Little Nightmares III is the latest installment in the beloved series, following the adventures of Alone and Low as they try to make their way out of The Spiral. In this case, two is better than one, and both our protagonists will have to rely on each other to make it out alive.

During a recent hands-on preview, we got a chance to speak to Little Nightmares III Producer Coralie Fenniello as she talked to us about the game, how the addition of co-op makes an impact, and how Supermassive Games honors the initial work of Tarsier Studios.

*This interview has been edited for clarity

Related – Read our Little Nightmares III Preview

Media: Little Nightmares III is Supermassive Games’ first time at the helm. How did they add their signature flavor to the game, considering they have done games like Until Dawn and The Quarry, and how did they maintain the same atmosphere for fans of the original series?

Coralie: One very important point for us was to bring Little Nightmares to multiplayer. Little Nightmares III has online co-op and Supermassive Games was really a great fit for that because they have worked on previous titles that were both horror and multiplayer.

They have worked very hard to keep the DNA of Little Nightmares while still bringing their own elements to the game.

Media: The two characters in Little Nightmares III are called Low and Alone. How did you decide on their names and character designs?

Coralie: For the character design, that’s something really interesting because when we create a new character, we really think about the shape. For example, for Alone, we were thinking about the pigtails and follow it to the peak of the mask, which was very important. Giving them their own flavor and personality are important as well.

As for the name, I cannot tell you too much because that will spoil the game, so I will let you play Little Nightmares III once it is released.

Media: Little Nightmares has always been a single-player game. Do you think that adding a companion in Little Nightmares III will remove a portion of the “fear factor” of the game? If yes, do you think it is a good thing for the series?

Coralie: When you play multiplayer, the atmosphere will be different with another person. Still, we can see from the different playtests we had that even with multiplayer, that fear is still present, and that’s very important for us.

Like any player who would want to keep the same type of experience as Little Nightmares I and II, the feeling and atmosphere, they can still play in single-player. It was important that we keep that option and offer both experiences to the players.

Little Nightmares II already had a companion, and I think that it gives you a bit more of a safe feeling, but at the same time, both characters are so fragile and we are making sure that we create them to be so small in the world that’s really not made for them, and that’s a key element of Little Nightmares. You are a small character, you are children in this world that is created for adults, for monster adults, even. We are trying to keep that feeling.

Media: Art direction and sound design have always been key in creating the immersive atmosphere of Little Nightmares. Can you share how the team approached these aspects in Little Nightmares III, whether they introduced new references to heighten the eerie experience or just reused or revisited from the previous games?

Coralie: The team has been studying a lot on how this has been done in Little Nightmares I and II. We made sure that everything that is new and created for the game is fitting the atmosphere and what we’ve done in previous titles.

Something that is important, weirdly, is the lack of sound at times, and that’s how we create the tension in a lot of moments. For example, in Necropolis, when you don’t hear Monster Baby she is even scarier than when you hear her because when the sound stops, you don’t know where she is coming from. We make sure to create and keep that tension.

On the visual part, we have been reviewing the previous games, and Supermassive are all big fans of Little Nightmares I and II. We start with concepts and try to make them fit the world. For example, for the supervisor, we think about that factory and who could lead that factory, and then we think about our own childhood phase and what could bring that to the world of Little Nightmares. It starts with everyone’s personal experience.

Media: Little Nightmares has been popular, especially as a game that people watch on streams, like other horror games. Would you say that this streaming-friendly aspect of the game is something you think about actively during development or does it just come naturally?

Coralie: Having games being streamed is something that’s getting more and more present in the gaming industry. Little Nightmares III being an online co-op game will make the streamer be able to play together and enjoy the experience together compared to previous games and bring that to the viewers. I think that’s a great new way to experience the world of Little Nightmares.

Media: About the addition of a companion during the adventure, was it challenging for you to still keep the scare levels up, considering how scary the first two games were, but at the same time adding new team mechanics to Little Nightmares III?

Coralie: It’s very important to keep the tension and scariness very high, and that’s why even if we’ve incorporated new elements, which are items for Low (bow and arrow) and Alone (wrench), they do help them to defend in terms of small enemies but you will not be able to do anything against the big monsters. That’s why we call them items and not weapons because it’s important to keep the feeling that they are useful but not in a way for you to defend yourself that much. You still need to feel like you are very small in that environment.

Media: Why does Little Nightmares III appear to be more colorful and vibrant than the previous two games? Does it have any correlation with the game?

Coralie: On the different chapters and locations, we worked to make sure to have a different atmosphere for each chapter. The Spiral, which is the place where we have all these locations, is a cluster of disturbing places, and that’s how it links between the different elements and the different places. Thanks to that, we are able to offer a different atmosphere for each chapter with different characters and enemies, so each chapter has its own story to tell that integrates into the big story.

Media: What are the unique features that set Little Nightmares III apart from its predecessors?

Coralie: The biggest one is the online co-op and that was the most important aspect for us to bring to the game because it was the feature that was asked the most by our community when we made surveys after Little Nightmares I and II.

We have ensured that we also renewed the story, which is completely new with all-new characters, all-new environments, and different atmospheres in each of them. We have Low and Alone with their iconic items and their own dynamic and relationship together, and that’s very different from what we’ve explored in previous games.

