It is true that it is not the company’s first career in Android, but it is one of the most ambitious and with so much potential that it has in its catalog. We come to analyze an adaptation of the popular game Little Nightmares, where we are going to continue having adventure, puzzles and that bit of twisted terror so characteristic of this production. In fact, it will be so surprising that it is one of the few titles that is worth paying its price, despite what it costs to take that step on Android.
Different setting, same setting
Don’t rub your eyes, this is not a copy inspired by the console game. It is, from beginning to end, a crossover to get our hands on a game that does not renounce anything from the parent game. It is true that it has some differences, but that they do not go in a harmful sense against the opinion that we can make about this game.
It is the prequel to Little nightmares, a 2017 title based on fear and environmental tension. In it, we controlled a little girl in a yellow raincoat and we had to guide her through The Maw, a large ship full of huge and grotesque enemies that try to hunt down the little protagonist. The game was very well received in its day, coming to be considered one of the best titles indie of the year, receiving many awards and recruiting a large number of fans.
For its part, Very Little Nightmares follows in the wake of the previous installment basing its mechanics on the same principles of fear and tension, and preserving the same setting. In it, we will also handle Six again together with his yellow raincoat, which must tour The Nest, a new location with a style very similar to that of its predecessor.
The basis of the game will consist of advancing through a large number of rooms solving puzzles (which can be limited to a single room or include several rooms), with the aim of finding some way to follow your path. In addition, we will have to avoid all the possible dangers that we find, since this girl is totally and completely defenseless and will die with great ease: by falls, crushed, electrocuted and, obviously, also if she is captured by any of the beings that inhabit The Nest and who seek it.
This point is important because, as I say, the protagonist cannot fight or attack in any way, so the only thing we can do is use stealth to avoid detection and, in the worst case, run in a hurry to try to flee. At this point, it is worth stopping to comment on the puzzles I mentioned earlier, which could be considered the cornerstone of the game.
Nothing to envy Little Nightmares
Not because it is a smaller version, does it mean that the journey through history will be easier. It is true that, for the first couple of hours, the puzzles can be repetitive and quite simple (considerably less creative compared to the delivery on consoles). They are very much about walking around the room looking for what to interact with, or going from here to there activating levers and pressing buttons.
They do not require much thinking, just a little “try and failure”. As the adventure progresses, however, the puzzles that we must solve become more interesting and varied. In addition, they stop relying so much on taking walks to require a little more logic and reflection. Of course, at no time do they become complicated at all, and we will hardly get stuck in one without knowing how to solve it.
Regarding the level design, it must be said that it is quite good. The original Little Nightmares already had a great design that gave great importance to the verticality of the levels, but now, thanks to the mobile format, this verticality is enhanced and becomes even more present. In addition, an important detail is that, although the protagonist is considerably small, it is very easy to see her and at no time is it diluted with the rest of the scene.
As for the camera, we find a differential characteristic with its console deliveries. We are facing a game of fixed camera and isometric view. This decision allows both to adapt the level design of Little Nightmares very correctly to mobile terminals and to solve the possible problems that a freer camera could cause in a title with such a minimalist control, based solely on pressing the finger where we want it to protagonist moves or what we want him to interact with.
