Little Nightmares: VR Altered Echoes: PSVR2 Review

Developed by Iconik
Published by Bandai Namco
Platform: PSVR2

The Little Nightmares series has always been about claustrophobia.

So a VR version would always notch that up a level and add a level of creepiness that would be hard to beat. 

In this Altered Echoes, you take control of Dark Six, Six's doppelganger as they try to escape from various rooms and scrabble to complete puzzles. Across five areas and with different puzzles and boss face-offs, the game builds an atmosphere of unease that's hard to deal with on the VR headset as there's nowhere to escape.

Whereas the game series itself has given you distance from the unsettling goings-on, the virtual version's desire to creep you out close-up can prove to be a little too much. But what it manages to get right is the ideal of how small and insignificant you are as a creature in this world - it's almost overwhelming in some ways, as Dark Six deals with what's ahead and tries to cope with the challenges.

Graphically, the game draws from the same darkened palette that's become the norm for the franchise, but seeing it all in a first-person perspective makes it feel more oppressive and somehow upsetting than you'd expect.

In terms of gameplay, over just five areas, it's a little short - but for a tentative first step into expanding Six's world into a new way of looking at it all, Little Nightmares VR Altered Echoes offers up an intriguing approach - especially if you're a fan of the world already.