Fans of the spooky and atmospheric horror game *Little Nightmares* have a new installment to look forward to! *Little Nightmares 3* is coming out on October 10th. The second game, *Little Nightmares 2*, added a helpful companion character, Six, who made solving puzzles more interesting. Now, *Little Nightmares 3* takes things a step further by being built specifically for two players to play together. You’ll play as Low and Alone, each with special items to help the other overcome obstacles. To succeed in this beautiful but challenging horror game, you’ll need to communicate, work as a team, and think fast!
Game Rant recently interviewed Coralie Feniello, a producer at Bandai Namco Europe, about *Little Nightmares 3*. Feniello discussed how the game enhances the series’ signature suspense with cooperative gameplay and revealed the team’s process for creating the frightening situations Low and Alone encounter. She also hinted at exciting future plans for the *Little Nightmares* franchise. Please note that this interview has been shortened and clarified for easier reading.
Telling a New Little Nightmares Story
The *Little Nightmares* series is famous for telling stories without using any spoken words. With *Little Nightmares 3*, how do the developers plan to create a compelling narrative when there’s no dialogue?
The story in Little Nightmares 3 is shaping up to be really compelling. Since the characters don’t speak, we had to find new ways to tell the story, and the environment became a key focus. We know our players love to examine every detail and come up with their own theories, which is fantastic to see!
The goal is to tell a story that’s easy for anyone to follow. We want to keep players engaged, not confused. The main story should be accessible to everyone, but those who are really interested can look closer and uncover more details to get a fuller understanding of the game’s world.
Game Rant asked: You talked about the game’s fans. What’s the most interesting thing you’ve noticed about the *Little Nightmares* community?
Honestly, I’m blown away by the theories players are coming up with! They really dig deep and notice *everything*. We’re trying not to say too much ourselves, because it’s awesome to watch them speculate and see how much they’re enjoying the world we’ve built. It’s just super cool to see their passion!
We’ve been working hard to create a fully immersive experience, and that includes expanding beyond the main story with things like our podcast. We want players to feel like they’re entering a complete world with its own depth and lore. Through the podcast, we’re exploring the different layers of this world – the ‘Counties,’ which represent a version of reality, and ‘Nowhere,’ the nightmarish realm where the games take place.
With our podcast, we’re beginning to reveal these different worlds, and we plan to share more through future projects. It’s exciting to see how everything connects and how our audience will learn about it all.
Game Rant asked about fan theories and how they influence the game’s development. Do the developers find inspiration in these theories, or do they actually use them to help make decisions about the game?
We generally avoid letting outside opinions dictate our creative process. We pay attention to what fans are saying and what’s happening in the community, but we prioritize telling stories we believe in. We don’t want to simply react to fan requests, though it’s great when they have good ideas. Sometimes their suggestions are unexpected and surprisingly brilliant.
So, Game Rant asked about the story in *Little Nightmares 3*, and I’m trying not to give away any big surprises! Basically, we really wanted to create a dark and unsettling fairytale, focusing on themes of childhood fears and the loss of innocence. It’s a story about two kids trying to escape a really messed up world, and we wanted to make players *feel* what it’s like to be small and vulnerable in a place that’s incredibly hostile. It’s not just about the plot points, but the overall atmosphere and emotional impact we’re aiming for.
Revealing too much would spoil the story, but at its heart, it’s about friendship. You’ve probably noticed how close Low and Alone are, and I especially enjoyed how their relationship plays out in the new Demon Carnival. There’s a little cutscene that shows how things are different between them in that setting.
I’m hoping players will experience the complete arc of the relationship, seeing how it develops from start to finish – that’s what I envision as the central storyline. But there are also many other elements to the game, of course.
Game Rant asked: Could you describe the new game setting and explain how it’s different from locations in past games?
One thing that stands out about this game is how unique each chapter’s environment is. The previous games, Little Nightmares 1 and 2, had chapters that felt more alike, with the exception of the final chapter, Transmission, which had a very distinct purple and pink look.
