INSIDE vs Little Nightmares
INSIDE is an action-adventure horror game from Playdead (2016) while Little Nightmares is a horror platformer game from Tarsier Studios (2017).
What each one is
Steam files INSIDE under Action-Adventure and Horror. In contrast, it files Little Nightmares under Horror and Platformer.
Hunted and alone, a boy finds himself drawn into the center of a dark project. INSIDE is a dark, narrative-driven platformer combining intense action with challenging puzzles. It has been critically acclaimed for its moody art style, ambient soundtrack and unsettling atmosphere.
Take on the role of Six, a lone child lost in a massive metal vessel known as the Maw, surrounded by dangerous, distorted versions of adults. You’ll need to do your best to escape in one piece or your fate will be worse than you ever dared dream.
At a glance
| INSIDE | Little Nightmares | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 8.2/10 | 8.3/10 |
| Steam rating | Overwhelmingly Positive (97%, 75,763) | Overwhelmingly Positive (95%, 116,529) |
| Critic aggregate | 87/100 | 81/100 |
| Price | $24.99 | $19.99 |
| Install size | 3 GB | 10 GB |
| Steam Deck | verified | verified |
| Released | 2016 | 2017 |
| Developer | Playdead | Tarsier Studios |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
INSIDE vs Little Nightmares, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
INSIDEAction-adventure horror gameLittle NightmaresHorror platformer gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
INSIDE2.5D, Puzzle-Platformer, AtmosphericLittle NightmaresHorror, Atmospheric, AdventureThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
INSIDEScore 8.2 · 97% on Steam · 87 criticLittle Nightmares ✓Score 8.3 · 95% on Steam · 81 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
INSIDE75,763 reviews · 3 GBLittle Nightmares116,529 reviews · 9 add-ons · 10 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
INSIDE$24.99Little Nightmares ✓$19.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
INSIDEVerifiedLittle NightmaresVerifiedValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Little Nightmares takes 2 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueINSIDE and Little Nightmares on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Nintendo
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Little Nightmares (GamingPickz Score 8.3)
- The cheaper right now: Little Nightmares ($19.99)
- Lighter on storage: INSIDE (3 GB)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
2.5DPuzzle-PlatformerAtmosphericDarkStory RichIndieHorrorSingleplayer
Where they differ
CinematicMultiple Endings2D PlatformerAmbientMinimalistAction-Adventure
StealthPsychological HorrorGreat SoundtrackThird PersonSurvival HorrorFemale Protagonist
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, INSIDE is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Little Nightmares is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| INSIDE | Little Nightmares | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | NVIDIA GT 630 / 650m | Nvidia GTX 460 |
| Minimum CPU | Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4 GHz, AMD FX 8120 @ 3.1 GHz | Intel CPU Core i3 |
| Minimum RAM | 4 GB | 4 GB |
| Install size | 3 GB | 10 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: INSIDE · Little Nightmares.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 5 accessibility features for INSIDE and 1 for Little Nightmares. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are INSIDE and Little Nightmares in scope?
INSIDE has drawn 75,763 Steam reviews and installs in 3 GB. Little Nightmares has drawn 116,529 Steam reviews, ships 9 add-ons and installs in 10 GB.
Is INSIDE or Little Nightmares better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Little Nightmares rates higher (8.3 to 8.2). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, INSIDE or Little Nightmares?
Little Nightmares is cheaper right now at $19.99, against $24.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.