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LITTLE NIGHTMARES: A Must-Play Haunting Gaming Experience
Trasier Studios and Bandai Namco have managed to do something strange and beautiful in the form of their latest, Little Nightmares.
The odd little title revolves around a young yellow raincoat clad girl named Six, who is trapped aboard The Maw, a submerged island that caters to gluttonous monsters who come aboard in droves to be catered to. The Maw, is a dark place with secrets and terrors waiting around every corner. As Six, you explore The Maw looking for a way to escape before you become part of the menu.
The platformer is something out of a Tim Burton nightmare. The environment and characters are richly developed and embody the world that is built around them. Little Nightmares is primarily a puzzle based game that has you figuring out simple brainteasers in order to get into the next area. Each level is centered and compartmentalized to a different part of The Maw and gives you a nice change of scenery and architecture as you make your way from the belly of the Maw to the upper decks.
Much like Limbo and Inside, this game takes place in a masterfully unique world that offers up very little in the form of what, where and why, instead posing new fragments of the unknown. Little Nightmares is aptly named and has a hypnotic effect that puts you in a state that is akin to that feeling you have between waking and sleeping, and firmly on the paradigm shift between dreams and nightmares.
The game is earmarked by a lot of homages to great genre cornerstones. Heavy influences from City of Lost Children imamate throughout, with character design that mirrors Freddy Krueger, Leatherface and characters from Spirited Away. Little Nightmares doesn’t rely on cheap jump scares either. The palpably addictive terror comes from the dark world that inhabits The Maw.
Little Nightmares doesn’t give you anything to fight back with; leaving you to encounter its dwellers with nothing to do but outsmart them, and play hide and seek in order to stay alive. Speaking of running, there are a few points when you will be chased that will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up and cause your stomach to roll over.
The character design is beautiful and while it does borrow from a range of art and pop culture it is also uniquely belongs to itself. Characters like The Janitor who blindly dwells the deepest floors of The Maw complete with arms three times as long has his torso is pure nightmare fuel. He uses those skinny, freakishly lengthy arms to reach you while hiding in small spaces. Trying to sneak around him is hard considering his hearing is so well evolved as a side effect of his blindness. This leaves you having to figure out ways to sneak past him as the blind creature pats the floor in search of you. The protagonist Six, is adorable too. She is a character that you want to hug but, also know full well that she would take an adorable little bite out of you as a return gesture.
“…hypnotic effect that puts you in a state that is akin
to that feeling you have between waking and sleeping,
and firmly on the paradigm shift between dreams and nightmares.”
The levels are brilliantly designed and have haunting levity that goes for the throat. In one section the entire floor is covered with mountains of dis-guarded leather shoes and bags. This area was eerily reminiscent of the rooms that Nazi’s would use to dispose of peoples clothing during the horror of the Holocaust. While making your way, waist deep in shoes and baggage, something begins to move underneath them going after you, as you try to make it to solid ground without being pulled under
Intentionally, somewhat complex controls make it an anxiety inducing event to try to get away from something or to hide. By making one of the shoulder buttons have the grab functionality Little Nightmares causes your hands to shake and fumble while trying to find your way to safety. For example, if you are being chased by something, you need to remember to sprint, jump and at the right moment, hold the grab button to pull yourself to safety. I know, I know. It sounds simple, but one play-through with the game and you realize the control layout is just as much a part of the story as The Maw itself.
Little Nightmares isn’t very long but its short narrative allows for a concise and effective story, that doesn’t allow time for boredom and cuts out all the fluff in order to make it a memorable experience. I really wanted to spend more time in this world, I wanted to know more about the breathing enviroment around you, but just as quickly and as satisfying as it begins it ends. With a game that looks this great and has this level of dynamic lighting and world building, it is hard to not want to revisit it for either a second playthrough or in hopes that the dev team decides to follow this up with another Little Nightmares title. Get ready for a singular experience that really does have the power to infiltrate your dreams and maybe even turn em into nightmares… in a good way, of course.
Little Nightmares is out now for PS4, Xbox One and Steam for the awesome price of $19.99.
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Movies
‘The Strangers’ Invaded Coachella in Instagramable PR Stunt
Renny Harlin’s reboot of The Strangers isn’t coming out until May 17, but those murderous home invaders are making a pit stop at Coachella first.
In the latest Instagramable PR stunt, the studio behind the film decided to have the trio of masked intruders crash Coachella, a music festival that takes place for two weekends in Southern California.
