Little Nightmares 3 Switch 2 Review

Little Nightmares 3 Switch 2 Review
Version Reviewed: Nintendo Switch 2

As many long-time readers probably know, horror games aren’t really my forte. Until recently, I had never played anything truly spooky. Cronos: The New Dawn was the first game that truly scared me senseless. So when Little Nightmares 3 flew onto my radar, I thought I would try to put on a brave face and give it a go, even without having played the first two. What’s it like? Grab a partner, pick up a wrench, and prepare to sneak through the shadows as we dive into Little Nightmares 3 on Nintendo Switch 2.

Little Nightmares 3 continues the series’ tradition of an immersive and brooding experience. This time, the developers have changed. The original games were made by Tarsier Studios, known for intimate, atmospheric horror, while this entry comes from Supermassive Games, the team behind Until Dawn, The Dark Pictures Anthology, and The Quarry. Co-op is a new addition, letting you tackle puzzles and sneak past terrifying foes with a friend online or rely on an AI partner when playing solo. There is one odd caveat, and that’s the lack of split-screen or co-op play on the same console. A friend code version is available online, requiring only one purchase between two players, but you will need two consoles to make it work.

While the game may have changed hands with the new developer, Little Nightmares 3 manages to continue to effectively set the mood and tell a story with no dialogue, relying heavily on character animation and environmental storytelling. You follow Low and Alone as they make their way through deserted streets, shadowy corridors, and nightmarish encounters, each area carefully crafted to build tension and atmosphere. Even without playing the first two games, the narrative stands on its own, offering just enough context to make the world feel lived-in while leaving plenty of mystery to uncover. The relationship between the two protagonists adds an emotional anchor to the otherwise tense and oppressive journey, making every close call and narrow escape feel personal. It’s a tense and disturbing world, with each area carefully designed to make you feel small and vulnerable. Oversized enemies, random corpses, and unexpected hazards keep you constantly on edge.

I played Little Nightmares 3 solo, relying on the AI companion for my time with the game, and it mostly does a good job of guiding you through puzzles and helping you navigate tricky sections, though there are a few moments where it doesn’t quite do its job, which I’ll touch on later. The gameplay style is very much a platformer-puzzler, with tense moments woven throughout. You’ll be climbing, jumping, and sneaking through tight spaces, trying to avoid the oversized and often grotesque enemies that populate the Necropolis. I wouldn’t classify the game as outright horror, but it is disturbing and creepy for the most part. Puzzles are generally intuitive, requiring observation and timing rather than trial and error, though some moments can feel fiddly or frustrating if the AI partner doesn’t respond exactly as expected. One puzzle early on in the game saw me open an air vent where my partner floats up and is meant to lower a ladder. I didn’t know this, so once he floated up, he just stood out of sight, making me spend about 10 minutes desperately trying to float up there with him. Upon resetting the checkpoint, he lowered the ladder instantly, leaving me feeling rather frustrated with the time wasted.

While the game does an amazing job of painting a scene of isolation and desperation, there are a few more little nightmares that hold it back from being truly outstanding. First, the lack of local co-op is surprising for a game that feels perfectly suited to couch play. You can play online with a friend using a friend code, and only one copy of the game is needed between two players, but you will need two consoles to make it work. Interacting with objects can also be fiddly and inconsistent, especially when jumping and climbing, which can be frustrating in tense moments when precise timing matters. These issues are relatively minor but noticeable, and they interrupt the otherwise immersive experience just enough to stand out.

By this time in the review, you’ve probably noticed me continually talking about immersion, and that’s because Little Nightmares 3 truly stands out with its brooding lighting and twisted world. It is the highlight of the experience. The graphics bring this unsettling vision to life, and the sense of scale makes the game feel genuinely disturbing. The developers use dark and dreary environments to great effect, creating a constant feeling of unease. Character design also contributes heavily to the mood, with some truly nightmarish creations that feel grotesque and otherworldly without ever being gratuitously gory. The carnival level, in particular, shifts the environment in interesting ways, letting you get up close with the denizens of the Necropolis and adding a palpable sense of tension.

While the visuals do a great job with world-building, performance is not without its hiccups. On a few occasions, the game experienced brief loading pauses where the screen would freeze for a second or two, which can pull you out of the otherwise tense atmosphere. Some animations, like turning a key, stutter despite the frame rate not actually dropping, which made interactions feel slightly awkward in critical moments. There were also occasional framerate dips, particularly in areas with a lot of environmental detail or moving elements. These issues do not ruin the experience, but they are noticeable enough to interrupt the flow in an otherwise finely crafted world. It should be noted that a patch is rolling out on the 31st of October, which will address AI issues and some performance woes.

For my Nightmares looking into accessibility options, I’m pleased to report that you can highlight interactable objects, which assists with your time in Little Nightmares 3. You can also change the highlight colour, change all text sizes, and have a dyslexia-friendly font. As always, I recommend further research into finding out whether Little Nightmares 3 suits your needs.

At just under $63 AUD, I personally feel like Little Nightmares 3 is light on content. The game can be completed in roughly 5-6 hours, and while the actual experience was an immersive and interesting one, I just wanted more. Little Nightmares 3 does an outstanding job of enthralling the player into its dark and twisted world, and weaves a haunting narrative despite speaking no words with its great animation and character design. Sure, some hiccups get in the way of the immersion, and the lack of an included local play mode is an odd choice, but Little Nightmare 3 did a great job of drawing you into its creepy setting. For players looking for a spooky game this Halloween, Little Nightmares 3 delivers enough tension and creepy moments to get you in the Halloween spirit.

So, What’s it Like? Little Nightmares 3 is like Little Big Planet, if it were set in a creepy and twisted world.

In the interest of full disclosure, a review copy was provided by Bandai Namco, but this doesn’t influence my score.

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