So, you’ve ventured into the Maw and experienced the wonderfully horrific world of Little Nightmares and felt hungry for more? Me too! That’s why I decided to fall deep into the rabbit hole of games that fit the incredibly unique vibe that Tarsier Studios lovingly crafted into their series. After searching the darkness, these are a few that I’ve uncovered that capture that perfect balance of implied lore, environmental storytelling, horrific monstrosities and 2.5D explorative gameplay that we all know and love. So if you’ve found yourself finishing Little Nightmares 3 and wanting to scratch that itch again, either for Halloween or any time of year, there is Nowhere better than here for titles that sure will pique your curiosity.
In Nightmare
To step beyond the river Lethe, and through my own actions, relive the trauma of the past.
In Nightmare directly tackles the very heavy theme of mental health as you traverse a shattered dreamscape of personified childhood trauma. Trapped in a coma, you’ll help Bill find the memories of his broken childhood and notes left by a doctor as he tries to remember what caused him to end up in this horrific place. Centred around a small colourless hub, you’ll have to restore everything by exploring the chapters of his life, whilst joined by a little companion to give a little light in this nightmare.
It has a similar exploration style to Little Nightmares, in which you’ll sneak up and around the monsters that are lurking, duck under tables and cower in cupboards. You’ll need to collect keys and other hidden trinkets in order to progress through the chapters. The puzzles are more in-depth and leave obscure, sometimes room-spanning clues that you will have to find and interpret. The world design is a dark and distorted memory of the real world. With repeating rooms and twisted anomalies that are broken, and fragmented at the edges—leaving dangerous platforms to navigate.
Nightmarishly Good
This is accompanied by a soundtrack that has a subtle yet unnerving undertone. The monsters that inhabit this world are uncanny, and almost but not quite humanoid. With too many eyes and unnaturally long arms, their wild and erratic movements are enough to make even the bravest run and hide in the wardrobe.
Personally, I feel this game has the closest feel to Little Nightmares in regards to its distorted world design and gameplay elements. The oddly off-centre camera angle gives a sense of disjointedness. The dark themes and otherworldly nightmares are also very similar, and both games feature a world they struggle to escape from caused by the monsters they are tied to.
Among The Sleep
Seeing the world through the eyes of a child is never as innocent as it seems.
Among The Sleep begins on your second birthday. You are thrown out of bed, and watch while your teddy bear is dragged off into the night. Learning how stressed your mother is, you hide with your bear in the wardrobe, frozen in fear as your imagination runs wild. Unravel the twisted story of the past and present, and how a child suffering from neglect can cause Teraphobia and warp their view of the world.
Exploring in first person gives a very unnerving vibe as you play from a child’s perspective. This unique viewpoint makes the world seem that much bigger and even more frightening. There’s a lingering sense of dread and fear as you explore; you never know what’s lurking in the dark. The music intertwines with the environment to give a good depth of suspense, especially in tense situations. Personally, I feel this offers something closer to Little Nightmares’ signature ambience, rather than a reliance on jump scares.
Don’t Sleep on This
If you are a fan of jump scares, this game does have a few of them sprinkled later on, though. Among the Sleep has some interesting little puzzles to solve as you progress, but keep an eye open for some hidden drawings, as they are the game’s main collectable. I recommend playing the enhanced edition of the title as it introduces the museum level containing an art book, the soundtrack and the bad ending.
I included this game due to its premise: the world can feel abominable to a child. It capitalises on their unique and innocent perspective and how small they can perceive themselves to be. An unsafe and vulnerable situation can radically alter a child’s mind.
Lost in Random
Welcome to Random. A dark, yet whimsical land divided into six kingdoms, each more unlucky than the last. Where everyone’s life is determined by the roll of a cursed dice, owned by a wicked queen. Odd and Even are sisters separated by the cursed dice, and it’s up to Even to save her sister from a terrible fate with a dice of her own. The art direction of this game is one of the most unique on this list; it has a gothic fantasy stop-motion-esque feel. It’s visually similar to the Corpse Bride and Coraline films. This really ties the world and its inhabitants together, as the handcrafted world complements the puppet-like characters beautifully.
You’ll meet a collection of colourful characters as you progress down the gloomy path. In typical fashion, you’ll learn their stories and help them out. They are a quirky bunch with their dark wit and mischievous schemes, but don’t let their dishevelled appearance put you off—some may offer a helping hand.
You’re going to need all the luck of the dice to fight back, as combat is a core element of this game. Varying from basic enemies to whole board games with moving playing pieces around. Furthermore, by collecting cards, you’ll build up a deck of weapons, potions and other helpful gimmicks to aid you. Battles are left to chance; the number you roll will determine what cards you can play, so strategy and luck are key here.
Your fate is left to the roll of a dice.
The score is orchestrated, with operatic female vocals reflecting the world itself with whimsical melodies and traditional dark fantasy style. The town’s music encompasses stereotypical spooky themes, including a theremin to add to the atmosphere of the set design. The battle themes are dynamic and kick in seamlessly whenever you encounter the Queen’s guards. The character themes also utilise a dice-shaped chord progression system, which adds to the playful nature of the songs’ rhythms. This fits in beautifully with the game’s themes by incorporating a little randomness into the musical progression.