Media: There were portions of Little Nightmares III where the AI-controlled character would actually progress on their own to solve puzzles. How did the team balance having the AI companion assist the player while making sure the player still gets the full experience without having anything spoiled?

Coralie: Having both online co-op and single player brings a lot of challenges on that part, and we are really working hard to make sure that the AI is balanced and you don’t have too many cases where the AI is solving the puzzle. We make sure that when that happens, it doesn’t feel unfair to the player.

There will be cases where it will happen, like sometimes you will have to call the AI to come and help you, but we also make sure that the player understands the puzzle before the AI does it.

We are also working with key points, similar to Little Nightmares II when you are going close to a point where Six will interact with the puzzle. She will do it but not if you are on the opposite side of the room, and that’s kind of the same system we are using here. If you are in the same area, the AI will do the action.

Media: Little Nightmares III has co-op for the first time. When people think of co-op, It Takes Two comes to mind. Is this the kind of audience you want to attract and what do you think newcomers can expect playing Little Nightmares III for the first time?

Coralie: It was important to have both online co-op and single player because we want players who love Little Nightmares I and II to still be able to experience the game in the same way. At the same time, it is very important for us to broaden our audience and make sure that multiplayer can also attract new players who are able to share their games with another person.

That’s also why we have a friend pass system that would be available at release, meaning if only one player has the game, they can still play with a friend. I think that would be very important so that players can play and enjoy the game together.

Media: Can we have local co-op in the future for Little Nightmares III?

Coralie: The fact that we are only supporting online co-op is really a design and brand decision. It’s a brand decision because we didn’t want the players to feel too safe. The fact that you are not with someone in the same room, I think you feel a little bit less safe in that environment.

At the same time. It’s also because Little Nightmares puts a lot of importance on the puzzles. If we had split screen, for example, we would have to rethink the puzzle for both split screen and full screen, which is almost impossible to do.

Media: Little Nightmares is known for rich environmental storytelling, where most of the time, players will uncover a narrative through visual cues and subtle details. How does the inclusion of two characters influence or impact this approach?

Coralie: We are working a lot on cinematics and cutscenes to make sure that we still have moments where we can show some animations about the relationship between the two players. Playing in single player, you will also notice that each character has their own set of animations and little cute moments that you can see in the Necropolis. It’s also very important to show that in their own personality as well. It’s really in pushing cutscenes at the right moment to make sure that we tell the right story.

Media: Did you have any horror movies that serve as inspiration for Little Nightmares III or are you strictly getting it from the perspective of the first two games?

Coralie: Little Nightmares, as a brand, is always taking inspiration from many elements. I cannot name specific titles, but it’s really important for us that everyone on the team is bringing their own references, bringing their own past as well, because we are working a lot with how everyone is experiencing childhood fears to make sure that what we are creating is talking to everyone.

Media: Little Nightmares III is said to take a bit longer to beat than the first two games. Are there avenues for replayability, or maybe even some sort of post-game content to look forward to?

Coralie: Regarding overall playtime, it’s still something we are working on. I think the fact that having multiplayer will allow us to have a different experience than single player. In single player, we also have some animations for the other characters, so if you want to really dig into their personality, you can also replay the game with both characters, which was not possible in the first two games.

Media: How did the addition of the unique tools for the characters in Little Nightmares III bring new depth to the puzzle and dungeon design?

Coralie: The tools that they use bring certain new mechanics. For example, in a couple of areas, you can see that Alone can open some mechanism, and we try to renew that in each chapter so it will not necessarily use the same tool in the same way for each chapter. That was very fun for us to do, and we like making sure that we find new ways of using the same tools and that each new way is adapting to the environment that we are developing.

Media: Little Nightmares has been praised for its unique and unsettling horror atmosphere, creating tension and fear without relying too much on jump scares. How did you balance maintaining the scares while also offering moments of calm in Little Nightmares III?

Coralie: Something that is very important for us is to start with childhood fears, and I think that’s also different from a lot of horror games because that’s a very specific type of fear, and I think that makes the whole creation aspect different.

On tension, what’s important is to let the players breathe sometimes and you don’t have to put the tension at its maximum all the time. Sometimes everything gets calmer, but that doesn’t really mean that you are safer. That’s what brings a different kind of atmosphere and how it differentiates from just having jump scares.

Media: Did Supermassive Games consult with Tarsier Studios during the development of Little Nightmares III?

Coralie: Supermassive took inspiration from Little Nightmares I and II. They loved the two previous games, and they played the game a lot, but they didn’t work with Tarsier directly.

Media: If someone hasn’t played a Little Nightmares game, will they still be able to understand the lore and the world of Little Nightmares III? Are there any significant connections within the games?

Coralie: The story of Little Nightmares III is completely independent, but it’s part of the same universe as Little Nightmares I and II, so if you are a new player and you want to start with Little Nightmares III, you will understand everything. If you’ve played the previous game, you will understand a bit more about the whole universe.

Thank you to Bandai Namco Entertainment Asia and Coralie Fenniello for this special opportunity!

Little Nightmares III is scheduled to release in 2025 on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Switch, and PC.