Little Nightmares is one of my all-time favorite franchises. I can say without hesitation that I replay Little Nightmares 1 and 2 at least twice a year. They are part of my comfort games, the ones I start on a quiet Sunday morning when I don’t feel like doing anything else. The eerie yet fascinating world they take place in resonates deeply with me, blending childhood melancholy with the thrill of dark storytelling. I know I’m not the only one, judging by the critical and commercial success the series has achieved over the past eight years since the release of the first game, and the dedication of the community to creating content around this universe.

This legacy carries significant weight and expectation, especially for a new studio taking on the challenge of developing the third main installment in the series. After playing through the game three times specifically to write this document, I can confidently say that the studio did a remarkable job. They managed to blend elements from previous entries with a new cryptic world that fits convincingly into the Little Nightmares universe, while also introducing fresh gameplay and visual ideas.

That being said, completing the game for the first time left me with a bittersweet feeling. As a professional game designer, I’m cursed with the tendency to dissect and analyze every aspect of a game as I play. My conclusion was clear, Little Nightmares 3 has tremendous potential, but could truly shine with one final iteration of polish.

With this document, I aim to present a collection of targeted feedback and practical improvements that could help elevate the overall experience. These subjective suggestions focus solely on polish and fine-tuning, not on creating new mechanics, areas, or narrative content. The goal is to strengthen the game’s core experience, refine its pacing and readability, and further emphasize that feeling of being a small, fragile child navigating a vast and unsettling world.

Feedback that applies to the entire game.

The character controls feel lighter and more responsive than previous games, but also somewhat hollow because of the reduced use of controller vibrations.
=> After comparing them to the previous games, here's a list of vibrations to add to help translate the weight of the characters.

• 1. Heartbeat vibrations when walking close to major enemies during stealth sequences.
  
• 2. Strong vibrations when the player dies.
  
• 3. Regular vibrations when progressing through piles of objects like the dentures, candies, and toxic mushrooms sequences.
  
• 4. Light vibrations when landing from a normal jump.
  
• 5. Strong vibrations when falling from a height.
  
• 6. Light vibrations when stepping on a switch panel.
  
• 7. Regular vibrations when pushing or pulling a big object that can be used as a platform.
  
• 8. Light vibrations when tripping on little objects (candies, toys, bottles...).

Throughout the game, the interactions with the drawers are inconsistent. Sometimes the players can interact with a closed drawer (grabbing the handle and trying to open it), sometimes not.
=> Make drawer interactions consistent to make the world feel more alive and the related puzzles more coherent.


Throughout the game, the gaps in which the players can crawl into are inconsistent. Sometimes the players can crawl into a gap but cannot crawl under the same type of gap in another place.
=> Make the collision of these gaps consistent to add depth to the exploration and emphasize the feeling of being a little mouse exploring a giant and dangerous world.




When dying by falling from a height, the character falls flat on the ground.
=> Add a subtle rebound animation with arms, legs and head movements.


When holding an electric fuse and dying to the swarm of insects, the character freezes in place and the screen fades to black.
=> Make the character drop the electric fuse and then play the normal insect death animation.


The zip line doesn't require the players to keep holding the grab button. They have to wait until the character lets go safely at the end of the line.
=> Make the players hold the button and let go with the right timing to make it more immersive, create tense situations or add secret areas to discover.
This may require significant level design revisions. It could be reserved for the DLC.


When pushing or pulling the big chariot with the candies in chapter 2 and 3, the speed is constant.
=> Add a speed curve (starts pushing slowly and accelerates until reaching max speed) to make the weight of the chariot more significant and the interaction more immersive.

Observations and feedback for the whole chapter.

When using the umbrella in the wind columns, the character can easily get stuck on platforms above or move out of the air column due to the perspective.
=> Add a snap that moves the players to the center of the air column while still allowing them to move freely.


