After a four-year wait, Little Nightmares III is finally creeping back into the spotlight. Launching on October 10, this highly anticipated sequel invites players to explore a new chapter in the beloved franchise, and it’s bringing a friend along for the ride.

Ahead of its release, Bandai Namco Entertainment Asia invited us to play nearly two hours of Little Nightmares III, focusing primarily on co-op gameplay. While our preview from last year touched on a brief snippet of co-op, this latest playthrough featured a full level played with a partner through online matchmaking, showcasing what players can expect when teaming up with a friend.

Little Nightmares III Co-op Preview

Unlike previous entries, Little Nightmares III introduces full-fledged online co-op, allowing players to experience the terror together with a friend. Our playthrough covered the Carnevale level, which, ironically, lacked a particularly carnival-like feel, apart from the occasional themed mini-game, some tents, and a few rides and references scattered throughout. This is because about half of the level still takes place indoors, featuring puzzles and chases galore.

Little Nightmares III continues its tradition of sublime visuals, looking fantastic with its ambient lighting and creepy imagery. It does get a bit graphic at times, showing off dismembered limbs and innards that add to the scare factor, which is something the series is quite known for.

Gameplay retains familiar elements that fans of the series will recognize, while also being welcoming to newcomers due to its simple controls and straightforward nature. The platforming is easy to grasp, emphasizing puzzle-solving rather than requiring precise jumps and acrobatic moments. However, there are a few instances where timing and last-minute jumps will be asked of the player.

The puzzles are generally straightforward but tend to involve multi-step solutions. From lifting panels to boosting each other toward unreachable levers, the environment demands coordination, more so this time around, due to the addition of a second character always by your side throughout the experience. It’s classic Little Nightmares puzzle design, now with a cooperative twist.

As mentioned before, scare factor might be a controversial issue in this latest installment, considering that players will face the adventure with a buddy in tow, possibly dampening the feeling of helplessness that the previous entries did very well. Whether playing solo or through online co-op, Little Nightmares III incorporates a companion into how the game and the levels play out, which directly influences how puzzles are designed.

And we can certainly see that in Little Nightmares III‘s Carnevale level, where I would often need the help of a companion to push open a door or lift a panel that would allow us to continue to the next area. While there are obstacles that can be conquered with just one character, these are few and far between, and you can see how the entire level is structured with two players in mind.

One particular example is where a lever needs to be pulled by either Low or Alone, which moves a platform along a rail that passes by an exhaust pipe. Players operating the platform must time it perfectly to move it along while the steam from the pipe is gone, before it blows hot air again. Once one player has crossed, it’s time for them to control the lever on their side so the other can cross.

The timings of some puzzles in Little Nightmares 3 are surprisingly tight, and we died several times by fumbling a jump once or not being able to shoot a button with a bow immediately after a jump. I thought it would have been more forgiving, given that it is co-op-centric, but it’s quite the opposite, at least based on this level that we played.

What’s unique in Little Nightmares III is that Low and Alone will have special tools: Low will have a bow and arrow that can shoot faraway buttons and switches, and Alone will have a wrench that can bash in some enemies or flimsy wooden barriers. Since there are things one can do that the other cannot, this feature encourages players to work together to reach the end.

In fact, there is a sequence where Low shoots mannequin-like enemies to knock off their heads, “call” them to lead them away so that Alone can destroy the head with her wrench. Without the heads, they will still chase you, so you must dispose of them properly. That said, these tools aren’t a means for them to engage in combat, but rather a way to solve specific puzzles. It’s a pretty intense and exciting sequence, and something that requires coordination between both players.

Coordination is crucial, but it might also be the trickiest thing to pull off since online co-op will not have a built-in chat function. Playing the game with the convenience of getting to talk to a second player that was right beside me made finding a solution painless, and even if we had to repeat a puzzle a few times to understand what we needed to do, the process was easy. That said, it would be interesting to see how challenging it will be without getting to talk to the person you are playing with.

Then again, you can always go solo, but where’s the fun in that?

Overall, Little Nightmares III is shaping up to be more Little Nightmares, which is great for fans of the series. The trademark scary vibes are still present, and this time with a companion tagging along, it could very well be that two (or III) is better than one.

Little Nightmares III is launching on October 10, 2025, for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam and Microsoft Store.