While this game doesn’t feature the disquieting feel of Little Nightmares, it makes up for it with twisted visuals and dark, shadowy lines. The eccentric world towering over you really adds to the strangeness of the environment. Live the tale of love lost, tragic lives and civil war tearing apart families as you desperately try to turn the tables in your favour.
A Tale of Paper
If you like all the core gameplay of Little Nightmares, but want to want to take a break from all the horror, this game is for you. Meet Line, a magical little origami figure, who is on a journey to complete its maker’s wish. Explore the house, its sewers, and the observatory, looking for clues whilst avoiding your biggest threat, an evil Roomba?! You’ll gain transformations to leap like a frog, soar like a bird and even more in the bonus level.
Levels have a 2.5D layout like Little Nightmares, where you have to use your small stature to figure out how to scale obstacles to reach keys and other collectables to continue onwards. Each core area has numerous puzzles and platforms to navigate. By observing your surroundings for hints, you can utilise your newfound abilities to reach greater heights. While not being scary, the music has an atmospheric feel with a sense of whimsy, whilst projecting a feeling of longing and determination to complete your journey.
A little paper can go a long way
There’s a bonus level known as the ‘Unfolded Melody’ where you’ll meet a new origami figure called Ada. You’ll learn new folding abilities and battle foes you’ve met before, in her unique take on the established formula. A Tale of Papers‘ sorrow-filled story is told beautifully through environmental design and the almost floaty way the character moves, leaving the player to feel the story as they progress.
Stray
With humanity gone, can the legacy of the people be left in the paws of a cat?
Set in the distant future, a family of cats dwells in the ruins of a derelict city when disaster strikes and they are suddenly torn apart. One wrong step spells the doom of an individual who plunged into the depths of a chasm. Waking up in a facility, you’ll meet a little robot calling themselves B-12. You’ll have to team up if you want to make it back to the surface to find your feline friends. Making your way through a city devoid of any human life, you make peace with the local robots for help.
Jump, clamber and meow your way over obstacles and across platforms with assistance from B-12 to help store items for later on. Puzzles lean more on clue finding and causing enough chaos to distract the sentinels trying to hunt you down. There’s a wonderful contrast between the lively cat shenanigans and the rotting industrial world around you. In addition, there’s a growing darkness lurking that the locals have called the ‘Zurks’ that will relentlessly hunt you down, adding a level of anxiety throughout the game.
There’s no kitten around
The spreading bacteria that spew out from the Zurks are filled with peering eyes, which can be very unnerving. It’s as if the world is staring back at you. And it’s filled with the hate manifesting from the over-polluted landscape, which threatens to consume any living being. Admittedly, this is an odd choice for this list, but its exploration focus and unnatural creatures do pose a similar vibe. Playing as a cat and meeting the quirky robots does give a unique twist on the formula, though.
It’s a perfect game for cat lovers and cats who like a little weird adventure.
DARQ
A world between life and death—where souls fight to be born again. Lloyd is the soul of a child in a coma who’s haunted by a witch trying to regain her youth.
Darq is the only 2D game on this list, but I believe it deserves to be here. The story and atmosphere alone capture that uneasy feel the rest of this list embodies. This is the most puzzle-centric game on the list, with very in-depth and cryptic challenges that require you to bend the laws of physics. No exaggeration, you will quite literally flip the world to get a new perspective on the puzzles and creep past some uncanny, nightmare-inducing creatures.
The game has a soft monochrome palette that utilises shadows and low lighting to create a world of lost souls. The score is beautiful yet subtle with eerie tunes that convey the darker mood lurking beneath. If you’re going to try this one out, make sure to pick up the ultimate edition, as it comes with 2 extra levels—providing even more of a challenge. Included too is a beautiful graphic novel by the very talented Wlad Marhulets, providing a new perspective on the story events and an ambiguous ending.
Honourable Mention: Reanimal
After Tarsier Studios, the creators of the Little Nightmares series, passed the torch to Supermassive Games to bring Little Nightmares 3 to life, they started work on something much more horrifying: Reanimal. Said to be the spiritual successor to Little Nightmares, as a cinematic survival horror game. You’ll follow two siblings trapped in a twisted hellish version of their own world, with horrifically mutated animals hunting them down. From what we know, it seems to have a darker tone than the Little Nightmares series. As evident from the trailer, with its dim lighting and an almost monochrome palette.
Its monstrous chase scenes and claustrophobic crawl spaces really impress the sense that the world is coming down around you. I have been highly anticipating this game since its first announcement, and we are expecting it to release in the first quarter of 2026. I, for one, cannot wait to be horrified by what Tarsier have in store for us.
These are a handful of games that I feel fit the vibe and gameplay sensibilities of the Little Nightmares series. I wrote this list as I found that most other lists didn’t quite hit the mark of what I was looking for. I hope that I have helped someone else out there who was wanting something like this list to aid in their gaming adventures in the future.
If you think I’ve missed a must-play game, please comment and let me know! I’d love to experience more games like this, and it will help other readers out, too! If you’re looking for less intense games with a touch of the macabre, check out this list. Happy nightmarish adventures to you!
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