Little Nightmares ▶ Trailer
Little Nightmares screenshot 1Little Nightmares screenshot 2
AdventureHorrorAtmosphericSingleplayerPuzzle PlatformerDark

110 playing

Peak in the last 24 hours: 233

Peak in the last 7 days: 334

Little Nightmares Steam store

Game description

Take on the role of Six, a lone child lost in a massive metal vessel known as the Maw, surrounded by dangerous, distorted versions of adults. You’ll need to do your best to escape in one piece or your fate will be worse than you ever dared dream.

Basic info

DeveloperTarsier Studios
PublisherBANDAI NAMCO Entertainment
PlatformsWindows
Steam DeckVerified
Release dateApr 27, 2017
Price

Prices by IsThereAnyDeal

Minimum specs

OSWindows 7, 64-bit
ProcessorIntel CPU Core i3
Memory4 GB
GraphicsNvidia GTX 460
Storage10 GB
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Review Analysis Score

Based on 444 reviews from the past 1 year

89.7/ 100
Top 20%

Steam rating: Very Positive (95%)

Metacritic: 81 /100

Review analysis summary (Reviewed Oct 22, 2026)

A small girl in a yellow raincoat escapes a grotesque vessel in this short horror platformer, scoring 89.7, top 20% of games we analyzed.

👍 Strengths

235 reviews praise its world and atmosphere, a dark and oppressive place full of tension and mystery that scares without relying on jump scares. Story & World ranks 82nd of 1096. 73 admire the visuals, with a distinctive art style, careful enemy design and chilling sound. Visuals & Sound appears in 53% of analyzed reviews and ranks 55th of 1249. 45 found it fun and thrilling, saying the hide and seek puzzles kept their interest to the end.

👎 Where it falls short

59 reviews say it is short, with a few chapters that can be finished in an afternoon, and some dislike that the extra chapters are sold separately. Content Volume ranks 1129th of 1351. 54 find the controls clunky or imprecise, pointing to awkward depth perception, camera angles that hide the path and input lag in chase scenes. 24 mention difficult moments, with repeated deaths in stealth sections, though a few say it is not hard at all. Gameplay ranks 796th of 1396.

Representative reviews Original reviews ↗

“visual style, setting and atmosphere create gritty terrifying world with incredible art” · 235 reviews
“beautiful art style, excellent sound and music” · 73 reviews
“only 4 chapters totaling 4-5 hours with base game too short and DLCs paywalled” · 59 reviews

How it holds up

−50+5

Controls, difficulty, progression and depth
Mentioned in 45% of reviews · Bottom 50% of the games we've analyzed

Difficulty +1.39 · How hard it is, how the challenge ramps, and whether it feels fair
Positive “appropriate difficulty and manageable playtime make game accessible” · 9 reviews
Negative “quite difficult stealth sections especially for those unfamiliar with the genre” · 24 reviews

Progression 1% · Onboarding 10% · Freedom 2% · Strategy 6% · Controls & feel 23%

Plot, characters and the world
Mentioned in 81% of reviews · Top 10% of the games we've analyzed

World +4.34 · Lore, atmosphere, and how immersive the setting is
Positive “visual style, setting and atmosphere create gritty terrifying world with incredible art” · 235 reviews
Negative “horrors undermine the sweetness of play” · 4 reviews

Story 41% · Characters 11%

How much there is to do, variety and replay value
Mentioned in 38% of reviews · Bottom 20% of the games we've analyzed

Volume -1.53 · How much there is to play, including endgame, for the price
Negative “only 4 chapters totaling 4-5 hours with base game too short and DLCs paywalled” · 59 reviews

Variety 3% · Replayability 5%

Graphics, art style, music and sound
Mentioned in 53% of reviews · Top 5% of the games we've analyzed

Visuals +4.29 · Graphics, art style, and animation
Positive “beautiful art style, excellent sound and music” · 73 reviews

Audio 26%

Playing with others, the community and servers

Not enough data — only 1% of reviews mention this.

Playing together +3.50 · Fun of playing with friends, teammates, or rivals

Community 0% · Servers & Connection 0%

Pricing, cheaters, balance and matchmaking
Mentioned in 7% of reviews · Top 50% of the games we've analyzed

Pricing -0.10 · Whether the price, DLC and microtransactions are reasonable, and how much paying gives you an edge
Negative “confusing and poor monetization system with expensive pricing and DLC bundling” · 9 reviews
Positive “excellent value for price and length, fantastic experience” · 1 review

Anti-cheat 0% · Balance 0% · Matchmaking 0%

Bugs, performance and developer support
Mentioned in 7% of reviews · Top 50% of the games we've analyzed

Stability -0.08 · Crashes, freezes, save loss, and game-breaking bugs
Negative “bugs after exiting water prevent interaction and progression” · 14 reviews

Performance 1% · Developer support 1%

Grey means too few reviews mention it to trust. — means almost no reviews mention it.

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