantastic!!!

Dancrane212 · Feb 10, 2021

Last of the digital tie-in comics has released.

Messofanego · Feb 10, 2021

This is more of a question for people who played the first game.

I didn't but I remember the room of endless shoes in the demo, which reminded me of the famous Holocaust image of children's shoes. I was wondering if there was any more Holocaust allusions or it just happened to be a coincidental image?

MythicReclaimer · Feb 10, 2021

I played and absolutely loved the demo for this last night. I kept putting off playing the first game for whatever reason but I'm going to play it tonight ahead of the sequel's release.

Good4Squat · Feb 10, 2021

My friend and I really enjoyed playing through the first one recently, so we've made plans to do the same with the sequel this weekend.

Dancrane212 · Feb 10, 2021

Now live on Steam.

BarryFishFinger · Feb 10, 2021

Looking forward to this. The first game and all the dlc are some of my favourites.

giapel · Feb 10, 2021

I've gone back to the first one trying to finish it before playing this but boy is the switch version blurry! Is the sequel the same? I may go for PS4/5 version instead.

Kadzork · Feb 10, 2021

Games looks lovely & runs perfectly playing on PC - adored the first and this looks to be more of that (not a bad thing).

wafflebrain · Feb 10, 2021

How's the hdr in this? Not sure if I want to get it for PC or One X...not sure if W10 hdr is still busted.

Son of Liberty · Feb 10, 2021

Looking forward to playing this on the weekend, I enjoyed the first Little Nightmares a lot.

Scythe · Feb 10, 2021

I'm excited to dive into this on Friday! Based off the reviews, do we know how long the length is on average? Maybe 5-6 hours?

Neiteio · Feb 10, 2021

Does this unlock at midnight?

Lord Fanny · Feb 10, 2021

Messofanego said:
This is more of a question for people who played the first game.

I didn't but I remember the room of endless shoes in the demo, which reminded me of the famous Holocaust image of children's shoes. I was wondering if there was any more Holocaust allusions or it just happened to be a coincidental image?

I'm not sure how much of a fully formed story there was to the first game, but I took a lot of it to be about the genocide of the poor/marginalized for those in the upper class so I wouldn't be surprised if that was an intentional invoking there. I don't know 100% for sure, though, if they've ever really detailed what their thought process was

jamsy · Feb 10, 2021

Do I need to play the first game or can I jump straight into this one?

Not a fan of scary games but the art/design is making me want to check it out - how scary are these?

theytookourjobz · Feb 10, 2021

jamsy said:
Do I need to play the first game or can I jump straight into this one?

Not a fan of scary games but the art/design is making me want to check it out - how scary are these?

Not scary but more unsettling IMO. First one was kinda a more grotesque Limbo or Inside.

Neiteio · Feb 10, 2021

Messofanego said:
This is more of a question for people who played the first game.

I didn't but I remember the room of endless shoes in the demo, which reminded me of the famous Holocaust image of children's shoes. I was wondering if there was any more Holocaust allusions or it just happened to be a coincidental image?

I didn't perceive any other Holocaust allusions (if that was even an intentional one in the first place), but the game depicts a societal structure in which each class preys on the class below it, so it could be seen as a look at how the vulnerable are exploited by those in power.

Alo81 · Feb 10, 2021

wafflebrain said:
How's the hdr in this? Not sure if I want to get it for PC or One X...not sure if W10 hdr is still busted.

There don't appear to be HDR settings in game on PC. I enabled HDR on Windows, set proper coplor depth, but honestly looking at just the title screen hard to tell whether HDR is in the game or not.

Messofanego · Feb 11, 2021

Lord Fanny said:
I'm not sure how much of a fully formed story there was to the first game, but I took a lot of it to be about the genocide of the poor/marginalized for those in the upper class so I wouldn't be surprised if that was an intentional invoking there. I don't know 100% for sure, though, if they've ever really detailed what their thought process was

Neiteio said:
I didn't perceive any other Holocaust allusions (if that was even an intentional one in the first place), but the game depicts a societal structure in which each class preys on the class below it, so it could be seen as a look at how the vulnerable are exploited by those in power.

That's good to know, thanks!

Mary Celeste · Feb 11, 2021

Made it a good deal into the school before stopping for the night. Game is great so far, can't wait to see how things come together at the end. The first felt very disjointed outside of its setting until the themes all sort of clicked into place in the final minutes, and so far I'm getting the same vibe from this one. Very excited to continue.

carlsojo · Feb 11, 2021

Fuck this stupid fucking flashlight section

sniarn · Feb 11, 2021

Loved the first one. I'm going to wait for the next-gen upgrades before playing.

carlsojo · Feb 11, 2021

This final flashlight room might be the single worst designed room in any game I have ever played.

