Little Nightmares III on Switch 2: A Disappointing Step for Couch Co-op That Plays It Too Safe
When the original Little Nightmares launched back in 2017, it wowed players with its unique blend of puzzle-platformer mechanics and eerie horror atmospheres. The sequel took things up a notch, delivering higher scares and enriching the mysterious world that fans had come to love. Naturally, with a brand-new developer guiding the third installment, fans and critics alike have been eager to see if Little Nightmares III could keep the series’ momentum going—or even elevate it.
The short answer? It kind of does—but not without some fairly significant drawbacks. Little Nightmares III acts as a soft reboot, introducing fresh characters and a new storyline but sticking firmly to the established gameplay style and level design that Tarsier Studios developed in the earlier games. This choice results in a game that feels more like a retread than a bold evolution, leaning heavily on nostalgia rather than taking daring creative leaps.
Developed by Supermassive Games, the title is competent but never quite manages to trigger the intense, anxiety-driven tension that Little Nightmares II so brilliantly conjured. The experience retains the signature trial-and-error gameplay loop, as well as the dark, oppressive environments and disturbing set pieces, but overall it feels smoother and less nerve-wracking—almost too polished in some respects.
Where Little Nightmares III aims to innovate is with the introduction of multiplayer—the series’ first-ever attempt at co-op play, highly requested by its community. But here’s where things get controversial: the developers decided to restrict cooperative play to online multiplayer only, citing concerns about protecting the game’s atmosphere and immersion. While the intention is understandable, this decision feels like overthinking the multiplayer experience.
For example, when I started my review, a friend who had mastered the first two titles was ready to jump in locally, but I couldn’t simply hand over a Joy-Con for instant co-op fun. This restriction undermined the excitement around multiplayer and felt counterintuitive to the series’ intimate and suspenseful vibe.
Positively, the game offers a Friend’s Pass at launch, letting you invite a friend without requiring them to own a copy. That’s a thoughtful touch. However, both players still need their own consoles, and while cross-generation play between the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 is supported, there’s no cross-platform multiplayer, limiting flexibility.
Due to having only one Switch code available during the review period, I played through solo with an AI partner. This setup reminded me of Little Nightmares II’s single-player with bot companion mode but felt even more streamlined since the AI partner handles many puzzle tasks independently, as if doing half the work for you.
You control one of two new protagonists: Low, a boy with a bow and a plague doctor mask, and Alone, a girl sporting pigtails, an aviator helmet, and wielding a wrench for melee combat and puzzle interaction. Strangely, the game offers no option to switch characters when playing alone, which is puzzling given its co-op design. The AI companion is generally helpful but occasionally freezes or misses crucial actions, forcing checkpoint reloads and disrupting immersion. This clearly illustrates how the game’s teamwork-centric puzzles lose impact when tackled solo.
The puzzles themselves require coordinating wrench mechanics and timed bow shots to manipulate objects, retrieve keys, and get past obstacles—adding a fresh twist to the familiar formula. Combat encounters, although less frequent than anticipated, similarly rely on paired use of both characters’ tools to overcome enemies.
In line with games like It Takes Two and Split Fiction, you can replay chapters or the entire game as either protagonist, providing a different perspective on puzzle-solving and exploration thanks to each character’s unique abilities. Classic collectibles return, hidden cleverly to reward players who explore every nook and cranny.
One area where Little Nightmares III truly shines is its atmosphere. The sound design builds tension masterfully, and the beautifully rendered environments introduce brand-new, haunting settings—from a chilling desertscape dotted with giant mills and rideable updrafts to a deserted research institute on a subtropical island filled with perilous plant life.
Throughout your journey, you’ll traverse crumbling fairground rides in a surreal nightmare carnival, sneak past grotesque enemies in slow, suspenseful stealth sequences, and flee terrifying monsters inspired by fears of authority and adolescent fragility. In essence, the game captures the look and feel fans expect from the series.
That said, this sequel feels noticeably more formulaic than its predecessors, playing it safe within well-established boundaries and involving only minor gameplay tweaks. Its storytelling follows familiar patterns but leaves the conclusion feeling incomplete, as if the extra chapters promised as paid DLC in 2026 are essential for the fuller narrative.
My playthrough lasted about four to five hours, similar in length to prior games even though there are only four chapters instead of five. Performance on the Switch 2 left much to be desired, running like a basic Switch version capped at 30fps with soft, grainy visuals and noticeable frame drops during action-heavy scenes. The final boss fight had particularly awkward animations that looked almost stop-motion at times, which was distracting.
While playable, the overall technical polish falls short of a "next-gen" third-party standard on Switch 2, making other platforms preferable for those sensitive to framerate issues.
Additionally, I encountered a frustrating bug in the final chapter where an essential key item kept disappearing before finally appearing in the correct spot. While the gameplay was mostly smooth otherwise, this glitch hints at unresolved bugs and optimization problems still lurking beneath the surface.
Conclusion:
Little Nightmares III preserves the series’ eerie mood, smart environmental puzzles, and unsettling atmosphere but often feels like a retread of past entries. Its dark charm remains intact, yet the puzzling omission of local co-op undermines what could have been its most exciting new feature. While the online multiplayer concept is ambitious, the lack of a character swap option for solo players feels like a missed chance to deepen single-player engagement.
Does the cautious approach signal fear of innovation, or does it keep the series grounded? What do you think—did the developers play it too safe, or was this the smart move to preserve the franchise’s identity? Share your thoughts below!