Players cannot climb or enter the baskets, even though their size and placement suggest they should be accessible. This reduces immersion and the fun of moving, climbing, and exploring with the characters.
=> Make the baskets climbable and update their colliders so players can jump inside.


Additions and changes as they occur throughout the game.

Players might try to access the background area via the wooden beam on the left or the plank in the middle, only to be stopped by an invisible wall.
=> Add debris to clearly block the passages visually.


In the same room, the nome hidden on the high shelf is a nice nod, but the context, the nome in a seemingly breakable container, the plank positioned for climbing with a good firing angle, and the ability to shoot the bow, might give the players the impression that it can be interacted with, leading to frustration.
=> Either place the nome in the background behind the large window so it can be seen from the plank without implying it is reachable, or allow interaction and reward the players, for example with an achievement.


With the exit in the middle via the switch tile, a bonus object could be hidden on the right side of the room to reward players for taking risks.


This room is very dark, and since the players don't have a flashlight in this chapter, many decorative details may be missed. It could also be useful to introduce a first encounter with a single enemy before the major fight later.
=> Add a light ray from the ceiling to give the room volume by illuminating the statue. Remove the insect corpse and add a single insect as an introductory fight.


Like the previous point, this room is very dark, and since the players don’t have a flashlight in this chapter, many decorative details may be missed.
=> Add a light ray in the foreground to give the room volume and subtly guide the players toward the rest of the level.


The players have now already learned to fight in a previous room, so this encounter can be made more intense.
=> Add three additional insects to increase tension, and a light ray through the cracks to highlight the center of the arena.


=> Add one or two small obstacles in front of the wall hole to slow the players down, such as breakable vases or bottles.


=> Add two insects on the right side of the screen to block the players’ progression.

• Place one in the foreground to attack first.
  
• Place the other one in the background that advances toward the players, creating a tense combat scenario.

=> Add a viscous liquid dripping from the net, a puddle on the floor, and dripping sound effects.


=> Block access to the right side of the room in the foreground. Add a hole in the bar on each side of the new obstacle, allowing the players to move behind it to continue progressing.


=> Just like in the bar room, add an obstacle or a large gap to block access to the right side of the room in the foreground.
The background passages are already present.


=> Add a light ray to the right side of the room to give volume and guide the players towards the rest of the level.


=> Add a rope holding the crate that the players must cut by shooting it with the bow, allowing them to then push the crate into the correct spot and climb on it. Adjust the size of the platform by shifting it to the left.


=> Addition of a puzzle involving the Monster Baby, a hiding place, and a crow.

• Add a crate halfway up the ladder's ascent that allows the players to hide behind it.
  
• Add a crow on this crate that flies away when the players approach the hiding spot, thus alerting the Monster Baby, which now adds this obstacle to its points of interest to monitor.
  
• The players must now cross the last portion of the ladder with the right timing to avoid being spotted by the Monster Baby's gaze.

=> Add a trap with crows that requires the players to use the bow.

• Place crows on the last portion of the path to the exit so they fly away when the players approach, drawing the Monster Baby’s attention and potentially killing the players.
  
• To pass safely, the players must scare the crows away by shooting them with the bow from cover behind the previous crate, which momentarily attracts the Monster Baby’s gaze.
  
• The Monster Baby then returns to its patrol between the crates, allowing the players to cross safely.

=> Add a large hole in the floor that the players must navigate around to continue progressing.


=> Make the crate slide slightly from left to right to match the platform’s inclination.
The players must then remain hidden behind it to avoid being spotted.

Observations and feedback for the whole chapter.

While carrying an electric fuse, the insects are meant to attack and kill the players if they move too quickly through a swarm and are hit by too many insects. This mechanic is currently unclear, as even when the players move slowly, many insects still flee from the light toward them and make contact without causing any damage.
=> Adjust the insects’ behavior so that none enter the light zone when the player is stationary. Then, gradually increase the number of insects entering the light zone based on the player’s movement speed. Additionally, add progressive controller vibrations as more insects make contact, to clearly convey the rising danger.


