This year’s Gamescom didn’t have much in terms of big news (aside from pissing in Death Stranding) – but one announcement that did sneak up on everyone was Little Nightmares 2: the sequel to Tarsier Studios’ spooky platformer from 2017. Coming out next year, the game looks like it’s bringing plenty of additions to the original formula, including a new character, different locations, two-character gameplay, and some form of “combat”… if that’s what you can call the ladle fight going on in the announcement video.
Naturally, the trailer left fans asking plenty of questions, with many assuming the two-character gameplay meant co-op, and others wondering whether the ladle-slamming combat would form a core component of the game. I pitched these questions to lead producer Lucas Roussel and senior narrative designer Dave Mervik at Gamescom, who were able to answer some (but not all) fan queries, and also give some insight into the game design decisions behind Little Nightmares 2 and its new theme of “escapism”.
Is this a direct sequel to the first game, and when does it take place?
Mervik: It is a sequel to the first game, it’s in the Little Nightmares timeline… is all I can say about that!
Does Six have her powers from the end of the first one?
Roussel: It’s really something we don’t want to disclose, because it would spoil the game if we answered that question.
Mervik: There’s been a lot of people wondering about that, for sure. It’s early days.
Roussel: Obviously having Six in this game means you’ll definitely discover more about her personality, but the timeline also affects how Six will be in this game, so answering the question here could also answer the timeline question…
What can you tell us about the new locations – including the Signal Tower – and how that fits into the world outside The Maw?
Mervik: [The Signal Tower] is core to everything we’re writing – but yeah, it’s all outside compared to the first game. It was something we were really itching to do: we gave you glimpses in the first game of the guests heading to the banquet in The Maw, and things like that. We want to explore what this world outside looks like, that’s been really nice for us. I think what you can know now is there’s a forest area – a Little Nightmares forest though, so it’s not got any Disney animals. And of course the Hunter is one of the unpleasant people you encounter. And the school as well is not like any school I was at.