"Fans are making theories about what is going on" in Little Nightmares 3

Little Nightmares 3 was unveiled on the eve of Gamescom and it ended up being one of the biggest surprises of the show. Other than delivering our first hands-off impressions, in Germany we also got the chance to talk with Supermassive's Wayne Garland and Bandai Namco's Coralle Fernello to ask them about their new partnership and what fans can expect from the game when it releases in 2024.

"I think it's great to see the player reactions to the reveal on the trailer and everything", says the publisher's producer. "Everyone is very hyped, I think, and already making theories about the trailer and what is going on here, so [we] love it".

And what is the mystery with the trailer and with the extended demo we witnessed? As explained in the video, we've got The Spiral, we've got some Catacombs, we've got the overarching Nowhere world, and at the end of the demo protagonists Low and Alone wake up in a horrible, asylum-like place, surrounded by an ominous black smoke, so they are not safely at home. Perhaps the nightmare continues in their real life...

"Not much, unfortunately", the director bites his tongue when asked for further explanation. "Yeah, we don't want to spoil the players right now, so you will have to discover it later", adds the producer.

Yes, there will be "links and secrets" connecting Little Nightmares 3 with LN 1&2

However, both did give a bit of a hint into how LN3 will in a way connect and reference to Little Nightmares 1&2:

"This is a brand new story and you will be, like, if you have played Little Nightmares 1 or 2, you will be able to see some links and some secrets, but if you didn't, it's okay as well. You can experience each game separately. I think engaged fans of the franchise will probably be able to pick up some elements of the previous games, for example, some hints at some sort of storytelling, all that sort of stuff that will kind of connect. But, yeah, that's probably as far as we'll say right now."

"Co-op was the main, like, the most requested feature from the fans", Fernello explains regarding the main new gameplay feature. "So it was really important for us to, like, incorporate that and we always came a bit in that direction with LN2, where you were able to play with the AI. So now you can experience the game both in single player with an AI or in online co-op with a friend".

"The foundations of Little Nightmares is obviously single player", underlines Garland however when asked if they considered co-op only ala It Takes Two. "And I think it's really important that we don't lose sight of that. So I think while co-op was a kind of a next evolutionary step for the franchise, we do want to make sure that we are not kind of saying that it's co-op only. So it's very important for us to say, yes, it's online co-op but it's also single player as well and I think that is for a lot of different fans who prefer that sort of experience".

That being said, and with Hazelight's praised co-op adventure in mind, "we do have a friend pass", points out the producer, "so if you want to play with a friend and you only have one copy of the game, you can still play with them".

Watch the full video for more on how co-op puzzles will evolve during the game, or on Supermassive's own twist to the franchise's implicit horror coming from the more explicit The Dark Pictures.