Wouwie · Feb 11, 2021

Hmmm... wondering if i should get this now for PS4 or wait until the next generation version is released and i have a PS5. I wish details of the next gen version were already known to make up my mind.

Chaystic · Feb 11, 2021

I'm sad that I already finished this game, what an amazing experience! It's crazy that they managed to make an even better game than the first one. I hope they're going to release a DLC, cause I want more.

Neiteio · Feb 11, 2021

carlsojo said:
Fuck this stupid fucking flashlight section

carlsojo said:
This final flashlight room might be the single worst designed room in any game I have ever played.

I haven't started yet, but feel free to share whatever tips you learn. The DLC in the first game had a challenging flashlight section you had to play like a twin-stick shooter (running with one stick, aiming the light with the other).

pitt_norton · Feb 11, 2021

What the hell?! 600 yen for dlc that is just a single puzzle that takes mere minutes?? I thought there'd be a few more extra puzzles or something. I feel gipped.

Great game so far though.

MinusTydus · Feb 11, 2021

Game is free for Stadia Pro members.

If you've been doing surveys, you may have the $9.99 in Play Credit for a month subscription already.

Mars People · Feb 11, 2021

At least when you die you respawn instantly.

Dmax3901 · Feb 11, 2021

carlsojo said:
Fuck this stupid fucking flashlight section

Neiteio said:
I haven't started yet, but feel free to share whatever tips you learn. The DLC in the first game had a challenging flashlight section you had to play like a twin-stick shooter (running with one stick, aiming the light with the other).

So yeah, in those sections and only those sections it functions like a twin stick shooter, where you can walk with the left stick, aim the torch with the right. The issue arises from the torch not functioning like that up until that point, no tutorial prompt appearing that ever indicates you can do that, and it literally only works in one or two rooms haha.

Neiteio · Feb 11, 2021

Dmax3901 said:
So yeah, in those sections and only those sections it functions like a twin stick shooter, where you can walk with the left stick, aim the torch with the right. The issue arises from the torch not functioning like that up until that point, no tutorial prompt appearing that ever indicates you can do that, and it literally only works in one or two rooms haha.

Yeah, I remember this was the issue with those sections in LM1. Perfectly playable, but there was no indication the controls had changed into a twin-stick shooter, so I struggled and struggled until I realized the actual controls.

BobbeMalle · Feb 11, 2021

Bought the TV edition for my collection, going to buy a Steam key asap. Loved the first one!

carlsojo · Feb 11, 2021

This ending is stupid and I hate it. Whatever, I had fun for the most part with exception to that awful flashlight sequence.

The enemy and world designs are pretty cool, but unfortunately I think nearly every gameplay aspect and enemy is given away in the trailers so you're not going to run into a lot of surprises.

Neiteio said:
I haven't started yet, but feel free to share whatever tips you learn. The DLC in the first game had a challenging flashlight section you had to play like a twin-stick shooter (running with one stick, aiming the light with the other).

I basically ran and spun in circles. Because of the camera you can't really even see where you are or where you're aiming.

swimming · Feb 11, 2021

ooooo assuming next gen will be 4K/60 so ima have to exercise patience here

Dancrane212 · Feb 11, 2021

Scythe said:
I'm excited to dive into this on Friday! Based off the reviews, do we know how long the length is on average? Maybe 5-6 hours?

Dancrane212 said:
How long is the game?
Reviews point to a 4-6 hour length depending on playstyle.

jamsy said:
Do I need to play the first game or can I jump straight into this one?

Dancrane212 said:
Should I play the original Little Nightmares first?
Little Nightmares II is a sequel to the original game and features the return of "Six," the protagonist of that title. There may be narrative threads you will pick up on having completed that original game—but you are seeing the world through the eyes of a new character, Mono, this time around so they can act as an entry point for a new player.

Chaystic · Feb 11, 2021

carlsojo said:
This ending is stupid and I hate it. Whatever, I had fun for the most part with exception to that awful flashlight sequence.

The enemy and world designs are pretty cool, but unfortunately I think nearly every gameplay aspect and enemy is given away in the trailers so you're not going to run into a lot of surprises.

Eh that's kinda on you, I avoided most trailers and I only knew the first enemy/level.

Scythe · Feb 11, 2021

Ah thank you OP! Didn't see it there.