Additions and changes as they occur throughout the game.

At the top of the stairs, the players can pass through the barrier and fall out of bounds.
=> Add a collider to the barrier.


Because the Supervisor is facing outward and the light behind her illuminates the exact spot where the players stand, it gives the impression that she should be able to see them through the clear window.
=> Add a blurry or frosted glass pattern to the window to visually indicate that she cannot see the players.


While entering the room, the players might immediately make walking noises and attract the Supervisor because they are holding a direction on the joystick.
=> Add a carpet on the floor to cancel the noise.


The players can walk too far out of view behind the lockers.
=> Add an unclimbable overturned locker with papers on it, placed on the beam to block the access.


From the second floor, the players can jump down onto a pile of paper. Once there, the players can make as much noise as they want (jumping, running, etc.) without the Supervisor reacting, which breaks the immersion and horror aspect of the situation.
=> Reduce the height of the paper pile so that the Supervisor can see and grab the players.
Also place a bonus item in this location that will require the players to have the right timing to retrieve it without getting caught.


If the players place the first fuse and die before placing the second one, they must restart the sequence and repeat it to retrieve all fuses, which can be frustrating and long.
=> Add a checkpoint as soon as a first fuse is placed.


On the way to retrieve the left fuse, the players cross a small ventilation corridor that is a bit empty.
=> Add small props to make it more visually appealing.


Because of the perspective, it is difficult to judge the timing for jumping and grabbing the hook.
=> Make the hook cast a shadow on the ground to facilitate the jump.


While the player is hanging from the hook and moving into the next room, the junction between the two rooms is visible for a brief moment. It’s possible that this is intentional, but since it is very short (less than a second), it gives the impression of a camera glitch.
=> Slow down the hook so the transition is smoother or widen the area so the player is visible for longer.


=> There is a floating piece of paper in the environment, and Low can target an invisible object in the upper left corner of the screen (most likely an unreachable bottle). He can aim at it from the ground but not from the top of the shelf.



=> Add a big pipe blocking the way in the foreground so the players have to use the path in the background or simply jump over it.


There’s a big area behind the candy crate where the players can go out of view.
=> Add an obstacle behind the crate to block the passage.


The box where the players can hide is not deep enough, making it appear as though the Supervisor could see them.
=> Increase the depth of the box and add a second open box higher up to break the linearity of the background.


=> Add insect mush flowing from the hydraulic press to emphasize the horror of the Supervisor’s death and its impact on the protagonists.


=> Add small props to make it more visually appealing.


There is an empty space where the players can get stuck if they stand up after passing underneath while crouching. There is also a gap between two crates above, giving the impression of a passage to progress in the level, even though the players cannot climb it.
=> Add wooden crates to fill both of these gaps.

Observations and feedback for the whole chapter.

In Chapter 3, the nomes in the elevator and the electrical room seem to appear out of nowhere because they do not make any noise to indicate their presence when hiding, as is the case in other sequences of the game.
=> Add their sound effects to indicate their presence.


Their club attacks lack power and impact compared to their large size.
=> Add a camera shake effect when they strike with their club on the piñatas and on the ground.


Additions and changes as they occur throughout the game.

The hole in the background that allows descent from the secret room is too small and not very visible.
=> Make the hole larger but leave a passage in the foreground so the players can pass through.


=> Add an object to fill up the dark corner at the bottom of the climbable furniture.


There is a large gap behind a suspended sheet that gives the impression of a passage to explore but is blocked by an invisible wall.
=> Fill the gap with folded sheets, or alternatively allow access and hide a bonus item there.


After obtaining the key and returning through the red caravan, the players can get stuck out of sight behind it due to the perspective.
=> Block access with an obstacle.


=> Make the Herd’s idle animation more visible and impactful, so it works in tandem with the coughing and scratching sound effects in this sequence.


