 |
|
Aug 26th, 2018 at 23:54:32 - Little Nightmares (PC) |
I started Little Nightmares today and made it through the first two levels. I've found the game very interesting thus far. It totally nails the mood and atmosphere, but the gameplay can occasionally be a little clunky and frustrating. I am a little disappointed that the game seems to be entirely focused on the experience and largely neglecting a narrative, even littered throughout the environment. I think that the decision to make the player character a small child was a smart one, however, as it really helps build up a sense of vulnerability and add to the tension. This is reflected in the gameplay, as all you can do when an enemy spots you is run and hide, thanks in no small part to the massive size difference between you and your enemies.
However, this brings up obvious moral questions to unpack. While not overly graphic, the game only received a teen rating from the ESRB, it does depict violence against the child protagonist in a number of ways, including falling to their death and being killed by leaches. Is it ok for videogames to depict child violence in such a manner? Is it better or worse than depicting the death of an adult? Upon restarting the level, the character is shown as though waking up with a start from a nightmare, implying that your death was merely another nightmare. Does the fact that it seemingly didn’t happen within the game world make it better or is it the portrayal of violence against a child at all the issue? Would a more a more graphic death scene be unacceptable with the child protagonist, but perfectly fine with an adult protagonist? Does how the violence is depicted and how graphic it is change if it is morally acceptable to be shown or is it again simply that it is depicted at all? Would it be more acceptable if the violence was implied and/or happening off screen instead of shown, or would this only add to the horror and repulsion as our imaginations filled in the rest?
Overall, I have enjoyed my time with Little Nightmares and am looking to playing some more. It has some quirks, but it is mostly engaging and its atmosphere is masterful, even if the tension can occasionally be a little lacking. So far it seems like a solid game with some fun moral questions to examine for the purposes of this class.
add a comment  - read this GameLog  |
|
|
 |
| dstrope15's GameLogs |
|
dstrope15 has been with GameLog for 6 years, 3 months, and 1 day |
view feed xml
|
| Entries written to date: 9 |
|
