Limbo vs. Inside vs. Little Nightmares - An Analysis
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- Опубликовано: 10 сен 2024
- This is a full spoilers analysis and critique of three 2d atmospheric platformers Limbo, Inside, and Little Nightmares. It examines their mechanics, their art direction, their stories and their atmosphere.
A small correction on your part about little nightmares: The candles and lanterns are not checkpoints. They do not effect your spawn point and only serve the purpose of collectibles.
Thanks for the correction. Like I said I tried to look up as little info as possible about the game so there was a couple things I got wrong. Sorry about that, but I appreciate the info.
All 3 are precious to me
What a shame that you didn't cover the DLC for Little Nightmares. It has such a fantastic gut-punch ending.
I've heard that it's very good. I'm sure I'll get around to it at some point.
@@EldritchAugur Yes, defininitely do so! It almost doubles the games length and as I said the ending ties in so wonderfully to the first title that it elevates the entire experience.
Out of these three, Inside is my favorite by far. I think it improved dramatically on the mechanics from Limbo, and, while I really liked Little Nightmares, and plan on getting the sequel, it had enough problems that it couldn't jump the bar that Inside had set for me. That, and as far as atmosphere, art direction, and music goes, I still think Inside takes the cake between the three
I feel like INSIDE was the best of the three. It did what Limbo was succesful at, but *better.* Compared to Little Nightmares, both their themes (power and pawns vs desperation of hunger) are told through the environment and the way the playable characters (boy and Six) react to said environments and vice versa. However, as mentioned both in this video and in MANY Let's Plays, INSIDE's controls are far less clunky and it's almost impossible to make a move that the player didn't intend, whereas Little Nightmares has become almost infamous for how ridiculously easy it is to simply walk off a fatal height or push/pull something when the player's trying to jump up onto it (just like here ruclips.net/video/G92UYSEOzAM/видео.html and here ruclips.net/video/Z1imASKi8nQ/видео.html ).
To be clear, this has *nothing* to do with the game's actual difficulty level (at least, not the intended one), but the controls and mechanics themselves. Yes, the freedom to explore the 3D environment in Little Nightmares can be seen as an upgrade to the strictly left-and-right movement of Limbo and INSIDE (I'm almost tempted to call the two games "brothers"), but being unable to properly interact with it all the time as the controls can sometimes do takes a bit away from it. Not to mention that in Little Nightmares, some story elements and bits of lore can be more easily overlooked by players, or the devs straight up didn't put in enough details regarding those elements to keep players engaged (the DLC for Little Nightmares, particularly The Residence, has been criticized for giving more unanswered questions than actual answers, and the few answers it does give are vague and/or only lead to even more questions with very little to go on).
This obviously doesn't make Little Nightmares "bad", since it's compared to the legendary Playdead duo for good reason, but if I were to put them in order from "least" (which is strictly relative) to "best", it would be: Limbo, Little Nightmares, INSIDE. Of course, I wouldn't be surprised if other people have it in a different order, and they're all clearly great games that deserve every bit of their fame.
Would love to hear your perspective on Little Nightmares 2, I personally think the devs learned from their mistake
@@theresamaninthewoods9639 For one, when you’re walking on a bridge like platform, you’re only able to walk straight back and forth so you don’t accidentally fall down.
Little Nightmares 2 has even more similaritys with Inside.
No shit sherlock they are pretty similar with the forest levels
Little Nightmares 2 is RIDDLED with references to both Limbo and INSIDE, to the point where it feels like it has literally just copied key aspects from the two.
Someone watching on 2019?
by the way my favorite is INSIDE, for me the truth is that this game beats the others by far
Too bad you didn't discuss the DLC for Little Nightmares, it really isn't a full game without it. I would argue there is a lot more depth to the game than you give it credit here though it is a very different sort of depth than is found in the other two so it's contextually understandable. Little Nightmares lays a lot of clues all over the place and encourages a meta-textual level of investigation for those interested. There's a comic and info on their website as well as a lot of references to films within the game which if you catch and understand all start to paint a very interesting picture of what the world is like and what is going on. It isn't as tight as the other two for sure but it has loose ends and murkiness that have caused it to stick in my brain far longer after my playthrough than either Limbo or Inside. Though I dearly love both of those as well.
