First Impressions: Little Nightmares: Complete Edition (NS)

Like a lot of games that I have on the Switch, Little Nightmares: Complete Edition by Tarsier Studio has been sitting in my To-Play queue for some time and the other night I decided to re-download it again and play it before going to sleep.  Before I started, all I knew about the game was from the Switch release trailer from two-ish years ago, which shows you that the game is reminiscent of LIMBO in that you play a character in a platformer in a dark setting (both in color and in tone) with semi-light puzzles and the occasional large monstrosity chasing you.

Upon starting the game and deciding that I would play as Six, the yellow rain slicker equipped character from the logo, I was taken aback a bit by the lack of story or narration as an introduction, I think because of how the trailer introduced the location and the environment, I now feel like I have inside information that you would only normally find out as you progress through the game.  I am either in Chapter 2 or Chapter 3 (I can say that because when I click on Chapters there are three options) but I feel like I have played at least three hours and I am only just discovering that there are things to do besides moving from one room to another and running away from whomever the touchy-feely guy is (that the trailer says is the janitor).  

Apparently, there are small-little bipedal creatures with white hats on that scamper about the place and look like they are always running away from you.  I did find one after rummaging around an office where I found some kind of security camera, and then after chasing it up a flight of stairs, I picked it up, the game made a "happy" noise, and then I was able to carry it with me.  So I carried this little creature until I had to climb through a window into a bedroom and left it outside.  Then there are lanterns that you can light with your lighter and every time I do the autosave icon pops up on the screen, so maybe those are like the save-lanterns in the Penumbra series?  Lastly, there are these statue-jar-vase things that seem to be purposefully placed in out-of-the-way locations like the top shelf in a bathroom, that emit a cloud of black smoke and an ethereal sound effect (along with the sound of shattering pottery).  What do all of these do?  I can not say for sure, but I do know that I have managed to unlock one piece of concept art, which might be my undoing because I love concept art, not to imagine what the came could have been because of cut content, but where the game started out, where it changed, where it stayed the same, and being able to say, "Oh hey, I remember that character/scene!"

That being said, I do not know if I am going to be adamant in replaying levels to try and find all of the statues, lanterns, or small-flitty-characters, especially if there are moments that I just do not want to have to replay over and over again, but thankfully there are chapters that I can go back to rather than playing the entire game all over again; but I am not ruling that out as I do enjoy a good replay provided it is the right game.

But so far, Little Nightmares is about what I was expecting, although  little better looking on the Switch than I had thought.  But I have noticed that the battery drain while playing is pretty high, with the battery % dropping about 1% every 2-3 minutes, or maybe more when the game is loading after you die?  Also, I die semi-frequently, so there is that.  I think my one (current) complaint is that the loading (specifically after you die) takes longer than I would normally like, although I have not timed it, but I probably will for the full Game EXP article now that I have brought it up.  But all of that aside, I am really enjoying Little Nightmares and will likely pick up Little Nightmares II, but maybe I will wait for the Little Nightmares II: Complete Edition in a year or two.

~JWfW/JDub/The Faceplantman/Jaconian
Fear is Selling

P.S.  Sleep well.