Inside Xbox Series X | Optimized for S: Little Nightmares II

One of the biggest benefits of all that power in hardware is giving developers the ability to create games optimized for Xbox Series X | S. This means that they have taken full advantage of the unique capabilities of Xbox Series X | Yes, both for new titles created natively with the development environment of Xbox Series X | It’s like for previously released titles that have been rebuilt specifically for the console. In our Inside Xbox Series X series | S Optimized, These Creators Will Share Behind The Scenes Accounts Of How They Are Optimizing Their Games For Xbox Series X | Yes and what that means for the future of gaming. Today we will talk to Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe associate producer Coralie Feniello about optimization. Little Nightmares II for Xbox Series X | S.

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Q: What are you most excited about developing and bringing Little Nightmares II to life in next-gen hardware?

TO: Next-gen hardware is an incredible opportunity to bring the world of Little Nightmares to gamers in a very immersive way. Thanks to the power of Xbox Series X | Yes, we have been able to add more detail to the environment, from dust particles to ray tracing in real time. Attention to detail is very important to us at Little Nightmares II and we wanted to use next-gen features to bring even more detail to our world. For this, we have been very attentive to bring out the best of each scene without changing the art direction that makes the Little Nightmares games unique.

Q: In addition to benefiting from the power and performance of Xbox Series X | S for faster loading times, etc., what features of Xbox Series X | S was more excited to explore by taking advantage of the development of Little Nightmares II?

TO: In addition to the great visual improvements, we are very excited to offer players a game in 5.1 audio | 7.1 when playing with a compatible sound system. In an atmosphere-driven game, every sound counts and players can now experience the little nightmares with a mix of super-immersive 3D space soundscapes. This will give players a chance to hear where the danger is coming from, but they will still have to face it to progress.

Q: How will these enhancements affect a player’s experience with Little Nightmares II?

TO: The combination of visual and audio enhancements will bring more detail to each scene, more fluidity in the game and more immersion in the Little Nightmares universe. On Little Nightmares II on Xbox Series X | Yes, the player will even be able to use the graphics mode option to choose between Beauty mode and Performance mode. In Beauty, the player will experience the game at 30 fps at 4K resolution with optimized ray tracing; On Performance, the game will crash at 60fps with up to 4K dynamic resolution and ray tracing.

Q: Why did your development team decide to focus on ray tracing, volumetric shadows, interactive particles, and 5.1 surround audio | 7.1 as areas of improvement for Little Nightmares II?

TO: We wanted to focus on improvements that make sense for this title and further boost player immersion. It was important for us to avoid distorting the title and to use the enhancements to enlarge the scenes. With each of these enhancements, we did significant work to identify which scenes would benefit the most from each feature, and we took the time to balance the feature at the correct level to fit the scenes. We also decided to focus on the immersive features, as our goal is to make players relive their little nightmares throughout the game.

Q: How do you expect fans of Little Nightmares II will respond when played on Xbox Series X | S with these improvements?

TO: Among Little Nightmares I and Little Nightmares II We already had a clear visual step that had an incredible reception from the fans. With Little Nightmares II Enhanced Edition, We wanted to push the quality even further thanks to the features of Xbox Series X | S. With this free update, we hope that the community will take this opportunity to play again and maybe take some time to find all the little secrets in the way of Mono.

Q: What does Smart Delivery mean for your game and how is it delivering Little Nightmares II to the fans?

TO: As we wanted the update to be free for all players, Smart Delivery is very important to us. Allows players who have spent several hours in the game to maintain their progression and benefit from enhancements at the same time. It’s the perfect time to explore every detail of the world and perhaps become a primetime content consumer.

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Thank you, Coralie Feniello, for taking the time to speak with us today. The Xbox Series X Free Optimized Update | S for Little Nightmares II is available today. For the latest news on Xbox games, stay tuned here on Xbox Wire.