So a quick update on content moving forward. I'll be going on vacation for a week in early May so the next video is going to be delayed for a bit. Currently working on a Dishonored 1 and 2 critique to bridge the gap between now and the Dark Souls remaster release. I'm expecting to have that done around the end of May and then a big Dark Souls video after that.
I'm expecting both of those to take significantly more time than any of my videos so far so the schedule is going to be a bit more spread out for the near future.
After that I have some other ideas for much larger projects so know that content is going to increase in length but also time to produce them.
Great video!
In regards to the 'several layers of mind control' point you make about INSIDE: There is a puzzle later in the game, a 'secret' if you will (one of the orbs), where you once again utilize this game mechanic to mind control beyond the first layer. So in a way they did re-use that concept but i agree it could have been more fleshed out or prevalent throughout the game. A lot of people theorize that the boy we play as is being mind controlled by the blob the entire time, so maybe they just use this game mechanic to establish the fact that even though you are mind controlling drones, it is still very possible that you yourself is being mind controlled (layers).
A very masterful review, Mr. Augur. Your writing is consise, detailed and fluid. In regards to "Little Nightmares" , I felt somewhat unclear on the plot, and the roles of the characters. The three DLC's -"The Runaway", The Depths", and "The Residence" allow the player to further discover the hierarchy of the Maw, and reveals the true theme of the game which is primal hunger.
this vid deserves more attention
Thanks dude. I'm gonna do that "RUclipsr thing" and say that If you enjoyed it, feel free to share it.
@@EldritchAugur thank you for replying
2k followers, what a shame. You deserve more. The video began slowly but this is so good and I'm 100% agree with you on theses 3 games. I want to create this type of game and your video is a great analysis of the genre. Thanks a lot Eldritch o/
honestly that one mosquito puzzle in limbo took me 20 minutes of trying to eventually look up a walktrhorugh and attempting it for the next 10 minutes
STUPIDLY hard timing for no reason
On the contrary, when i got to that secret puzzle where you cant see and have to go by sound, is SO much fun, the timings felt forgiving enough that i made in just a few tries, but it was so short! that was the best part in the game :(
i’ve played all the them and i loved little nightmares the best. in my opinion they have the best story and atmosphere
I didn't like it. I couldn't make sense of what was going on and lost interest. With the other two, there at least some consistency with the story
Limbo: best puzzle design
Inside: best atmosphere
Little nightmares: best story and art
Do you own all three?
Yes
I own all of them besides limbo
I don't see how limbo has the best story if most of the story is based on your own interpretation
I think little Nightmares has the best story and world but it’s difficult to decide
That guy that said that inside is boring just simply doesn't understand the art of the game, go play fortnite little fella
haha agreed
Great review(s)!! 🤘🏻👍🏻 and yes, I usually find Joseph Anderson a fair and reasonable reviewer, but with Inside, I just couldn't get on the same page as him.
I felt the same way as you about Little Nightmares in terms of story the first time I played it until I watched a bunch of theory videos and realized that there is actually so much to take away. It makes more sense than you think. You just didn't look into it deeply enough. Personally I don't think that it's any worse in providing context for sensible theory-crafting as Inside is. Both games are on the same level in that aspect in my opinion. It's just that the context clues for storytelling in Little Nightmares are much easier to miss but oh they are there for sure. Once I had started unraveling things for myself I had found myself saying "oh wow, I can't believe I missed that detail the first time." in my head over and over again and grew to appreciate the game more because of it.
A lot of it comes down to personal experience. Inside clicked with me instantly without looking up any theories or explanations. It raised a lot of interesting questions with visuals which is extremely difficult to do. On the other hand, others didn't see the same things I did and had a similar experience that I had with little Nightmares. With games as vague as these it's never going to be a perfect uniform experience that will click with every single player.
That being said I've only played Little Nightmares twice while I've played Inside 3 times and Limbo maybe 5 or 6 so I haven't given it as much time as the others. But as it stands my opinion, without any exposure to online theories is still confused and nebulous when it comes to it's story and world. Doesn't mean I don't like the game, I VERY much enjoyed it and pointed out I think it does monster encounters better than the other two. It's just that the world didn't click with me as much as Inside.
