Little Nightmares

Little Nightmares began in 2017 as a project from the Swedish studio Tarsier Studios, previously known for LittleBigPlanet spin-offs, with Bandai Namco stepping in as publisher. The series is defined by its view of the world through the eyes of tiny, defenceless characters trapped in a grotesquely oversized environment full of warped adult caricatures, from the gluttonous Twin Chefs to the hulking Janitor and the gorging Guests. Gameplay leans on platforming puzzles and stealthy escape from pursuers rather than combat, and the tension comes from the helplessness of Six, the first game's heroine, as she tries to flee the ship known as The Maw. The game was rounded out by the three-episode DLC Secrets of the Maw, which tells a parallel story starring a side character known as the Runaway Kid and opens up the ship's engine room and lower decks.

Little Nightmares II (2021) expanded the story with a new protagonist, Mono, and took players through further unsettling locations such as the School, the Pale City and a television transmitter controlled by the Thin Man, who watches players through screens scattered across the world. The sequel kept the cooperative bond between two child characters, with Mono and Six holding hands during calmer stretches, and leaned even harder into stealth and environmental detail. Alongside the main entries came the mobile spin-off Very Little Nightmares, a prequel following a girl in a yellow raincoat as she creeps through a mysterious apartment. The series has built a reputation as one of the generation's most striking horror experiences, relying on art direction, light-and-shadow work and atmosphere rather than jump scares.