Connect with us

Reviews

[Review] “Little Nightmares” is a Twisted Game of Hide and Seek

Published

on

When “Little Nightmares” was originally announced back in twenty-fourteen, it instantly reminded me of “Coraline” thanks to the doughy exaggerated art style and the main character’s yellow raincoat. Ever since then I’ve been keeping my eye on it, soaking up the drip feed of marketing and promotional materials that have come out over the past three years hoping that it could live up to my expectations. After playing through it in one sitting, I’m happy to say that it not only delivered on them but in a few ways it actually exceeded them.

It’s actually pretty easy to describe what “Little Nightmares” is because you’re given so little info from the beginning. You play as Six, a hungry little girl in a yellow raincoat who is trapped inside a nightmarish underwater dream world called The Maw. She’s offered the chance to escape, and she takes it knowing full well how hard it will be.

“Little Nightmares” is presented in a 2.5-d perspective and it mixes platforming and light stealth to create a tense, extended game of hide and seek. This reference sounds crazy, but the way Six controls feels a lot like “LittleBigPlanet.” It actually makes sense though because Tarsier studios is responsible for “LittleBigPlanet Vita” which is arguably the best game in the series. The art style is also reminiscent of games like “LittleBigPlanet” and “Tearaway,” almost like it’s a darker, more sinister world in that universe. Thankfully, Six is a little less floaty than Sack Boy and the whole platforming aspect feels a whole lot tighter.

The game is broken up into three distinct worlds within The Maw, each of them featuring their own bizarre boss. First, there’s The Janitor, a blind man with extremely long arms who steals children and sniffs out his prey. After him, you’ll face the Twin Chefs who squat like pigs as they chase you around their disgusting kitchen. Finally, you’ll take on The Lady, a tall woman in a Kabuki mask who haunts Six’s dreams.

Each of Six’s enemies are pretty evenly matched in terms of how fun they are to confront and/or sneak past, and the different tactics you’ll have to employ while playing the sickest game of hide and seek of all time with them keep things fresh and interesting. The fact that the levels are 2.5-d really helps here because you always know the general direction you should be headed in. In fact, I never really got frustrated or spent too much time on one section because if I thought of a tactic, it usually worked. The checkpoint system did cause me some trouble though. It’s very generous, but some of the levels have a Metroidvania feel to them and the game isn’t very good at determining which checkpoint it should place you at when you die. The problem is most prevalent in The Twin Chefs section of the game, and it was only a minor annoyance.

If you’re looking for an experience that will outright scare you, “Little Nightmares” isn’t going to deliver on that for you. I honestly don’t think there’s a single jump scare in the game. The fear comes from tension. It’s the kind of tension you can feel when you’re hiding from someone and you know how easily they could find you, but at the last second they turn the wrong way and you make your daring escape. Calculated risks like that are the only way you’ll actually make it through “Little Nightmares,” and it was surprisingly refreshing to be rewarded for playing that way.

In terms of longevity, I’ve seen reports that “Little Nightmares” can take you anywhere from 3-6 hours depending on whether not you want to hunt down each and every collectible. I kept a pretty steady pace and was able to complete it in just over three hours, and I didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything. Much like “What Remains of Edith Finch,” the experience is so great from start to finish, that I instantly started over as soon as I finished it.

If you told me we’d get three incredible horror games released in the same week a few months ago, I would’ve laughed. But between “What Remains of Edith Finch,” “Outlast 2” and now “Little Nightmares,” it’s a great time to be a fan of scary games. Each of those games have their own strengths and weaknesses, but at this point “Little Nightmares” is my favorite of the bunch and you should definitely check it out.

“Little Nightmares” is out today (April 28) for PS4, Xbox One and PC.

Jimmy Champane is a horror YouTuber who loves Halloween. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram @jimmychampane.

Reviews

‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’ Review – Latest Monster Mashup Goes Bigger and Sillier

Published

on

GODZILLA X KONG review

The heavyweight championship event that was Godzilla vs. Kong ended in a tenuous truce that saw Godzilla holding dominion over Earth while King Kong claimed Hollow Earth. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire introduces a new Titan-sized threat from the depths of Hollow Earth, one so dangerous that Kong and his human allies will need all the help they can get to defeat it. Director Adam Wingard continues the kaiju spectacle with the latest Legendary Monsterverse crossover event, this time injecting an even greater sense of adventure and silliness. It’s the type of epic-sized popcorn movie that unleashes nonstop monster brawls and tongue-in-cheek humor in equal measure.

Since the events of Godzilla vs. Kong, Godzilla spends his downtime curling up for naptime in Rome’s Colosseum when not snuffing out rogue Titans that emerge. The kaiju king’s activity is closely monitored by Monarch and Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall). Dr. Andrews also keeps a close eye on Kong through stations established around Hollow Earth access points, and poor Kong is lonely as he still searches for others like him. Then there’s Dr. Andrews’ adoptive daughter Jia (Kaylee Hottle), the sole survivor of the decimated Iwi tribe from Skull Island. Jia’s struggles to find her place in school and society at large get exacerbated by strange new visions that seem directly tied to Hollow Earth.

Dr. Andrews enlists Bernie (Brian Tyree Henry) to help her navigate Jia’s new plight. Once the new threat makes itself known, all three, along with wisecracking kaiju vet Trapper (Dan Stevens), descend into Hollow Earth for answers. Instead, they find a terrifying new battle heating up for kaiju sovereignty. 

Rebecca Hall and Dan Stevens in Godzilla x Kong

The Monsterverse franchise often struggles with its human characters and how they fit into the kaiju mayhem, but screenwriters Terry RossioSimon Barrett, and Jeremy Slater may have finally cleared this hurdle by trimming down the human cast and keeping it simple. Jia’s heritage creates an emotional conflict between her and her adoptive mother that injects a sweet earnestness, while Brian Tyree Henry’s Bernie brings levity. Then there’s the scene-chewing Dan Stevens, whose Trapper gets introduced in style as he performs a tooth extraction from an aircraft with infectious exuberance. Stevens plays the character with the bravado of an ’80s action star but one that’s fully aware of himself and the absurdity of his unique gig. Trapper’s boisterous personality goes far in demonstrating to audiences just how much we’re meant to be having fun and not take everything seriously, so much so that Godzilla x Kong could stand to see more of him.

Of course, the real stars are the monsters, and this, once again, is Kong’s show. Godzilla remains the undisputed heavyweight champion, but it’s Kong’s pursuit of finding his place in Hollow Earth that drives Godzilla x Kong. The required exposition delivery as Wingard corrals the converging plotlines into an action-heavy final act does slow the momentum in the first two-thirds, despite frequent action set pieces. But the main event delivers the promised team-up and then some, thanks to at least one pivotal surprise up Wingard’s sleeves that brings the wow factor to the final battle. That key surprise is pivotal, not just for fan service, but to offset how underwhelming the new enemy is, a generic mirrored inverse of Kong and his frenemy. 

Angry Kong

Wingard and crew seem fully aware of that and play up the cartoonish quality of the premise to maximize the fun factor. While it does indeed evoke the intended sense of fun, especially when Kong flings a smaller ape around as a weapon or dons a power glove, there’s a weightlessness to the whole thing. There’s no real impact to any of it, even though it often looks cool.

It all amounts to a visually polished Saturday morning cartoon filled with monster brawls and the humans who love them. Beyond the charming entertainment, though, Godzilla x Kong is more hollow than Hollow Earth.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire roars into theaters and IMAX on March 29, 2024.

2.5 out of 5 skulls

Continue Reading