@@EldritchAugur Yeah man. That's understandable and I feel you 100% on your points. Like I said, I felt the same exact way as you the first time I played it. Without exposure to online theories, It can seem very confusing and nebulous. It seemed that way for me at first. But now everything about it makes perfect sense to me. I think the issue with Little Nightmares in terms of storytelling is not the fact that it is lacking context for sensible theory crafting and explanations, but that picking up on the context naturally without exposure to online theories almost requires you to play the game at a snails pace, stopping in every room to observe every little detail and every little object and really question why everything is the way it is. You would have to think about everything at a microscopic level. In contrast to that, Inside reveals a lot to you at a much more macro level. You can pick up on things without betraying the natural pace of the game and forcing yourself to play detective. I'm just letting you know that there is actually some meaningful stuff to takeaway with Little Nightmares and in my opinion, I think it's totally worth seeking out.
Oh and btw, This video was fantastic and very well put together. It's hard to believe that you don't even have 100 subs yet because this was on par with content a 100k-500k sub channel would be making and you definitely deserve a lot more credit. I like the way you analyze things and I subbed so I'm looking forward to see what you do next.
@@andrewtyler2605 I'm sure I'll play it again in the future so I'll go a little more in depth then. Mostly I wanted to keep my analysis in this video as pure as I possibly could.
Appreciate it. I'm currently working on a Hitman Retrospective and then a long-form review for Hitman 2 when it comes out. I have most of the script done and I'm hoping to get it done around the end of the month.
LITTLE NIGHTMARES IS THE BEST!!!!!!!
@topaz the gem nope, It's just their taste.
inside to
and limbo can be best to
Three of my fave games of all time....For me, like you, the atmosphere IS the thing.
I vote for little nightmares
I love all three games almost equally, though I do have to agree with you on the second half of Limbo.
I personally had to look up stuff for Little Nightmares the most. Aside from the clunky controls, some ways to progress were obscure and poorly communicated. Sometimes I'd walk around in a room endlessly just to find it was something very simple and stupid.
My favorite game was Limbo, the simple atmosphere was just awesome, and I did enjoy the puzzles as well
Little nightmares was my favorite
Facts little nightmares got me into this little horror genre 🎉😁
0:50 I am the exact opposite. I've beaten the hardest of what games like Mario, Shovel Knight, Sonic, Mega Man, Castlevania, Contra, Super Meat Boy, etc have to offer. Platformers are by far my favorite genre, but they're also the only one I have any comfort in. If you hand me something like Fallout, I won't get very far without completely screwing myself over.
Little nightmares for me !!!
Hey if this video was updated would you be interested in doing a comparison between little nightmares and bramble the mountain king and inside and the planet of lana 😊
The things that make all 3 of these games special as horror games is that there different from other horror games I've played and they really don't have to tell a story to be good ether the story is up te imagine and anther thing is the lore it's so interesting and really make you think
I have to say little nightmares has the best world building. Watch the theory videos (just Jord and gaming beaver
Watch superhorrorbro theories you will enjoy the video!
As yes I occasionally watch his videos and vikan gaming too
@@mewhen9409 hi pieck
Ayo! Listen up! I've got a theory about limbo.
So...
*-The little boy loved puzzles but there were some that he did not solve, so he dis them in the limbo (the other half of the game), he had a hard day, he was bullied at school (the kids setting up traps could mean bullies), and he went to his treehouse near the forest, when him and his sister were about to climb a spider landed on the boy's arm, he fell, the little boy was still alive and bitten by the spider wich was venomous, 1 second after that he took a rock and smashed the spider (as he smashes it in the game), his sister panicked and called 991, on the way to rhe hospital they got in a car accident where he died (The glass the he goes thru).*
*-Well i am not sure about this but it's just a theory.*
(I did this theory while listening to music lol)
Oh damn, I feel shame that altho I put Little Nightmares into my wishlist, I didnt buy them when they were in summersale
Beyond 12:28 and so on I mean
I always have this weird way of thought that summersales last forever, or at least longer than they do. Now Imma wait till wintersales
Yeah I recommend playing it for an hour and refunding. I played a majority of it and I didn't feel like it was a game worth returning to.
