
After eating some meat that was left over in a cage, Six is captured by the blind, long-armed Janitor who supervises the captured children. Six also regularly experiences debilitating bouts of hunger whenever she eats, a shadowy, flickering version of herself appears. In the Prison, where captured children are held, Six evades the carnivorous Leeches that infest its depths and artificial eyes that will turn her to stone if she is caught in their lights. She has the option to hug the Nomes, should she get close to one. Throughout the Maw, she encounters Nomes: small, skittish creatures that either flee from her or passively observe her efforts. Armed with only a lighter, she sneaks through the bowels of the Maw, a massive, underwater iron vessel.

Six, a nine-year-old girl in a yellow raincoat, awakens from a dream of a woman wearing a kimono and a Noh mask. On a few occasions, the player is given tools that even the odds slightly and allow them to fight back. The player is generally rendered helpless in their environment due to the lack of any combat abilities and must rely on stealth and the environment to hide from the various enemies. The player traverses the world through various platformer elements, occasionally being blocked by puzzles that must be solved to proceed. Little Nightmares takes place in a 2.5D world. A prequel, Little Nightmares II, was released in February 2021.

The game received positive reviews upon release with critics praising its atmosphere, graphics, and sound while criticizing its checkpoint system and a short length.

Set in a mysterious world, Little Nightmares follows the journey of Six, a hungry little girl who must escape the Maw, an iron vessel inhabited by monstrous, twisted beings. A Nintendo Switch version was released in May 2018, followed by a Google Stadia version in June 2020 and then a mobile version will be released in winter 2023 and published by Playdigious. Little Nightmares is a puzzle-platform horror adventure game developed by Tarsier Studios and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for PlayStation 4, Windows and Xbox One.
