As Little Nightmare II‘s release on 11 February draws closer, we recently took one final look at the game and it’s shaping up to be a worthy sequel to the original 2017 game.
One particular aspect of the game that stood out for us this time around was how the developers at Tarsier Studios have introduced an A.I. companion mechanic, which we haven’t seen in video games of late other than way back in 2001 when it was introduced in a PlayStation 2 game called ICO. It was remastered 10 years later for the PlayStation 3 and bundled together with another classic, Shadow of the Colossus.
In ICO, the game has a boy named Ico, who is chased by shadowy creatures, and he comes across a girl, Yorda, and they both help each other escape a castle by solving puzzles and fighting off the creatures. Throughout the game, the player is able to optionally hold Yorda’s hand to pull her along each level of the game.
In Little Nightmares II, the new protagonist is a boy named Mono, and he comes across a girl, Six, and they both help each other escape the creepy horrors of Pale City by solving puzzles and fighting off creatures. Throughout the game, Mono also has the option to hold Six’s hand to pull her along. One key difference is, Six isn’t as helpless as Yorda, and is able to help Mono out a lot more such as hoisting him up to hard-to-reach places, doing some fighting of her own, and even finds her own way to do certain tasks. Clearly, she has been well seasoned from her previous escape adventure from the Maw in the first game (Six was the protagonist in the first Little Nightmares).
It’s also worth noting that the spiritual sequel to ICO, Shadow of the Colossus featured a protagonist named Wander, and he was on a quest to revive and reunite with a woman named Mono. Coincidence maybe? Or perhaps the folks at Tarsier Studios really loved the creative work of Fumito Ueda (creator of ICO and Shadow of the Colossus) and probably drew some inspiration from those classics.
Take a look at our 13-minute playthrough of the creepy “Hospital” stage, to have a feel of the A.I. co-op elements and hand-holding cuteness in action.
Want more? Here’s the latest gameplay from “The School” stage that features a creepy teacher that’s sure to send a tingle down your spine when her head extends.
If you want to try your hand at the game before its release, a playable demo of the first level, “The Wilderness” is now out, but it features just Mono on his own, before he meets Six.
Convinced yet? Don’t forget to check out the highly collectible UK-only TV Edition of Little Nightmares II that comes with a Mono & Six diorama, artbook, steelbook, sticker board, soundtrack CD, DLC, all in a themed TV box (available for PC, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch and ships worldwide)!
And finally, if you’re reading this before 17th January, be sure to grab the original 2017 hit-game, Little Nightmares for FREE on PC (via a Steam activation code) from Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe’s Store.
Yonk is a geek who is fortunate enough to have an equally geeky Star Wars fan for a wife, who owns a LEGO Millennium Falcon encased in a glass coffee table as their home’s centre-piece.
Gerald
Trinity Sun
Edwin Teo
