In one sequence in The Wilderness you have to hold your breath in the swamp to break the sight of the shotgun-wielding Hunter. I have to applaud the stealth sequences especially, as each seem to have their own distinctive mechanics to prevent them from feeling stale. The pacing here feels excellent as there's a real mix of puzzles, stealth sections, and chase sequences to help break things up. In many sections here, you have to hide in boxes and other secluded areas to avoid her spotting you and this felt so tense as she examined the area. Running for my life as The Teacher followed me by extending her spaghetti-like neck was easily the most terrifying part of the demo. She might seem chilling at first as she can be seen ruling the classroom with an iron first, but just wait until she sets her gaze upon you. One thing I dread about potentially reviewing the game in the future is running into The Teacher for a second time. This was a setting, which is clearly a child's personal hell and progressing through the chapter always felt deeply unsettling, as I knew that another chase or stealth section was coming. Bullies storm the hallways almost like they're in gangs, and The Teacher can be seen patrolling the classroom with a ruler firmly fixed in hand in an almost militaristic fashion. Within a recent keynote, the developer's described the school system to be almost like a prison and that's exactly the feeling this evoked here. The School absolutely nails the chilling atmosphere and the eternal sense of dread that made the original such a standout experience. Your valiant rescue mission takes place within the dimly-lit hallways of a 19th Century school, which is quite the departure from the previous chapter.

The School, however, sees Mono separated from his new companion Six (the protagonist from the first game), and it's up to you to rescue her from a group of school children known as Bullies. I won't be touching on The Wilderness in too much detail here, as we already covered it within our first preview last year (for more on that, you can click here). Within the demo, I had access to the first two chapters of the game, and these were The Wilderness and The School. Fortunately though, after sinking some time in, I'm pretty satisfied that the project is on the right track and could even result in being a superior experience. With the first Little Nightmares being such an unexpected gem, I did approach the sequel with an air of caution when being offered the chance to preview it.

If done poorly, however, they can leave a permanent blotch on the original's legacy. If done right, a good sequel can improve upon the flaws on the original, whilst allowing us to revisit characters and settings we fell in love with in the first game. Sequels are always something I feel cautiously optimistic about.

Teacher from little nightmares 2