Quick Look: Little Nightmares

Love the art style of this game!

This game got style

Saw this game randomly on Steam, the screenshots look great at least.

Adowable wittle Pyramid Head.

Nice style, not sure about the gameplay.

A Spoon!

Amnesia's water monster scene, now with shoes

Just me or are the black levels way off in this video. Looks really washed out.

Oh man this game is unsettling

Time to Brad death: 15:08

he's getting better, ya'll!

Soooo, this is a stealth game right? It's just I feel that didn't really get communicated by the game itself. Like the first monster sequence the game clearly TRIED to tell the player the creature was going off on sound and there was a difference whether you were running on planks or the soft carpet. That could have been communicated more clearly. It really makes you apprieciate just how amazingly seemless Inside's level design was put together. Also some of those monster animations were kinda rough you can see this was made on a limited budget. Still looks damn cool though.

22 minutes and 30 seconds in I noticed something : Its salad finger! Still liking his rusty spoon it seems. I hardly recognized him with that hat! Its been a while.

Btw I am extremely into what Im seeing and hearing here.

This game is great, just finished it in one sitting. I liked Inside a bunch, but I would say this is very much in the same vane, if not better, in terms of making you think and wonder about what it is trying to say. Only difference is, the movement is not 2D, but 3D in a similar (but movable) camera view. I can see what the dudes mean about the at-times finicky controls though, but one gets used to it.

I am not somebody who generally goes in for horror, but this feels more creepy than scary and I am way into it's whole vibe. it reminds me of the weird French Canadian stop motion shorts that used to air on CBC late at night.

That the "bondages" are actually skin hanging down is actually kinda brilliant.

That its not immediately obvious makes this even better. The game itself also seems good. Even though I'm not into horror anymore I probably will pick it up at some point.

Just curious Brad, why do you not like using 'Janky' too much when then entire bombcrew use the word 'dumb' as some kind of omni-word that can describe literally anything...I've always wondered why you guys rely on that word so much.

The animation and style of this game looks really cool, I may have to pick this up :)

Had to stop watching. Sorry I love Brad but let someone else play.

The sun kills the bedbugs it's totally cool

Yep. 'Oh a creepy dude with no eyes. Let's avoid sneaking and just run everywhere. Oh, he got me. Oh, he got me again. I wonder why. This game's so janky.' Not saying the gameplay is great tho, it's really more about atmosphere.

Already pre-ordered and got the game, but glad it's getting coverage on GB!

A whole lotta "nope, no thanks" in this game for me.

I respect horror games (and movies), I just refuse to play (or watch) them.

Oh wow. This game is made by Tarsier Studios.

Way back in 2005 this studio debuted with an in-development game called The City of Metronome that had a very similar creepy/surreal aesthetic. I was super interested in that and followed it for a while, but it was never finished despite them showing an E3 demo that looked to be fairly far along in development.

I always assumed the studio had been dissolved, but it looks like this game is what their art design for Metronome eventually evolved into.

Super into this. Can't decide if I should get it for PS4 (I have a Pro) or PC though.

I'm trying to recall what you're talking about since I used to watch CBC late night movies alot (some great foreign stuff there). Man was I pissed when the 1AM movie eventually got replaced with infomercials. I haven't seen this video yet but it already reminds me of that old YTV claymation show "Bump in the Night".

@lestephan: dude reminds me of the little guy in that stop motion Tool music video that used to give me nightmares

So this is what TOOL have been up to over the years. Too bad they can't make awesome music anymore.

Looks terrible, don't like anything that I'm seeing, looks like no fun at all. That thing that happened where Brad kept getting grabbed by a guy? How is that supposed to be fun?

@themasterds: Although a lot of the criticism that the pair mentioned were valid, they aren't as bad it seems (in most cases). Sneaking past the dude is not as hard as Brad made it look (there's a sneak button that he kinda just refused to use). However, I think that someone shouldn't come to this game looking for fun (or at least be the top priority). For me, it's something to look at and explore for the most part. I'd say that you'd at least have to give the style and animation some credit. Hell, even the sound design is great.

Giant Bomb is the best gaming site on the whole planet, maybe in the entire galaxy, and it has a great community. But, the constant pointing out that Brad dies in videogames is getting really old. Are you guys, the pointers, expecting the Giant Bomb staffers to speedrun every game they play? It's a quick look, folks, not a meticulous look.

Hi, sorry, but here's a little rant since I have time to spare • ᵕ •

I dare both of you to make a better 30 minute QL of a new game that you find interesting and want to share with the world. Keep in mind your day is full of work and you have, oh, 30k people that will watch you. No pressure! Let's set up the studio and go! Also you pull in a co-worker to present a slightly different point of view and to keep the commentary interesting and entertaining throughout.

I'm just saying it's not easy and I hope you consider these things before typing out negative comments that help no one. There's room for critique to be sure, but at least maybe make it more constructive?

