Little Nightmares: Complete Edition

 Switch
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 205 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 154 out of 205
  2. Mixed: 33 out of 205
  3. Negative: 18 out of 205
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  1. thryce3
    Jan 13, 2020
    2
    I don't think I've ever been so disappointed. I was looking forward to this for a long time but kept putting off buying it. I wish I never did. I was hoping for a dark atmospheric platformer like Inside and Limbo. So were the developer's I suppose, but they decided to make a torture device instead.
    The controls are garbage and everything is trial-by-death. Which could be forgiven if    I don't think I've ever been so disappointed. I was looking forward to this for a long time but kept putting off buying it. I wish I never did. I was hoping for a dark atmospheric platformer like Inside and Limbo. So were the developer's I suppose, but they decided to make a torture device instead.
    The controls are garbage and everything is trial-by-death. Which could be forgiven if there wasn't a 25-30 second load screen every time you die. Doesn't seem like a lot on the page, but in practice it's an excruciating experience. And you will respawn in the middle of a chase not knowing that you need to be hold run immediately or die again and wait for another load.
    It gets a 2 only because of the art direction is terrific. But thinking of what it could have been only makes it more frustrating.    … Expand
  2. nusco
    Aug 3, 2018
    3
    Little Nightmares is a painful game to play and review. It wants to be a new Limbo, and it could have been even better than that. In fact, it could have been a masterpiece. Instead, it's a beautiful mess whose developers seem intent on sabotaging their own work.

    The art and storytelling of Little Nightmares are masterful. The graphics and sound design is fantastic. The creepy, grotesque    Little Nightmares is a painful game to play and review. It wants to be a new Limbo, and it could have been even better than that. In fact, it could have been a masterpiece. Instead, it's a beautiful mess whose developers seem intent on sabotaging their own work.

    The art and storytelling of Little Nightmares are masterful. The graphics and sound design is fantastic. The creepy, grotesque characters and settings will stay with me for a long time. Some sequences gave me the creeps, including one fleeting image towards the end of the main game that literally made me shiver all across my body. No game, not even Resident Evil in Virtual Reality, ever gave me such a deep gut reaction. The ending of the DLC story, which is included, creeps on you like the final twist of the best horror novels, leaving you in a state of mixed horror and fascination.

    All of that goodness, however, is almost completely wiped out by some of the worst gameplay mechanics you could possibly experience. Many sequences in the game are insta-death, trial and error affairs, and some involve pretty precise sequences of actions. That approach might work well for the genre, if it weren't for the maddeningly imprecise controls, which never once give you the feeling of being in charge of your character. Quite simply, the game demands precision, prevents you from attaining it, and then proceeds to punish you for that.

    All those shortcomings could still make for a very frustrating game that's worth playing for the story alone–but the loading times make sure that playing Little Nightmares becomes not just frustrating, but a repellent experience. On the Switch, every single death is followed by staring at a black screen for about forty seconds, waiting for the scene to reload. Imagine what it means to go through the same three or four actions twenty times, desperately fighting the unresponsive controls, sometimes only lasting a few seconds, and then waiting for nearly one minute every time you fail. That's borderline evil game design–the kind that could lead even the most laid-back player to hang his head in despair, or throw a tantrum. To make things worse, all of those defects seem to grow worse as you play, and they reach ludicruous levels in the DLC.

    Little Nightmares shines for its artwork, story, and amazingly crafted atmosphere. Unfortunately, those qualities only makes its baffling shortcomings more evident.    … Expand
  3. EatMyDust85
    Jan 4, 2021
    1
    Играть в это на Switch - гигантский кошмар... У игры были тестеры?!... 40ка секундные загрузки при том, что в ключевых местах дохнешь по нескольку раз из-за корявого управления... Логики в загадка нет... Такую х.. ню бесплатно должно быть стыдно раздаватьИграть в это на Switch - гигантский кошмар... У игры были тестеры?!... 40ка секундные загрузки при том, что в ключевых местах дохнешь по нескольку раз из-за корявого управления... Логики в загадка нет... Такую х.. ню бесплатно должно быть стыдно раздавать
  4. Octanus
    May 11, 2022
    0
    This game is beautiful. Truly mesmerizing. It is also very creepy. But that's all it has going for it. ON the Switch port, you will have to wait 30-40 seconds for the game to load after you die. You will die frequently. The game suffers due to its 2.5-D style, the controls are VERY poor, leading you to failing the same 'puzzles' (that consist of just avoiding enemies) over and over again.This game is beautiful. Truly mesmerizing. It is also very creepy. But that's all it has going for it. ON the Switch port, you will have to wait 30-40 seconds for the game to load after you die. You will die frequently. The game suffers due to its 2.5-D style, the controls are VERY poor, leading you to failing the same 'puzzles' (that consist of just avoiding enemies) over and over again. If the load times weren't a problem, it would be better, but when I have to wait half a minute before I can play again, all I can think about is how frustrating and unfair my death was. The game sets you up for failure at every turn. It isn't fun. It's frustrating.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

31
#31 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2018
47
#47 Most Shared Switch Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Sep 5, 2018
    80
    Little Nightmares is a bit of a quandary, as it's both a relaxing, floaty platformer and an unsettling portrait of the macabre. [Issue #34 – July/August 2018, p. 21]
  2. Eurogamer Italy
    Jul 13, 2018
    80
    The nearly-perfect Little Nightmares compendium comes on the Nintendo Switch, with minor graphical flaws and the usual plus of being (also) portable.
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  3. Switch Player
    Jun 11, 2018
    80
    There may be other games in a similar vein to Little Nightmares, but it really is a truly unique adventure making fantastic use of the 3D space and lighting. Occasionally the controls feel a little clunky, but it’s forgivable as you experience a macabre game and world unlike any other.
    Read full review
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