The Herd man looking down the gutter and catching the players on sight feels a bit random and out of place.
=> Make him vomit a viscous liquid matching the color of the candies to explain his presence here and create a clear visual link with previous sequences showing the Herd consuming large amounts of food.


=> Add a hidden sound on a different frequency from the one required to open the door, as a secret to discover.


=> Add debris on the floor that produce noise when stepped on, placing them on both sides of the path to break linearity and heighten the tension of this sequence by forcing the players to move closer to the sleeping puppets.


=> Add small props to make it more visually appealing.


=> Add a rope that keeps the target in place and lock the mechanism.
Low has to cut it with the bow before hitting the target.

The players can move out of view behind the wagon.
=> Block access to the left of the wagon and in front of it in the background by adding more bags.



=> Add obstacles in the foreground (using the same bags and boxes as in the background) so the players have to jump across, breaking the room’s linearity.


=> Add a viscous liquid dripping from the bag to emphasize the horror of the area.


This small room hides a secret statue that’s a bit too easy to reach.
=> Close the door and place a movable object in the corridor. The players must push it in front of the door, climb onto it, then go through the broken round window to reach the secret room and the statue.


=> Add small props to make it more visually appealing.


=> Add broken mirror shards on the floor that make noise when stepped on, and place them in the foreground to break the room’s linearity and add tension to the sequence. Also, add a broken mirror on the right side of the room to foreshadow the mirror room that appears later.


After the Kin wakes up and leaves the TV room, the players can return to the room but cannot jump onto the sofa. This feels inconsistent with other rooms featuring similar furniture and slightly breaks immersion.
=> Make the sofa interactable and maybe have the TV display secret content.


When entering this room, the players walk past the hiding spot, try to turn back, and get caught by the mini-Kin. This creates the impression of an unfair trap.
=> Add a few extra seconds before the mini-Kin enters the room, allowing the players just enough time to reach the hiding spot. This will create a tense situation that rewards quick thinking and gives the satisfying feeling of outsmarting the mini-Kin rather than a frustrating die-and-retry experience.


=> Add small props along the path to the left to make it more visually interesting, and place some in front of the statue to better hide it.


=> Add a lantern as a light source to make the room more visually appealing, similar to a small room in chapter 2.


=> Add an idle animation for the NPC when he’s traversing the moving bridge.
Using the same idle animation as when traversing a pile of objects (like dentures or candies) should work.


=> When the mini-Kin passes over the grid, add dust falling from the grid, make the mini-Kin shadow bigger, and add vibrations on the controller.


=> Add a subtle breathing idle animation when the performing child holds the bars and the cage is stationary, and add a clinging/grasping animation when the players move the cage, to make him feel more alive and to emphasize his distress.


The furniture is too small, giving the impression that the players should be able to jump and grab it from the left after climbing on the books, or reach it with a duo jump from the front.
=> Make the furniture taller, shift the Kin slightly to the left, and remove the books on the side.


=> Move the statue to the dark front left corner of the room, so it’s better hidden and more interesting to find.


The trapdoor is not like the other trapdoors in the game. This one looks closed and as if it cannot be opened. In combination with the drawers in the background forming a straight path, the players might think this is the way to progress further and will be frustrated that they cannot climb the drawers like in previous Little Nightmares games.
=> Open the fourth middle drawer from the bottom and make it look crooked like the one next to it. Open the trapdoor like it was in previous rooms.


While approaching the entrance door, the players can hear the Kin’s footsteps coming from behind the main door. They have two options: run to the right or move to the front of the screen. If they run to the right, they encounter a closed door and may attempt to jump to reach the handle, but will fail. They then try to return to the front, only to be caught by the Kin.
=> Add clear visual cues indicating that the right path is a dead end, such as nailed planks on the door and a trash bin. This way, the players can head right, immediately recognize it as a dead end, return to the front, and still have a chance to escape from the Kin. These elements transform what feels like an unfair trap into a tense and engaging situation.


