It's still all about surviving with skill and brains in this gloomy, often colorless, and bizarre world in this puzzle platformer. You take on the role of little Mono, who was catapulted to this desolate place by the screen of a TV set. The journey begins in a dark forest, where the first challenges in the form of deep chasms and nasty traps are not long in coming. Once you arrive at a remote house, which has certain parallels to the mansion in Resident Evil 7: biohazard, two surprises await you: On the one hand, you meet the first dangerous antagonist, a masked hunter who could have sprung from a horror movie à la Friday the 13th. The other is a mysterious little girl who was apparently held captive by the trigger-happy henchman and will soon prove to be a useful co-op partner, with whom you can even communicate roughly with sounds at the touch of a button.
As a duet, the two kids outgrow each other, gaining access to more areas with teamwork and helping each other out of trouble. The companion AI acts pleasantly clever and even gives subtle hints about what to do in places. The focus is once again on the well-designed environmental puzzles, which, in addition to moving objects and climbing, sometimes require more creative approaches to solving them. The interspersed sneaking passages, on the other hand, provide just as much suspense as the dramatic escape sequences, in which you usually only narrowly escape from your henchmen or other dangers. It's unlikely that you'll always succeed at the first attempt: As in the predecessor, the trial & error can wear on your nerves in some situations, but at least they are spared thanks to the fairly placed save points. With the generally good and simple controls, there are isolated moments that can drive you to despair. Now and then there is a hitch, especially when picking up objects, where you have to place the character meticulously before the action is executed. In some moments, this can even cause you to discard what is the right solution and waste your time with alternative methods that don't work.
Conclusion
With Little Nightmares 2, Tarsier Studios delivers a worthy sequel that even tops the likable predecessor in some areas, despite many parallels. In addition to the larger scope, the diversely designed scary locations including quirky inhabitants, the well-integrated co-op approaches as well as the rhythm between sneaking, escaping, and puzzles are convincing. Thanks to the continuous introduction of new game elements, the approximately six-hour adventure don't lose its appeal until the end, whereby the developers come up with some great ideas, especially in the last act. However, the sometimes annoying trial & error passages tarnish the gameplay despite fair checkpoints, and the somewhat fiddly controls sometimes prove to be the biggest hurdle. The integration of battles also offers light and shade, somewhere between excitement and timing frustration. The soundscape is excellent, not only contributing significantly to the oppressive atmosphere but also acting as an important game element at times - great! In the end, Little Nightmares 2 remains a really good puzzle adventure with a dark ambiance, which should appeal especially to fans of similarly designed games like Limbo or Inside.
