Little Nightmares: The Residence (PlayStation 4) Review

Last time the Kid was in action, he had landed on top of a lift and was slowly riding upwards, and a creepy Lady in the actual lift started to look up in a sinister manner, leaving The Hideaway ending on a tense cliff-hanger. As The Residence starts, nothing really comes of that, though, with the Kid merely napping atop the carriage, being stirred as players take control of the action. After being lulled into a false sense of security, though, it is not long before death befalls the Kid, as trying to get past the Lady who is stood in her room leads to her sucking out your life force. Thank goodness for regular checkpoints throughout…

How to get the key on her chest of drawers, though? Well, sneaking slowly past her, deeper into her residence, is the task to begin with, but never fear as slowly meandering about was the theme last time out, avoiding the blind guy with long hands and super sensitive hearing, so Tarsier does not to bore fans with the same old, same old. This time it is more about solving brainteasers and vanquishing dark spirit children with the power of light (the Kid's torch).

The core revolves around a large house, collecting books to open secret bookcase-doorways, find objects to replace statues sat on switches, gather the correct items to unlock new routes forward, rotate strange structures in various ways to shine light on ominous eyes watching the Kid to force them shut, and so on. The Residence is a very crafty experience indeed, and will certainly leave some scratching their heads for a while, only to be hit by that amazing sense of satisfaction that comes when cracking a good conundrum.

It is not quite as easy a ride as it first sounds, however, since shortly after overcoming some of the riddles faced, suddenly shadows start appearing all around, and brief glimpses of what look like children start to surface whilst wandering back from one location to the main part of the Lady's abode. This is where The Residence ramps up the chill factor, keeping players on edge, needing to use the Kid's faltering torch to stave off the threat of lots of shadow children wanting to take his life. The way the tension built up during the 1-to-2 hour escapade is highly impressive, and then it all ends with a brilliant conclusion to the story that is followed by a tease after the credits. Little Nightmares was been a breath of fresh air from start to finish, and its DLC has delivered the goods each time. Roll on the sequel…