We aimed to showcase a variety of locations and environments, and really emphasize that visual diversity. Each chapter features unique color grading, which we spent a lot of time perfecting. The Necropolis, the first chapter revealed, was a key milestone. We wanted it to be brighter and use warmer colors than what players typically expect. It took a lot of experimentation to get it right-we initially made it too bright, and then carefully adjusted it until we achieved that unsettling orange hue.
Each chapter developed its own unique feel, and this one really stands out as the most distinct. I believe all the chapters – and even the enemies – have individual personalities. I can’t wait for players to experience the entire game and discover them all.
Game Rant asked: *Little Nightmares 3* was built specifically for two players. How did designing for co-op change the way you created puzzles and battles compared to the earlier games?
This definitely changes how we approach things. In the first two Little Nightmares games, Six was the only AI companion, and she wasn’t always present. With Little Nightmares 3, we needed a companion character with us throughout the entire game. That created a real design challenge – keeping the gameplay engaging with two characters constantly on screen.
We decided to build the multiplayer feature first, as it was the biggest new addition and more challenging to implement from the start. We also aimed to make the AI behave realistically, so we observed how players interacted with each other in the game – how they played together – and then adjusted the AI based on those observations.
Throughout development, we consistently tested both the multiplayer and single-player modes in our playtests. This helped us understand how players interacted with the multiplayer experience and how to improve the AI. Balancing the AI has been a continuous process of refinement.
Honestly, one of the biggest challenges while developing this game was finding the right balance with the AI. I didn’t want it to be so good that it took all the fun and challenge out of things, but it still needed to be helpful enough that players didn’t get completely stuck. It was a tough line to walk!
It’s a challenge to provide helpful hints without either giving the solution away or making the player feel stuck. We’ve been focusing on ‘interest points’ – moments when the player is close to figuring things out. At these points, the AI will subtly guide them, maybe by performing an action or responding to the player’s interactions. That’s the approach we’ve been taking to balance assistance and challenge.
I was really curious during the Little Nightmares 3 interviews – what did the developers find the *hardest* part to nail when making the game? What challenge took the most work to get just right?
Multiplayer features present some fascinating design challenges. Telling a story was also tricky; it needed to be easy to follow, even without dialogue, but also engaging enough to hold players’ attention.
From the start, we knew the story we wanted to tell. The hard part was making sure players would actually understand it. We showed it to many different players, getting feedback on what made sense and what didn’t. It’s also crucial to me that we don’t reveal everything – we want players to be able to think for themselves and draw their own conclusions.
The key is finding the right balance. When designing challenges, including those involving failure, it’s similar to understanding frustration. We often want players to feel vulnerable or out of place, but pushing that feeling too far can lead to overwhelming frustration.
You know, as a developer, there’s always something we pour extra effort into that players might not immediately notice. It’s usually a system or feature that *looks* simple, but was actually really tricky to get right – something deceptively complex under the hood. I’m curious, is there anything in the game I’ve worked on that fits that description? Something that was a real challenge to build, even if it doesn’t *seem* that way when you’re playing?
The character designs for Low and Alone, like those of Six and Mono before them, heavily rely on distinct shapes – Alone with her pigtails, and Low with his mask. The goal is to create instantly recognizable silhouettes, and that’s how we began designing all the Residents.
As a fan, I’m really excited about how they’re trying to build a totally unique atmosphere with this project. It’s been a huge challenge to create something fresh that isn’t just another typical horror experience – they’re deliberately avoiding a lot of the usual gore and shock tactics. They keep talking about aiming for something ‘charming’ instead, which sounds amazing, but it’s proving really tricky to pull off, especially when it comes to designing the enemies, the Residents. Getting that balance right is key!
So, I was reading an interview with the team behind *Little Nightmares 3*, and they were talking about how the game started taking shape. I’m really curious about what their initial ideas were like – what did they decide early on about the story, the world, or even the main character? It’s cool to hear how a game goes from just a concept to what we eventually play.