=> Make the wooden board before the hot air balloon larger, so the character snaps on it easily when running.

Additions and changes as they occur throughout the game.

The corridor with a large cliff that kills the players is not clearly visible due to the perspective, making it feel like an unfair trap.
=> Add a teddy bear sitting on the edge of the cliff. With the background lighting, it will appear as an intriguing silhouette from a distance. When the players approach, make it fall from the cliff to create an eerie event, simultaneously revealing the presence of the deadly cliff.


The players cannot climb the snack machine from the front to reach the secret doll even though the shape and height of the machine makes it look like it’s possible. Instead, the characters will glitch in the air and can end up stuck between the movable furniture and the machine.
=> Make the snack machine climbable from the front.


=> Add an increasingly dark green vignette effect around the screen to signal to the players that the mushrooms are harming them, emphasizing the urgency of the traversal.


The plant is too well hidden in the dark, making this puzzle feel unfair. The goal is to fairly trick the players by directing their attention to the noisy nurse, then surprising them with the plant. The players should feel that they could have seen the plant if they had paid closer attention, and even realize that the noisy nurse was a deliberate distraction to make the puzzle work.
=> Add a soft light to make the plant in the corner slightly more visible.


To progress through this room, the players must crouch-walk and avoid getting too close to the nurses, or they will be killed.
=> Bring the nurses closer together and add more to fill the large gaps, forcing the players onto a less linear path and creating a sense of being overwhelmed. This also helps build the atmosphere for the next room.


=> Add a nurse and position her on the path to the exit to create a more challenging and engaging route, and to produce a subtle “jump scare” effect with the camera movement as the players transitions between the two rooms.


=> Add two big cracked holes on the ground and keep the middle intact to create a platforming sequence and make the room less linear. This also gives more importance to the painting in the background because the players will stop between two jumps to “catch their breath”.


=> After the Hypnotist’s hand leaves the room, there are “ghost” wall remains in the background that did not unload properly. They sometimes disappear after dying or reloading the checkpoint. Also, there’s a looping bubble sound effect that doesn’t look relevant to the room.


=> Right after the hand fight, there’s a little piece of wood in the foreground that kinda looks like a hidden path.


The players can cross the room to the left by walking on the edge starting on the right, to the back and then going left to reach an empty area where they can see out of bounds.
=> Block the access on the right or, develop this area by adding a collectible doll and update the camera so the players cannot see out of bounds.


In this room, there is a cardboard pile that appears climbable but is not.
=> Make the cardboard pile climbable and place the collectible doll on top of it.

There is a vertical line in the main menu and the settings screens. It doesn’t function as a scroll bar and is not a reference to the design of Little Nightmares 1 & 2, making it feel slightly out of place.
=> Remove the vertical line from both menus.


The game currently includes direct links to purchase Little Nightmares 1 & 2. This has probably been considered already, and there may be technical reasons for it, but other Little Nightmares products could also be added, as they are particularly useful for understanding the lore of Little Nightmares 3.
=> Add a link to the podcast “The Sounds of Nightmares.”
=> Add a link to Very Little Nightmares for mobile via QR codes.

This could also be an opportunity to add Very Little Nightmares to Google Play Games for PC, reaching a wider audience and making it accessible to PC players who are fans of Little Nightmares.

In chapter 1, when playing Alone, the Low NPC regularly places himself under the insects while shooting at them. They then fall on him and he dies.
=> Easy to reproduce, happens 3 out of 5 times.


The players can hang themselves backwards when jumping and grabbing a door handle with the door on their back.
=> Easy to reproduce, happens all the time.


In chapter 3, after picking up the flashlight, if the players load the last checkpoint, the flashlight is found floating in the air and can no longer be picked up.
=> Easy to reproduce, happens all the time.


Sometimes, during a chase sequence with a major enemy, the chase music doesn’t start.
=> Hard to reproduce, happened twice in chapter 2 and 3.

