Little Nightmares (video game)

*Little Nightmares I redirects here.*

***Little Nightmares*** (also called ***Little Nightmares 1***) is a platforming game from Tarsier Studios released on April 28, 2017 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. A Nintendo Switch port was released on May 18, 2018, and on June 1, 2020, A Google Stadia port was released, and has since been removed following Stadia's shutdown on January 18, 2023. Ports for iOS and Android were released on December 12, 2023.

## Description

> *Immerse yourself in Little Nightmares, a dark whimsical tale that will confront you with your childhood fears! Help Six escape The Maw – a vast, mysterious vessel inhabited by corrupted souls looking for their next meal. As you progress on your journey, explore the most disturbing dollhouse offering a prison to escape from and a playground full of secrets to discover. Reconnect with your inner child to unleash your imagination and find the way out!*
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## Plot

The game begins with the protagonist, a girl named Six, having a nightmare in which a masked woman turns back to look at her. Six then wakes up in a gasp, inside a large suitcase in the bowels of the Maw. The girl, with the help of her lighter, begins her escape, venturing in the dark while avoiding the leeches. She then enters the Prison for children, guarded by the long-armed Janitor. Gradually, she begins to experience her first hunger pain. An unknown boy helps alleviate her hunger by giving her a piece of bread.

As the heroine continues her escape, she experiences her second hunger pain. Fortunately, she finds a piece of meat in an open cage and eats it. Unaware that she has fallen into a trap set by the Janitor, he closes the cage door and carries her to the Lair. Having escaped, Six attracts the attention of the Janitor and evades him until he is driven into a room, blocking its path to the girl with an ajar door. The Janitor sticks his hands into it to get Six, but she breaks a cage holding the door open, which eventually slams shut and severs the Janitor's arms.

Once in the the Kitchen, Six for the third time begins to starve. She eats a live rat caught in mousetrap. On the way, she comes across twin Chefs who are preparing food for the Maw's feast. Six eventually draws their attention and they immediately react aggressively towards her. The heroine narrowly escapes the Kitchen with the help of a conveyor belt lined with moving meat hooks, leaving the Chefs in frustration.

Moments later, Six reaches the outside of the Maw's hull and proceeds to climb along the rails to enter the Guest Area. Six sees the Guests who have sailed to the Maw, march inside. Six spots the masked woman who appeared in her nightmare, observing the Guests from a balcony as they march into the dining area. She is the hostess of the feast and the Governess of the Maw: the Lady. As the Guests gorge themselves with food, many take note of Six's presence and start chasing her. As Six continues running through the dining area, a hoard of Guests emerge from their rooms and form a wave of themselves as they attempt to catch the heroine. Six narrowly escapes by swinging onto a lantern to a safe balcony. There, the girl begins to writhe again from hunger pains. A kind Nome offers her a sausage, but Six chooses to eat the unsuspecting creature instead.

Finally, Six discovers the Lady entering an elevator, and follows her direction into the Lady's Quarters. The heroine sneaks past the Lady as she strokes her hair in front of a broken mirror, while humming an eerie melody. Having taken the key to the door to the dressing room, Six draws the attention of the Lady, who begins to chase after her, until the girl runs to an abandoned part of the Quarters. There, among the broken mirrors, she finds a small intact mirror, which Six uses to reflect rays of light onto the Lady, thereby weakening her. Once the Lady is no longer able to defend, Six feels hungry once more, and bites into the neck of the lady without a single thought. The heroine gains the ability to absorb the souls of living beings, which she uses on the Guests, and walks out of the Maw, awaiting for rescue as the horn of a boat is heard nearby.

**Note**: If the player hugs Nomes during the game, each Nome that Six hugs will reappear in the ending to observe Six as she walks out of the Maw.

## Gameplay

*Little Nightmares* is a puzzle adventure game in which the player takes control of a girl named Six, who must escape the Maw, a humongous underwater vessel, while avoiding huge and aggressive monsters. Due to her weakness and small stature, Six is unable to resist the enemies in any way. Six is not limited in movements and is able to go in any direction to run, jump, push and climb various obstacles, carry and throw objects. Six uses a lighter to illuminate her path and light up candles and lamps placed throughout the Maw. Thanks to all this, the heroine can hide or run away from opponents seeking to catch and destroy her as journeys through the Maw.