Rudr · Feb 11, 2021

~~It's $10 on gog and it's the digital deluxe version https://www.gog.com/game/little_nig...e?pp=2863d7ae605104eeef364e3f164d3404e20f680c~~

edit: misleading this doesn't include the base game smh

BarryFishFinger · Feb 11, 2021

Played a couple of hours, completed the

school and have just squished the creepy hand in the hospital. Fuck me, that long neck teacher was deeply unsettling

Absolutely love it so far. It is creepy as fuck, seriously unsettling in parts. I haven't had any frustrations just yet. Some of the reviews complained about the

combat timing

but it's pretty simple, at least what I've played so far. The creepy

puppet children in the school run up and pause for a second before they leap

so it's easy enough to get the timing down.

And even when you do die, the respawns are fast and checkpoints are always close by.

Sargerus · Feb 11, 2021

carlsojo said:
This ending is stupid and I hate it. Whatever, I had fun for the most part with exception to that awful flashlight sequence.

The enemy and world designs are pretty cool, but unfortunately I think nearly every gameplay aspect and enemy is given away in the trailers so you're not going to run into a lot of surprises.

I basically ran and spun in circles. Because of the camera you can't really even see where you are or where you're aiming.

The ending is a big reference to The Lion King and no one can convince me otherwise. Even Mono and Six names match up: Mono is Mufasa, Six is Scar.

Jose Cintron · Feb 11, 2021

Didnt have any issues with the flashlight area. Just walked backwards and kept the flashlight in front of me. Probably my favorite part of the whole game.

Really enjoyed most of it up until the final 2 chapters. Thought those sections were not as strong as the first 3. Combat is a bit ass throughout the whole game though. Wish that it wasnt so heavily used.

Neiteio · Feb 11, 2021

BarryFishFinger said:
Played a couple of hours, completed the

school and have just squished the creepy hand in the hospital. Fuck me, that long neck teacher was deeply unsettling

Absolutely love it so far. It is creepy as fuck, seriously unsettling in parts. I haven't had any frustrations just yet. Some of the reviews complained about the

combat timing

but it's pretty simple, at least what I've played so far. The creepy

puppet children in the school run up and pause for a second before they leap

so it's easy enough to get the timing down.

And even when you do die, the respawns are fast and checkpoints are always close by.

I'm about where you are, and I agree, game is great so far. Respawn is super quick too, even on Switch this time around.

Snake__ · Feb 11, 2021

So whats the deal with PS5/ Series X?
Is it not out on Next Gen yet?
Basically every version of the game makes it seem like it is
Physical Xbox has the Series X logo and both the Xbox and Playstation digital storefronts list it as for Series X/ PS5 respectively
But, I keep seeing it mentioned that there isn't a release date for next gen
Is this just straight up false advertising?

Edit: I just double checked and neither digital storefront has any mention whatsoever of the next gen version not being out

DanGo · Feb 11, 2021

I've noticed some annoying stuttering at times on PS4/5. Hopefully the native next-gen version fixes that later, if earlier patches don't. I'm enjoying it, although some of the timing and trial-and-error things are obnoxious, but that's also expected for the genre.

DemonFox · Feb 11, 2021

I am so glad I didn't watch a single trailer for this game. Really well done, loved every second. Sure, the controls were janky here and there but overall it didn't take away from enjoyment.

Mary Celeste · Feb 11, 2021

I assume I'm nearing the end of the game and will finish it in my next play session. This is absolutely fantastic and a significant improvement over the first in every way. Tarsier may have some of the best talent in the business when it comes to framing

Zachary_Games · Feb 11, 2021

Just beat the first. I adored the game. Can't wait to play this as well. First, I need to get the DLC and beat God of War, but this is absolutely on my list of must buys.

Can anyone answer me without spoilers: is there more content in the sequel than the first? Thanks!

BarryFishFinger · Feb 12, 2021

Little Nightmares 1 had plenty of areas where you die and had no possible way of knowing something was coming to avoid that death so I'm not surprised to see it return here - but I don't mind as respawns are so quick and close, so I don't find it a chore. A couple of them are so audacious they made me burst out laughing, like the one in the

school; you've just run the gauntlet of puppet children with a hammer, they're popping out of lockers and you'll probably die a couple of times as you learn the timing of when they appear. Get through that, feeling good and then as you head through a door a bucket trap swoops down and kills you

Also I'm intrigued by the empty

suits of clothes everywhere, as if the people all got raptured or turned to smoke

or something.

Little Nightmares II |OT| A Long Shadow

Has got mad skills!!

Production

Comics Council 2020

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