INSIDE 🖤
Could you please make an analysis video for signalis
I never noticed that audience in the trap in Inside.
But the thing is.... little nightmares isn’t 2d
Yea it's prolly 3D
i played all three, little nightmare is disappointing, although it's good but...well...
limbo and inside is a masterpiece, they should make more games like limbo and inside
little nightmares was far from disappointing, I'd put on the same level as both limbo and inside, they are all masterpieces
The only unreasonable thing about the review was the game costs £8 on Xbox WITH Limbo as a bundle
I just finished Little Nightmares 2 (FUCKING LOVED IT BTW) after recently playing the first Little Nightmares, I decided to give Limbo and Inside a try because everyone keeps saying how great they are... I don't know about Inside, but I deleted Limbo after about 2 hours (got to the area directly past the HOTEL sign.) The atmosphere felt very lifeless compared to little nightmares and the puzzles were much more tedious.
Well it is suppose to be like that, since it's a dark/dystopian themed
@@nothingnone4083 lifeless in a bad/boring way, not lifeless in an eerie/cool way.
@@bigmiki2620 well I know this is just your perspective on the game and I respect that but it is not boring, you can't just appreciate it/nor it is not your taste
@@nothingnone4083 I was worried I wasn't going to like Inside after playing Limbo, but Inside blew my mind. It had its ups and it definitely had its low moments (too much time in the water sections) but the mystery was enough to get me through them. Obviously the last section had my jaw on the ground, especially since I washed Akira for the first time recently, before playing Inside.
@@bigmiki2620 I see, perhaps you also don't want much time or either you want to finish the game faster, it is a puzzle game after all and it takes time, besides its fun to find all the possible ways to die in both limbo and inside
19:01 that said, just play some Oddworled
Limbo has the best puzzles. Inside has the most mind blowing finale. Little Nightmare has the best monsters but bad controls and boring puzzles. I hate the 3D plane that doesn't add anything but frustration during jumps and chases.
Have you played Celeste of Metroid. I recommend both of them
Limbo is the only one which is 2d, the other two titles contains 3d models
I have comepleted littlenightmares and i also have inside and the limbo demo
Little nightmares & limbo & inside is cool awesome great all cool
lil nightmares
Todos os 3 jogos tem a mesma temática você e uma criança em um mundo desconhecido com seres desconhecidos que querem ti matar e você foje para um lugar passando pelos perigos fujindo se escondendo até chegar no ponto 🇧🇷🇷🇺
Nice work
I played limbo and inside
Limbo was in black and white it has the best puzzles , inside was little bit modern with some colors and industry
But both are amazing
Spanish version?
I heard fragments of his critiques and it was clear that I would not watch one more minute of Joeseph Anderson's videos.
I actually really like Joseph Anderson I just disagree with his Inside review. There's legitimate arguments you can make about the puzzles but the atmosphere is so unique and unforgettable that I don't care.
@@EldritchAugur I started his Witcher 2 critique and "The mechanics feel like left too long in the sun." plus Mauler's view of him threw me off. Great videos, the ones that I can relate to. I love your channel. I am sure there will be great content to come. You can surely expect many more subscribers.
Limbo game of gods
My favorite is Limbo,its disturbing and dark (literally),and deaths are brutal,while little nightmares deaths are not.
I was like 12 when I played limbo and loved the first half of the game but never finished the rest
I think inside is good than limbo
Pixel Monster 2 the best
Они все крутые
Limbo is the best. Got the most emotion out of me. Just the whole vibe along with confusion
I like little nightmares a lot better
Inside has the worst graffics of the 3
I disagree. I would even say it has the best. I love limbo art style but it's not very detailed.
@@magicmanscott40k I also like inside as a game I have played it two times actually but they need to make Tha game graffics a lot better something like little nightmares 2
I hope that they will make a remaster soon
@@user-gz4jx6uu5d nightmare 2 does have pretty sweet graphics