Mono's story, however, is told more as a reflection of Six's own story, relegating him to a supporting character despite being the one with agency. Six's journey was all about traversing the Maw and surviving it, a gripping tale which told us almost everything we needed to know about the mysterious character. I feel that this game suffers a bit in its storytelling because of that disconnect. But Little Nightmare II's focus on the characters' internal journey feels a little bit detached from the external events that threaten their well-being it's not quite as one-to-one as the original Little Nightmares. I was very invested with the hand-in-hand story of Mono and Six, and your playthrough will be all the better if you are, too. But those story beats were nice surprises along the way, things that took my attention away from the puzzles for just long enough to get eaten by a snake-headed teacher or shot by a savage hunter.

That's because this story will keep you guessing as to whether this is, in fact, a sequel or something else entirely I won't spoil it here. You may have noticed, dear reader, that I call Little Nightmares II a follow-up title rather than a sequel. Beyond that, however, Little Nightmares II is more about the relationship between Mono and Six. Mono is able to use these TVs in unexpected ways, which does not please the denizens of the city. TVs litter this seemingly post-apocalyptic world, or perhaps a world saturated to the point of staleness by its own vices.

Little Nightmares II, however, takes players through various layers of the Pale City, from the wooded outskirts, to the leaning coastal city itself with its schools, hospitals, and outposts in due course, but the meaning here is less obvious. That theme had a strong throughline from beginning to end, especially the end. In Little Nightmares, Six had to make her way through the Maw, a massive underwater resort of sorts that caters to those with insatiable appetites, whatever those may be. It's just as atmospheric as the original game, though the strength of the visual metaphor doesn't shine through with as much gut-punching rawness in this story. I often blamed the morbidly fascinating backgrounds, characters, animations, and overall aesthetic of Little Nightmares II for being so darn distracting that I was reluctant to leave a scene behind. Don't be like me try the doorknob before rigging an overly complex Rube Goldberg machine. I ended up overthinking most of them along the way and got frustrated with myself for trying to add complexity where the 'keep it simple, stupid' approach more than sufficed. (Do not get me started with how janky the clobbering mechanics are when Mono must dispatch smaller enemies like porcelain-headed puppet children, who will also one-shot you if the timing isn't exactly right.) Beyond that, the only other frustrations come with how relatively simple the puzzles are. The movement mechanics aren't quite as crisp as they could be, leading you to calibrate your own inputs as needed in order to time your stealthy passages, jumps, sprints, and slides properly. Image via Tarsier Studios, Bandai Namco EntertainmentĪnd speaking of frustrations, the follow-up seems to suffer from some of the same hiccups as the original. Expect to die a lot but be frustrated a little. There is no health bar in Little Nightmares II, but there is, blessedly, a super-fast load screen upon death. The Big Bads will still absolutely one-shot you though. With these, Mono can knock down barriers, clobber lesser enemies, and even complete puzzle sequences. Mono has the ability to pick up rather large weapons - axes, pipe wrenches, hammers - relatively speaking to the characters' diminutive sizes. Mono, the new player character this time around, has a similar movement and tech to Six, with one exception. and a bonus hat, purely for fashion's sake.) So much so that I picked up the deluxe edition so that I'd have access to the artwork (and soundtrack. Every scene a painting, though maybe not one you'd actually like to hang on the dining room wall, this title is gorgeous in its grotesquery. I'm happy to say that Little Nightmares II succeeds across the board with all of the above. The first thing I looked for upon picking up this follow-up was consistency in art style, character design, and mechanics from the first game don't mess with success.

Little nightmares 2 characters