In my case, I had no idea this game existed til it was mentioned on the Bombcast. Thanks to this QL I now know the game might be janky/finicky (opinions vary!) and it has a theme both me and my wife are into. So for what it's worth GB sold us on this game.

there was a period in the early 2010s maybe during the summer where they aired a block of National Film Board shorts and the best ones were the very weird creepy stop motion ones. this sort of thing:

I shouldn't really care about it personally and I usually hate to complain how the crew plays their games, but Brad definitely made those parts with the big guy seem way harder than they actually are. It took me a moment to figure it out too, but using the silent routes really isn't that hard.

From reading people's comments, I've generally had way less trouble with this game's "janky" parts. That said, I was definitely drawn to this title because of it's visuals alone, both the art and sound, knowing fully well that the gameplay would be simple and similiar to games like Limbo and Inside.

This game looks stunning, love how much effort went into making everything feel tactile

@geirr: You're absolutely right in many regards. My feedback wasn't very constructive and for certain, given my lack of experience I could not have done a better job myself nor do I believe many of the commenters here could have.

Like I said, I love me some Brad just not always his approach or attempts at games. This game is right up my alley but I just couldn't finish watching the Quick look based on his approach (or lack thereof) which ruined both the immersion and belittled the game along with what it's trying to achieve.

I come to Giantbomb for the content and the personalities and they deliver 99% of the time. This just didn't click with me and I voiced my opinion accordingly. Albeit not as constructive as it could have been, and I realize this changes nothing, but I felt like I had to say something.

It's like Inside but a patchwork of horror tropes instead of bracingly on-point.

Its something about these types of games that I cannot stay away from. Maybe its the art style or maybe the sense of adventure. Who knows. I just purchased it on the PS4

Maybe they should rethink their workflow and the way they cover things if they're impacting the quality of their videos. Watching them ignore game mechanics and brute force their way through things and fail repeatedly isn't entertaining or a good demonstration of what the game has to offer.

Brad has a terrible habit of "well this didn't work the first time, so let's try it 5 more times until i get lucky."

I really dig how the main character wakes up from a nap upon death. It tracks with the title and strengthens your connection to the protagonist. It's a small thing, but it could have easily been a missed opportunity. Hungry, thirsty (to get the fuck outta Dodge), and needs a nap "before" facing Mr. Foldy-Skin Belter-Arms McGee. As if he/she is saying, "Whatever you do, don't do that." (Whatever course of action got you killed previously, as experienced by the character via a "little nightmare") Poor, little protag.

This is certainly very unsettling. It looks like the kind of game where I have to be in a very certain type of mood to enjoy it. It's not the type of game I should play if I'm feeling anxious.

In other words the game succeeds in establishing a creepy feel. I have been interested in this game since I first saw it. It looks beautiful in it's own fucked up way. I definitely want to play this at some point.

Might pick this game up when it goes on sale. Looks rad!

I like these games, I certainly enjoyed Limbo and Inside even more. That said I'm not a fan of the "thing chasing you" sequences in any of them. I like the puzzles, but I hate chase sequences. Didn't enjoy the spider in Limbo, didn't particularly like the hair girl in Inside and if this long limbed mofo is a recurring instance in Little Nightmares from the start I might pass it up - it's just too stressful for me.

and i'm guessing your gaming habits are perfection in absolutely every way/shape form?

i still don't understand what it is about brad that makes everyone fucking nitpick on him so much. vinny pulls the same dumb shit left and right (not that it annoys me in the slightest), yet he gets a free pass! meh it's a losing battle. peoples gotta have someone to hate, and that someone is BRAD.

I think the difference is that Vinny often does it on purpose, and is funny, not frustrating, when he does it. Brad kind of just gets irritated and often assumes he's doing it right or that the game is janky.

I think people probably get a few rungs too grumpy about it, but I totally understand. "You can't do better," is also not a valid argument, for whoever said that. I can't make a better movie than Neil Breen, but that doesn't make his movies good.

I've grown to love Brad's Quick Looks, though. Him screaming that he's holding the button in Shadow of the Colossus was hilarious! Yes, man, we know you're holding the button! That's why you have no grip left!

Also going to disagree with you @ripelivejam - I love everyone on the crew - (and those gone now), but like Xbob says, Vinny clearly fucks with game mechanics to be funny and is self aware, Brad is just much more negative lately. Plus people pick on Dan waaay more (but he lines himself up for that on purpose I think -- Tacobell wedding and all - so great and so terrible...).

I just watched 3 quick looks back to back. In the Sexy Brutale Vinny and gang are "making fun of it" saying how its like other games - Vinny chimes in and says "no the Sexy Brutale is like the Sexy Brutale", pointing out that he knows his joke could go against the game..

Then I watched Dragon Quest Heroes II, which Jason seemed to love, and Brad just disagrees and shits on the whole time. (Jason sounds very apologetic for it).