Sometimes, when playing solo, the NPC stops randomly and makes the “Hi” gesture repeatedly without being close to an interaction area.
=> Hard to reproduce, looks random.

When leaving the game to the main menu, the vibrations of the controller turn to 100% and the selection cursor moves by itself (we can hear the sfx of moving between selections in the menu).
=> Easy to reproduce, happens 4 out of 5 times.

Feedback addressing key issues that should be prioritized to improve the overall player experience.

1. Hollow characters feeling
   
2. Drawers interactions inconsistency
   
3. Gaps inconsistency
   
4. Death animation - Falling from a height
   
5. Death Animation - The electric fuse and insects
   
6. Air Column snap
   
7. The Monster Baby and the moving platform sequence
   
8. The electric fuse and insects sequences
   
9. The barrier room
   
10. The Supervisor: first sighting
    
11. The paper room: first floor
    
12. The paper room: the paper pile
    
13. The room with two electric fuses
    
14. The room with the hook
    
15. Nomes sound effects
    
16. The red caravan
    
17. The puppets stealth sequence
    
18. The wagon room
    
19. The room with the sleeping Kin 1
    
20. The room after the sleeping Kin
    
21. The juggling show room
    
22. Escaping the Kin sequence 1
    
23. The toxic mushrooms sequence
    
24. The laundry room
    
25. Low NPC combats behavior
    
26. Floating flashlight

Little Nightmares 3 leaves a lasting impression and firmly establishes its own identity.

The design of the major enemies, especially the Hypnotist with his unsettling gigantism, is impressive without ever feeling exaggerated, while the environments blend unique new settings with numerous references to the previous games, keeping the universe coherent and immersive.

The cooperative mode is a strong addition to the series, introducing a new layer of interaction without breaking the core essence of the franchise.

What stood out to me the most is the sound design, especially the ambient music and its dark, liminal horns, a bold and successful addition that truly contributes to the game’s identity.

The story and lore remain compelling, deepening a world already expanded through podcasts and comics, leaving me curious to see how the upcoming DLC will continue the story, what becomes of the main characters, and which other creatures from the Little Nightmares universe we might encounter.

Speaking of which, I would love to see the DLC feature more open interactions with major enemies, as Little Nightmares 1 did with the Janitor and the Cooks, as well as the inclusion of minor enemies in puzzles combined with a new gameplay gimmick similar to the remote and TV in Little Nightmares 2, two elements that would truly allow the cooperative mode to shine. And finally, a grand climactic ending that serves as a new landmark in the Little Nightmares lore.

To conclude, Little Nightmares 3 succeeds in building on its predecessors while carving out its own space within the series. To me, the game likely faced production challenges and couldn’t fully meet its release deadlines. The cues for this conclusion lie in the amount of content, particularly in level design and puzzles, that feels underutilized, resulting in pacing and progression that, in some portions of the game, come closer to that of a walking simulator, a point often mentioned in player feedback.

Even with its flaws, I can’t wait to replay it in six months, maybe with plenty of fixes, who knows.

Before starting Little Nightmares 3, I replayed Little Nightmares: Enhanced Edition, including The Runaway Kid chapters, as well as Little Nightmares 2, to refresh my memory of the series and its mechanics. I also listened to the official podcast The Sounds of Nightmares.

I played Little Nightmares 3 with the day-one patch, prior to the October update.
I completed two full playthroughs, taking notes and capturing screenshots.
I revisited the game through chapter selection to collect all items and reproduce glitches.
All playthroughs were done in solo mode.

Many screenshots had their light balance increased by 50% to prioritize readability.

The game was played on the Steam version, running on Windows 11 with an RTX 3070 and an i5-10400F, set to ultra quality. An Xbox One controller and a headset were used throughout.

All enemy names are referenced from the Little Nightmares Wiki, as they are not explicitly stated in the game.