We decided to focus on multiplayer first because our players had been asking for it. After experimenting with AI companions in Little Nightmares 2, we were eager to fully develop that idea in this game, so that’s where we began.
After that, we focused on the story itself – figuring out the beginning, end, and the characters involved. We’ve really spent a lot of time on the storytelling, going back and forth with different ideas, testing them out, and refining everything. It’s been challenging, especially when it comes to conveying information without dialogue or spoken words.
Game Rant asked: Were there any features or ideas the team experimented with during development that didn’t make it into the final game, and why?
I can’t really share too many details, as you’ll experience it all while playing. Some features I’m really proud of were incredibly challenging to develop. For the parts of the game you’ve seen so far, the focus has been on the animations – specifically, figuring out how the characters, or ‘Residents,’ should move and feel believable. The King is a good example of how much work went into this.
He wasn’t always the person you see today. I actually told the team he initially looked completely unsteady, almost like he was drunk. Our challenge was finding the right tone – we wanted it to feel strange, but still be recognizable and understandable.
Animations were a key focus throughout development. We worked closely with the team – on everything from large cutscenes to subtle movements – to find the right style. We wanted the characters to be endearing, but not overly sweet. Striking that balance was challenging, as exaggerating the emotions in the animations risked losing the unique feel of Little Nightmares.
And yeah, that’s something I really love—animation is one of my specialties.
Game Rant asked: What core design principles guided the creation of *Little Nightmares*? Are there specific elements that are always central to the series’ development?
The environment is key to the game’s appeal. While the core design and gameplay aren’t overly complex – it focuses on simple, physical interactions like grabbing, pushing, pulling, and jumping – making those interactions engaging relies entirely on the setting. Whenever we designed a puzzle, our first question wasn’t about the mechanics themselves, but about *where* it took place. The setting is what truly brought the puzzles to life and made them compelling.
Take that puzzle with the rolling head, for instance. The way it works isn’t hard-you simply position something. But if it were just a box, it wouldn’t be engaging. What makes this puzzle special is that you’re repeating the action with something unpleasant, which creates a strange feeling about what you’ve done. That, I believe, is the core idea behind it.
Building Upon the Little Nightmares Series
Game Rant asked: The *Little Nightmares* games mix scary moments with puzzles. Can you talk about how you find the right balance between those two elements, and how you decide how much of each to include in the game?
We begin by sketching out the level on paper, mapping each room and how they connect. This is important because the game uses a dollhouse-style camera that lets players clearly see each individual room and its name. We then plan out what will happen in each room – like where to put chases or puzzles. This paper map helps us get a basic plan, but things rarely go smoothly in development. It’s just a first step to get us started and then we refine it as we build.
We then test it in the software to get a sense of how it plays. We often make adjustments, like adding more puzzles, and repeat this process several times. It’s a constant cycle of testing and refinement, and that’s the best way to develop it.
In this third game of the series, what did you focus on improving or expanding from the earlier games?
The biggest change is the focus on teamwork. While the first game had an AI companion who wasn’t always present, this new game features two characters constantly working together – either another player or the AI. That constant cooperation, from beginning to end, is what really sets this game apart.
Each chapter in the game has a distinct look and feel, which is really important for tapping into those childhood fears. Players clearly saw this in the first two games. The first featured the Janitor, who embodies the classic fear of what’s hiding under the bed. And the second game used the Teacher, a figure almost everyone immediately recognizes and can relate to.
This was a bit trickier because we explored ideas further, but we still wanted to tap into those universal childhood fears. Take the Monster Baby – it’s essentially a huge baby, and most people can relate to having a toy or doll that, for some reason, creeped them out. It’s a feeling many share, even if it’s not as obvious as the fear of the Teacher character.