This type of publicity began when Paramount did the same thing with their horror movie Smile in 2022. Their version had seemingly ordinary people in populated places look directly into a camera with an evil grin.
Harlin’s reboot is actually a trilogy with a more expansive world than that of the original.
“When setting out to remake The Strangers, we felt there was a bigger story to be told, which could be as powerful, chilling, and terrifying as the original and could really expand that world,” said producer Courtney Solomon. “Shooting this story as a trilogy allows us to create a hyperreal and terrifying character study. We’re fortunate to be joining forces with Madelaine Petsch, an amazing talent whose character is the driving force of this story.”
The movie follows a young couple (Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez) who “after their car breaks down in an eerie small town, are forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. Panic ensues as they are terrorized by three masked strangers who strike with no mercy and seemingly no motive in The Strangers: Chapter 1 the chilling first entry of this upcoming horror feature film series.”
The Strangers: Chapter 1 opens in theaters on May 17.
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Movies
‘Alien’ Returning to Theaters For a Limited Time
It’s been 45 years since Ridley Scott’s Alien hit theaters and in celebration of that milestone, it is headed back to the big screen for a limited time. And what better day to do that than Alien Day on April 26?
It also works as a primer for the upcoming Fede Alvarez sequel Alien: Romulus opening on August 16. A special feature in which both Alvarez and Scott discuss the original sci-fi classic will be shown as a part of your theater admission. Take a look at the preview of that conversation below.
Back in 1979, the original trailer for Alien was kind of terrifying. Imagine sitting in front of a CRT TV (Cathode Ray Tube) at night and suddenly Jerry Goldsmith’s haunting score begins to play as a giant chicken egg starts to crack with beams of light bursting through the shell and the word “Alien” slowly forms in slanted all caps across the screen. To a twelve-year-old, it was a scary pre-bedtime experience, especially Goldsmith’s screaming electronic musical flourishes playing over scenes of the actual movie. Let the “Is it horror or sci-fi?” debate begin.
Alien became a pop culture phenomenon, complete with kid’s toys, a graphic novel, and an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. It also inspired dioramas in wax museums and even a frightening setpiece at Walt Disney World in the now-defunct Great Movie Ride attraction.
The film stars Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, and John Hurt. It tells the tale of a futuristic crew of blue-collar workers suddenly awakened out of stasis to investigate an undecipherable distress signal coming from a nearby moon. They investigate the source of the signal and discover it’s a warning and not a cry for help. Unbeknownst to the crew, they have brought a giant space creature back on board which they find out in one of the most iconic scenes in cinema history.
It is said that Alvarez’s sequel will pay homage to the original film’s storytelling and set design.
The Alien theatrical re-release will take place on April 26. Pre-order your tickets and find out where Alien will screen at a theater near you.
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Home Depot’s 12-Foot Skeleton Returns with a New Friend, Plus New Life-Size Prop from Spirit Halloween
Halloween is the greatest holiday of them all. However, every great holiday needs amazing props to go with it. Luckily for you, there are two new amazing props that have been released, which are sure to impress your neighbors and frighten any neighborhood children who are unfortunate enough to wander past your yard.
The first entry is the return of the Home Depot 12-foot skeleton prop. Home Depot has outdone themselves in the past. But this year the company is bringing bigger and better things to their Halloween prop lineup.
This year, the company unveiled its new and improved Skelly. But what is a giant skeleton without a loyal friend? Home Depot has also announced that they will release a five-foot tall skeleton dog prop to eternally keep Skelly company as he haunts your yard this spooky season.
This bony pooch will be five feet tall and seven feet long. The prop will also feature a posable mouth and LCD eyes with eight variable settings. Lance Allen, Home Depot’s merchant of decorative Holliday gear, had the following to say about this year’s lineup.
“This year we increased our realism within the animatronics category, created some impressive, licensed characters and even brought back some fan favorites. Overall, we are most proud of the quality and value we are able to bring to our customers with these pieces so they can continue to grow their collections.”
But what if giant skeletons just aren’t your thing? Well, Spirit Halloween has you covered with their giant life size Terror Dog replica. This massive prop has been ripped out of your nightmares to appear frighteningly on your lawn.
This prop weighs in at almost fifty pounds and features glowing red eyes that are sure to keep your yard safe from any toilet paper throwing hooligans. This iconic Ghostbusters nightmare is a must have for any fan of 80s horror. Or, anyone who loves all things spooky.
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