Little Nightmares 3 theory time! Uh, spoilers below (For LN3 and The Sound of Nightmares, totally go listen to that if you haven't already)
So, I have a hecking ton of theories for the newest game. But I'd like to talk first about something I've seen going around: That the new game seems to jump from place to place, without any connection between them, much unlike the other games. And I was just thinking about it a bit, it didn't make sense to me either. Until it did.
This is the first game where our child protagonist isn't already in The Nowhere. I am referencing, of course, Low. I'll get to what I think of Alone later.
This isn't the first time we've had a child hanging between the real world and The Nowhere. The first would actually be Noone, from the podcast. Doesn't she jump around quite a bit too? (If I recall correctly, her nightmares took her through a bathhouse, a mall, a carnival, and a couple other places as well.) During all this, it seems The Nowhere is trying to lure Noone in, albeit in a very traumatizing fashion. But it still worked in the end, didn't it?
And I think that's what The Nowhere is trying to do to Low, lure him in. I think Low's a bit newer to The Nowhere than Noone was, but my point still stands.
The first place, Necropolis, is inhabited by a baby. Massive baby toys are scattered about, and there are no living adults at all. This one is less tied to the location, and simply based on the monster residing there, I will admit. So The Nowhere chose to spit Low (and Alone) out of the mirror here. The Nowhere is a very weird place. I can only think that it is under the impression a much younger mind would also want to reside here (as perhaps that is what already has happened.) So- Necropolis = attempt to appeal to an infant
The next place is the candy factory. A place filled to the brim with sweets. Still twisted by The Nowhere, but in the real world? That would be like- the ideal place for any child on the younger side. Little kids always seem to have a much stronger sweet tooth than older ones. So, Candy Factory = attempt to appeal to a younger child.
Next up! The Carnevale. Now- I'd say carnivals are more for children in general, younger, older, doesn't really matter. The lights, sounds, smells, and food are always something to see. But you want to know something that would easily frustrate a younger child, while seeming fun to an older one? Carnival games. Which- The shooting game was fun, I will say that. On top of that, most little kids aren't big on rides, I would know, I used to not like fast or tall rides in the slightest. Therefore Carnevale = attempt to appeal to an older child
And the final place, a place Low knows quite well. An even better and more twisted mimicry than we've seen before: What appears to be a 1:1 recreation of an Institute that it seems Low has been in in real life. This is The Nowhere's last and final attempt to drag Low into it. If fantasy isn't working, why not try the real world? Something familiar that surely, surely will snatch Low away for good. Hence, the Institute = attempt to appeal to familiarity
(I will point out here that the Institute might also be Low getting closer to returning to the real world, which I'm saying solely based on the doll giving us a glimpse into what the place is supposed to look like.)
The Nowhere ultimately fails, what with Low's return to the real world.
Now what about Alone? Now that's a real doozy, isn't it. I've already heard a bit about the "imaginary friend" aspect, and I gotta say, pretty solid. But I want to propose something else.
I will say, before I go into Alone at all, that admittedly, I think I have the weakest grasp on her, out of all the playable characters thus far. But honestly, she does seem to be the most mysterious.
I don't think Alone is imaginary, or a creation of The Nowhere. No, I think that Alone is a child from the real world. Not like Low, though. I think Alone is specifically more like Noone and Cici. (And likely Six and Mono.) I think Alone is stuck here like everyone else. Every but Low.
This is real theory territory here, but it's just for fun, so I'll continue.
Jumping back to the podcast, we know that Noone started to physically disappear into The Nowhere before it took her. So it's a reasonable assumption to make that the children simply- vanish. The Nowhere taking them in their entirety once they take that final step.
This is to say, if Alone really is a child formerly of the real world there is no body left for her here. Low is still physically tied to this plane of existence, still having his body. Which is what I believe to be the reason that Low got out while Alone didn't. As for her simply ceasing to be after Low escaped? I think that's because she tried to follow him. I don't think you can get out of The Nowhere once you've fully given yourself to it. I think trying to pull anyone out is a fruitless endeavor, which will cause you to lose them altogether. If you want to keep someone out of The Nowhere, you need to catch them before they sink completely. (Which means Otto was always going to fail in getting his sister back. It also means that any other child fully in The Nowhere is doomed to stay there. Which is... depressing... to say the least.)
I also theorize that Low and Alone knew each other before she disappeared into The Nowhere, which is why they trust each other so much. Best friends, where one disappeared. Which Alone's sudden vanishing could be what pushed Low into The Nowhere in the first place. (I'm not sure whether or not they would have met in the Institute or before that, but I do think they were both there. Specifically because of where you leave the doll. There's no way to get the doll back after that one last room you leave it in. It needs to stay so there isn't a massive hole in the floor, and you can't bring it, because that door is closed to her, the real Alone.)
Do I think Alone knew she'd disappear? No. I do think that her staying in the mirrors longer might have been a warning from The Nowhere itself, and I do think she was afraid she might get stuck for good, but I don't think Alone knew she'd simply cease to be.
The one thing this theory doesn't cover is that one coloring scene with the two of them in the real world. I honestly think that if anything was Low's imagination, it was that. Him simply making up a scenario where his best friend was coloring with him again. Playing pretend with his doll of her.
I think these are my two biggest theories out of the way, so I'll end it here. Maybe I'll talk more about it later, or maybe I'll pull out my old theories on Six and Mono. Never did post those...