This piece focuses on the feeling of being at a carnival or fair as a child. It captures that mix of excitement and being overwhelmed by the crowds and noise, and how small you can feel. The artist remembers being genuinely frightened by a clown at a fair when they were young, but their parents didn’t seem to share that fear. It’s a relatable experience – almost everyone has a childhood memory of something seemingly harmless being a little scary.
Game Rant: Do personal stories like that come into play often within the team?
I believe it’s essential to how we approach developing this game. I can’t think of another instance right now, but we did talk with the team about things that create fear for players, and similar concepts.
Game Rant asked: Now that Supermassive Games has joined the project, what unique ideas or methods did they contribute?
They’ve clearly spent a lot of time developing multiplayer horror experiences, like with The Dark Pictures Anthology. A key challenge was figuring out how to create fear when people are playing together, because being with others naturally lessens the feeling of being scared. It was crucial to have a team that understood this dynamic, and that was really the most important thing.
Plus, the entire team at Supermassive is passionate about the Little Nightmares games. They thoroughly reviewed both the first and second games, carefully analyzing the design and how everything was created, and dedicated a significant amount of time to this research.
They also included new dynamics, such as the bond between Low and Alone, which feels much warmer and more like a genuine friendship than the relationship between Mono and Six. The goal was to offer something fresh while still staying true to the established world and core feel of the series.
What emotions or thoughts do you want players to experience after finishing the game?
I don’t want to give away the ending, but the game is designed to leave you with a poignant, bittersweet feeling. I’m excited to see how players react, because that emotional impact is exactly what I’m aiming for – something that stays with you long after you finish playing. That’s always been my goal.
I’m really curious – is *Little Nightmares 3* going to be the final game in the series, or are the developers planning on making more after this one? I’m hoping for more, but I wonder if they’re wrapping things up!
Our recent showcase highlighted all the new projects we’re developing, including a virtual reality game. We believe this is only the start of what’s to come.
Game Rant: Is there anything we didn’t get to that you’d like to mention?
We’ve discussed many aspects of the game that we’re proud of, but haven’t yet covered the items used by Low and Alone. Designing those presented a unique challenge. In Little Nightmares 2, Mono occasionally uses items – like weapons – and we wanted to strike a balance between making the characters feel vulnerable and adding engaging gameplay through these new tools.
It was tough, but a really fascinating design problem. Giving each player unique items highlighted how much they needed to work together. It encouraged a lot of communication – players would naturally tell each other things like, “I’ll try this,” or “Can you handle that?” This led to a lot of experimentation and problem-solving, which was a really rewarding part of both playing and developing the game.
Playing the game really made me and my teammate communicate well. I especially enjoyed the challenge of figuring out how to best use the items together – it added a lot to the cooperative experience.
During testing, we noticed the game sometimes caused arguments and strained relationships between players. We apologize if this happens when the full game is released, but challenging gameplay can actually be a sign of a truly engaging experience.
Game Rant: Any last thoughts you’d like to share?
I’m excited for the game to come out on October 10, 2025, and I can’t wait to see players experience the story. More than anything, I’m eager to see what they think of it.
I really enjoyed watching you play the Carnival level – it’s one I hadn’t seen many people attempt before, so it was great to see you having fun with it.
[END]
Read More
- Violence District Killer and Survivor Tier List
- All Data Pad Locations (Week 1) Destiny 2
- Cogheart & Cogwork Heart Guide (How To Get & Use) In Silksong
- Great Taste of Pharloom Quest In Silksong (Rasher, Crustnut, Muckmaggot, Nectar, Mossberry)
- Pale Oil Location (Pinmaster’s Oil Quest) In Silksong
- Trail’s End Quest (Shakra’s Location) In Silksong
- Top 8 UFC 5 Perks Every Fighter Should Use
- How to Cheese Moorwing in Silksong – Easy Boss Fight Skip
- Prestige Perks in Space Marine 2: A Grind That Could Backfire
- Abyss Map Location (& How To Reach It) In Silksong
2025-09-14 04:41