Last month, the sequel to Little Nightmares was digitally released, exciting and terrifying gamers far and wide. You may ask yourself: what’s everybody screaming about? While I have yet to play the recent instalment, I just this week made my way through the first and absolutely loved it. (Fret not, this is a spoiler-free zone.) The puzzle-platform horror adventure game is both aesthetically satisfying and masterful in its visual storytelling. Following a tiny, raincoat-donned girl named Six, the player makes their way through The Maw, a vast, mysterious iron vessel inhabited by monstrous, twisted beings and captive children. IGN describes The Maw to be “something like the world’s worst dollhouse” and I am inclined to agree, as an admirer of both dollhouses and terror.

 You could describe me as a casual “girl gamer” (though it is high time that the term be put to rest in order to abolish gender biases in the gaming industry). My preferences lie in surprising narratives, clever writing, spooky vibes, or party games. If the game requires any shooting, I am probably bad at it (thanks to my aptitude for panic), but still find enjoyment in the second-hand experience of watching others unfolding an engaging story. It’s like watching a movie, only I can yell, “go left!” and the player next to me might heed my advice (unlike most horror films, in which the characters are unable to hear my urgent pleas for logical decision-making). The dark world of Little Nightmares was fun and exciting to navigate myself, but also fascinating to watch my partner play through. This I did often, passing over the controller, like we were instead playing hot potato, whenever a certain long-armed janitor reared his head. That said, the playing mechanics are pretty simple – though occasionally a bit difficult to navigate the “2.5D” setup – which makes it a great game for getting into gaming. 

What I love about it most is the use of common fears to create an unsettling experience for players of any age. Littered with a combination of disgustingly designed villains and tropey terrors, Little Nightmares allows players to re-experience the very visceral dread elicited only by the darkened corners of a childhood bedroom. The creators provided us with an adorable protagonist, up there with Playdead’s darlings from Limbo and Inside. The team at Tarsier Studios wanted Six to be helpless, noting that Little Nightmares is “hide-and-seek” based rather than a stealth game (“stealth” here implying more power than our little hero possesses). 

There is no dialogue, enabling me to feel as though it was I donned in that yellow raincoat: facing both my darkest fears and debilitating hunger for rats… I mean… snacks. The puzzles feel challenging but not impossible, and the sense of scale suggests that there is much more of The Maw to explore than what we see on our left-to-right tour of it (in my own wary voyage, I found a few rewardingly creepy easter eggs). 

There is something special about placing yourself into terrifying situations from the comfort of your own home. I can experience mock fear-for-my-life, fully immersing myself in a survival situation that I know, with certainty, I will survive. There are studies that have shown the horror genre to help relieve anxiety in some cases. If you fall into that category, or are simply a fan of anything spooky like I am, I suggest renting Little Nightmares from VPL. Already played it? What are some of your other favourite horror games?