Now in this QL where he clearly is playing wrong by running through, but feels free to call it janky. Even Dan fucking up in EukaLalee (spelling), he was like "I hate it,I cant get up this hill, but I must be doing something wrong." Dan made that about him, not the game - and Vinny made him stay and they finally did it.

So I do hate when people say Brad's just bad at a game, or the whole "countdown to death" thing (which is actually kind of funny). But you can be bad at a game and still praise it. i am terrible at Puyo Puyo Tetris, so bad in fact I kind of don't like it - but I can see why people love it.

Now look at this comment I see below: @TheMasterDS : Looks terrible, don't like anything that I'm seeing, looks like no fun at all. That thing that happened where Brad kept getting grabbed by a guy? How is that supposed to be fun?

So Brad not sneaking by the guy WHO IS CLEARLY BLIND, and trying the same tactic that failed over and over (until he got lucky), which is the definition of insanity; and not owning up to it, just calling the game "janky" instead clearly has a negative impact. Vinny doesn't do that. --

I love Quick Looks 110% more than reviews, I get that its still all opinion, but this one is tough to watch. It wasn't how he played, it was his attitude for me.

@squidracerx: To be fair Yooka-Laylee is a bad game that controls bad and has bad objective design. Don't hold it against Dan that he struggled, it's just not very well made.

Sometimes games are bad. You can tell when games are bad when they look like no fun to play. Or, if you're a backer and you get to find out first hand.

No, but i don't play video games on the internet for thousands of people to see as a form of critique and a demonstration of what the game is and what it has to offer. For a lot of people their only impression of this game will be this video.

Vinny isn't so quick to blame the game. He usually goes "okay that was probably my fault."

I've been watching the Demon Souls playthrough (yet again cause it's one of my favorites) and all of Brad's bad habits are magnified there, but he has Vinny to counterbalance him, keep things fun and provide advice... which he usually ignores (another one of his bad habits).

Anyway, Brad playing games with the slightest hint of stealth is a big no-no.

@themasterds: No no I 100% agree -Yooka-Laylee is a bad game that controls bad - I 100% don't hold that against Dan. Which is my point! These games both might not control well. But Dan's quick look was a "fun positive feel good" QL for a game I thought looked bad (and he didn't like). And they got that across without shitting on it.
Dan got to a part where he got even more stuck than Brad did here. But they didn't just call it janky and "meh" the game to death. Vinny and team made it fun, stuck with it, and Dan 100 times said its not really a game for him, not into Banjo Kazooie, etc.. but he pointed out some positives.
Instead of a fun review, this comes off as more downer, i don't know, maybe elitist? Like its all the game's fault it didn't live up to Brad's expectations here - he has played too many games and he is bored (when it really looked like he was just not "getting it").

@ripelivejam: Yep you got it you've found the anti-brad shadow cabal and banished them forever congratulations

@squidracerx: Hey your misappropriating the context that "janky" is being used for. =]

I understand your point of view; for example I saw the climbable surface the first time they ran past it near the end. They made a valid "complaint" that it was seamless with the environment [I like that aspect but can think of other games where that situation has happened to myself]. Or to warp back a matter of minutes in the video where they attempt to mount the push box, not really an issue in this case but still an example of undefined boundaries.

The guy is blind but also can smell and hear too! I'm not sure he "played it wrong". I didn't really see a crazy amount of repeated attempts, 4 in the middle section and 2 at the end but both with experimentation and none with complaints that it was the games fault [I'd argue the middle section could be down to imprecise controls].

Anyway the word "janky" was in relation to the controls / feeling / responsiveness, easily seen when attempting to simply light a candle @13:40. Due to the nature of the game the looser nature of controls won't really put me off of it. I could see how it might result in a few extra deaths during some faster paced sections.

It seems you found the video had a more negative vibe than I felt, but don't shuffle the words used and the actions to shape a new narrative. Maybe you don't enjoy his presentation style but my impression was that he really enjoyed this title, with caveats; I prefer to not have those glossed over even when, as in this case, I can accept the flaws.

Sorry, I don't mean to rant at you in particular. Have a nice day ^^

I'm digging this game so hard. Funny enough I wasn't into Inside's art style, so this art style + the creepy left-to-right style gameplay is nailing for me way better.

@sweetz: Fun facts: Tarsier has been around as an assets studio for Playstation a long time. They made a bunch of DLC for Little Big Planet on PS3 and ended up developing Little Big Planet for the Vita. Sadly Sony hasn't given them more freedom than that yet. Little Nightmares or Hunger as it first was named was possible because Tarsier got a starting grant from Nordic Game (Nordic GDC) a couple 2-3 of years ago. I actually saw them win it.

I have interviewed Tarsier 5 yers ago and they have straight up said that they were naive with City of Metronome. They thought that having a great idea would be enough to get funding from publishers. Instead they spent the last 5-10 years building experience, gaining network and a portfolio.

I'm very excited to see what they do next.