## Characters

* Six - The protagonist. Her goal is to escape the Maw while managing her ever-present hunger.

* Nomes - Small, childlike and skittish humanoid creatures, who can often be seen running all over the various nooks and crannies of the Maw.

* Leeches - Water-native worm-like creatures that suck blood from their victims.

* The Janitor - A long-armed, blind, and monstrous-looking humanoid monster, guarding a prison of children and maintaining the Maw's facilities.

* The Shoe Monster - An unknown creature, that briefly pursues Six in a shoe disposal area.

* The Twin Chefs - Two large and cruel brothers who relentlessly prepare food for the Guests of the Maw.

* The Guests - The gluttonous, unaware elite, who arrive at the Maw to feast on dishes prepared especially for them.

* The Lady - The main antagonist of the game. A woman in a white mask, who maintains the Maw with her mystical powers. She chooses to reside in the Maw, as it is the only place that makes sense to her.

* Child Prisoners - Minor characters. Like Six, stolen from the mainland and held hostage at the Maw, presumably to be used for a variety of purposes, including being made into food.

* Dark Six - An unknown entity that takes the form of Six. It mainly appears in the distance, watching Six eat.

## Downloadable Contents

* *Secrets of the Maw* - A DLC expansion containing 3 new chapters revolving around the journey of a new protagonist known as the Runaway Kid, who explores new unseen areas in the Maw.

* Exclusive masks - A DLC expansion containing 4 different exclusive masks that can be worn by Six (or the Runaway Kid). The masks included are:
	+ Scarecrow sack.
	+ Upside-down teapot.
	+ Tengu mask.
	+ Fox mask.

## Reception

*Little Nightmares* has received mostly positive reviews. It currently holds a 78% score on Metacritic receiving generally favorable reviews from critics.

## Trivia

* The game's original title was "*Hunger*". This might be related to Six's hunger.
	+ The name was changed to avoid people searching for the game and getting results for *The Hunger Games*, a completely unrelated book series.
* The game was probably inspired in part by Hayao Miyazaki's anime film *Spirited Away* and Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet's film *The City of Lost Children*..
* According to senior narrative designer Dave Mervik, the theme of *Little Nightmares* was greed and consumption
	+ *"Yeah, the theme in the first game is greed and consumption: it was originally called Hunger...we always pick a theme at the beginning... it's got to give people potential. They can say 'this inspires me' - it inspires the artists and the audio guys in certain ways... there's so much going on there that you can play with, and pull in different directions."*

## Videos

Little Nightmares TrailerLittle Nightmares - Deep Below the Waves Trailer PS4, XB1, PCLittle Nightmares - The Nine Deaths of Six TrailerLittle Nightmares Accolades Trailer PS4, XB1, PCLittle Nightmares Launch trailerRa, Tox and Six walk into LFCC 2017Little Nightmares Gameplay Impressions from PAX East 2017!Little Nightmares Gameplay Video PS4, XB1, PCLittle Nightmares - Launch Trailer PS4, XB1, PCLittle Nightmares - Six Edition Giveaway!Little Nightmares Complete Edition - Nintendo Switch Announcement TrailerLittle Nightmares - Launch TrailerLittle Nightmares Complete Edition Launch Trailer - Nintendo SwitchLittle Nightmares - Coming to StadiaLittle Nightmares mobile - Reveal Date trailerLittle Nightmares - The Complete BundleLittle Nightmares - Available Now for iOS and Android
## Gallery

### Logos

Logo animation.Icon for the mobile version.
### Concept Art

Concept art for a poster for the game.Concept art for the game menu.
## References

1. ↑ https://twitter.com/LittleNights/status/1356298228782784512
2. ↑ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/little-nightmares-lead-designers-studio-ghibli-influence-a-sequel-1008488
3. ↑ https://www.eurogamer.net/little-nightmares-2-interview

 **DLCs**
 **Comics**
 **Miscellaneous**
*Hunger* • TV series • PAPERCRAFT • *The Sounds of Nightmares*