Being one of the few games out there that is able to combine the concepts of platformer and thriller in the same space, outside of what PlayDead managed to achieve with Limbo and INSIDE, what Tarsier Studios managed to achieve with Little Nightmares is certainly worth celebrating. The first game succeeded in building a world full of mystery that invited curiosity to dive deeper and the same can be said with the sequel that is even greater than the first one.

Trying to explain in detail and precisely the story behind the mystery of Little Nightmares can be said to be almost impossible. Tarsier decided to inject a storytelling style without dialogue from the beginning of the story to the end, which is also implemented in Little Nightmares II. Cutscenes that sometimes appear at some point in the story are positioned more for dramatization than to explain what actually happened. You'll end up creating your own personal interpretation. One thing is certain, you play as a boy character named Mono who wakes up in a forest with no clarity about what happened in the past. Mono's attempt to get out of the forest turns out to make him meet another character, Six the protagonist of the first game. Under the conditions where both of them are facing the same source of threat, Mono and Six decide to work together to save themselves. Slowly but surely, they found something that seemed to be the main source of the problem.

This journey finally took them to a large city called Pale City which apparently contained a type of monster that was not much different from what they had found before. Both of them could clearly see a tall tower in the middle of the city which was believed to be the Signal Tower, a frequency transmitting tower which ended up making many of the residents of Pale City change and behave like what they found. It became Mono and Six's ambition to examine this tower and perhaps, destroy it.

If we talk about what Tarsier managed to achieve with Little Nightmares II, the lore and mystery are now much bigger than the first game. If in the first game, you were "only" trapped in The Maw, a small sea location but filled with lots of monsters, Little Nightmares II will prove to you that the problem is not locked only there. Your trip to Pale City, although it won't give you much room for thorough exploration, will open your eyes to the fact that the presence of these unexplained monsters is something that occurs on a wider scale. And because of that, it makes the mystery of Little Nightmares not only deeper, but also scarier.

Just like in the first game, this sequel is ready to make you shudder through the variety of monster designs it offers, especially those that lead the chapters you pass. First, because each of these monsters has a strong association with death. There is no HP system in Little Nightmares II, where it only takes one attack to finish off Mono instantly. The giant monsters that are the "leaders" in this variety of levels are usually large, have faster and more agile movements, and have quite a long attack range if you don't manage to dodge. Second, like in the first game, they always appears in half-human form. They shares a human-like form, showing traces of humanity, but with extra body parts, behavior, and animation that are no longer human at all. This makes Little Nightmares II even more goosebump-inducing.

However, of all aspects of the atmosphere supporting presentation that i think is effective, is the audio processing capabilities that play the most important role in building the existing atmosphere. Little Nightmares II again doesn't fall into the “jump scare” format of scaring you, which made me the more when i think about it. The tense atmosphere is built not only from the visual side, but also the silence that makes the slightest sound end up attracting your attention. Coupled with the small details, from the sound of the mannequins's joints moving, the chalk scratching on the blackboard, to the sound of the television playing softly in the distance, your ears will continue to be alert. It will also be supported by music designed in such a way, to support the moving plot.

Another thing that stood out to me is Six, even though his position as the main protagonist has been shifted in Little Nightmares II, the presence of Six as a companion character in this second series for Mono is still a Tarsier strategy that deserves to be welcomed with open arms. Extra appreciation is expressed because for the size of the companion character, he is supported by AI which is also fantastic, opening up space for new mechanics for this game.

And for the essence of Little Nightmares II's gameplay is still the same as the first game. It is still a platformer game that at some point will challenge you with two thing, puzzles or the dexterity of your character's control. Puzzles of course require you to think coherently, about what kind of solution is needed to simply get the key or move to the next location. Meanwhile, quite a few will test your dexterity, where you have to run as quickly and effectively as possible to the next area, which is usually followed by monsters hunting you behind. For chase missions like this, sometimes they appear straightforward, but quite a few end up asking you to hide in a certain location instead of continuing to run.

I can say too that this sequel has an adrenaline-rush experience from the first chapter unlike the first game that took quite a couple of time to happened. In the forest (the first chapter) for example, you will meet a hunter who, instead of chasing and catching you, relies more on the rifle he has. Therefore, looking for cover every time he managed to reload the shotgun would be an important strategy, before moving to the next location. In the School chapter (the second chapter), masks to disguise themselves as one of the students are now injected into existing mechanics. In the hospitals (the third chapter) which is the scariest part for me, mannequins that are only active in the dark will lurk in every corner that you fail to illuminate using the flashlight in your hand which is the only light source that can able to stop the movement of scary mannequins that can only maneuver in the dark.

Tarsier did a fantastic job with Little Nightmares II. They maintain almost everything that the fans like from the first Little Nightmares, provide slight modifications through new abilities that can be executed by Mono and Six as a companion, and then inject a wider lore to take you into a deeper abyss of the mystery of the world. All of this is wrapped in a monster design that is still equally disgusting and scary, with silence and music that plays the atmosphere just right. Extra appreciation also deserves to be given to the scares and anxieties that don't rely on cheap jump scares at all. Little Nightmares II appears as a sequel series in its proper capacity. Retaining the components that made the first game so beloved, expanding the lore and variety of mechanics, building enough atmosphere to make you shudder, and ultimately deepening the mystery itself.

An improvement on the first game which I didn't think had much room for improvement. Fantastically creepy design and presentation. It knows just when to hit you with a big scare and when to pull back and just give you a creepy image that lingers without a musical sting. The only criticism I have is some of the environmental puzzles are hard to read. The rooms can be so detailed it's hard to figure out what is interactable and what is set dressing. Overall it made me feel like I was playing Limbo again which is one of the highest compliments I can bestow.

Eu amei o jogo anterior, mesmo assim ele possuía alguns problemas e esse jogo é ainda melhor do que o primeiro.
A trilha sonora continua ótima apesar deum preferir a do primeiro jogo, a ambientação, terror, perseguições e imersão continuam ótimas, agora temos também a adição de uma real combate que agrega muito a gameplay, e agora estamos em um ambiente mais aberto comparado ao primeiro jogo, estamos em uma cidade e o nosso objetivo é chegar a uma torre que fica no centro dela.
O jogo agora possui puzzles melhores e mais criativos, no total tendo em média 8h de gameplay e serão com certeza 8h muito bem aproveitadas, apenas achei o jogo muito caro mesmo gostando muito dele.
As considerações finais são: espere o jogo entrar em promoção porque ele é muito bom 8,5/10.