Little Nightmares — a light title that runs on modest PCs: specs & FPS
2017 · Platformer, Adventure, Action · BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America · Metacritic 81
Official system requirements
Publisher-published Minimum / Recommended values via RAWG, retrieved 2026-08-21. Real-world performance varies with drivers, resolution and your full build.
| Spec | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Minimum: | Recommended: |
| Processor | OS: Windows 7, 64-bit | OS: Windows 7, 64-bit |
| Memory | Processor: Intel CPU Core i3 | Processor: Intel CPU Core i7 |
| Graphics | Memory: 4 GB RAM | Memory: 8 GB RAM |
| Storage | Graphics: Nvidia GTX 460 | Graphics: Nvidia GPU GeForce GTX 660 |
| DirectX | DirectX: Version 11 | DirectX: Version 11 |
| Item 7 | Network: Broadband Internet connection | Network: Broadband Internet connection |
| Item 8 | Storage: 10 GB available space | Storage: 10 GB available space |
Multi-GPU FPS estimate
Estimated average FPS by GPU at 1080p / 1440p / 4K, derived from Little Nightmares's demand tier (tier 2, Light (entry discrete GPU)) and published TechPowerUp-style relative-performance indices (RTX 4090 = 100), retrieved 2026-08-29. Planning estimates, not benchmarks.
| GPU | 1080p | 1440p | 4K |
|---|---|---|---|
| RTX 4090 | 392 | 259 | 149 |
| RTX 4080 Super | 351 | 232 | 134 |
| RTX 4080 | 338 | 223 | 128 |
| RX 7900 XTX | 375 | 248 | 143 |
| RX 7900 XT | 351 | 232 | 134 |
| RTX 4070 Ti Super | 300 | 198 | 114 |
| RX 7800 XT | 300 | 198 | 114 |
| RTX 4070 Super | 282 | 186 | 107 |
| RTX 4070 | 264 | 175 | 101 |
| RX 7700 XT | 272 | 179 | 103 |
| RTX 3070 | 247 | 163 | 94 |
| RX 6800 XT | 296 | 196 | 113 |
| RTX 4060 Ti | 217 | 143 | 83 |
| RX 6700 XT | 264 | 175 | 101 |
| RTX 3060 | 199 | 131 | 76 |
| RX 6600 XT | 225 | 148 | 85 |
| RTX 2060 | 180 | 119 | 68 |
| GTX 1660 Super | 149 | 98 | 57 |
| RX 580 | 172 | 114 | 65 |
| GTX 1060 6GB | 141 | 93 | 53 |
| GTX 1650 | 112 | 74 | 43 |
| Intel Arc A770 | 228 | 151 | 87 |
| UHD 770 (integrated) | 46 | 30 | 17 |
Method: a game's demand tier maps to a “GPU index needed for ~60 FPS at 1080p”; each GPU's relative index produces an estimate via a diminishing-returns curve, then scaled for resolution. Source: TechPowerUp GPU database (relative performance), 2026-08-29.
For the full hardware spec sheet and a deeper performance breakdown, see Full specs & performance data on GameFigs.
Age rating & regional compliance
GameRulePro pairs each title with its ESRB age rating and, where documented, real regulatory notes on loot boxes, skin gambling and randomized monetization. Every line is source-linked and labeled with its retrieval date. This is an educational reference, not legal advice — verify the specifics that apply to your jurisdiction.
| Field | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Age rating | Not indexed on GameRulePro | ESRB |
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Open profile →Best graphics settings for Little Nightmares
Pick your PC and get a starting preset — resolution, upscaler, shadows, ray tracing and an FPS cap — tuned to how demanding Little Nightmares is on hardware. Print it and tune from there. Everything runs in your browser.
Best graphics settings for Little Nightmares
Little Nightmares hardware-demand tier: 2/9. Pick your PC above to get a starting preset, then tune up if you have FPS headroom or down if you're under your target.
Estimated starting point — real FPS depends on drivers, thermals and background load.
Little Nightmares — Best settings (Mid-range (GTX 1660 – RTX 3060))
Generated at GameRulePro · 2026-09-25
Release, patch & rule-change notes
Official release date: 2017-04-27. Ongoing patches and version history are published by the developer — for the latest patch notes, see the official store or support page. GameRulePro summarizes the official release only and does not invent patch dates. When a developer ships a rule-affecting update (balance pass, mode change, or ranked-reset), re-run the generator above to keep your house rules in sync.
About Little Nightmares
Heavily inspired by Limbo and Inside, Little Nightmares are telling a story of another lost child. Six is a starving little girl in a yellow raincoat, which is trapped in a mysterious vessel named the Maw. Players are taking control of Six’s movement, in order to help her escape the ship and dangerous inhabitants, that’s been kidnaping and preparing children to be served as a feast for the Guests. The control scheme is not including any combat moves, leaving players defenseless against any threat. Six can run, crawl, climb, push or pull, and in rare cases carry an object she can throw to stagger an enemy or solve a puzzle. The game gives players the ability to carry a lighted match at any time, inviting players to explore and search for the collectible statues. Little Nightmares have 3 DLC levels, expanding the game beyond the perspective of Six, where the Runaway Kid, a young boy, who is trying to catch up to Six and having his own adventure, going through the Maw in the extra chapters, named “The Depths”, “The Hideaway” and “The Residence.”
Performance reality & how to tune Little Nightmares
GameRulePro editorial — these notes are based on Little Nightmares's published specifications and genre profile, not a single benchmark run. Use them to set expectations before you open the settings menu.
As a 2017 indie title, Little Nightmares sits at demand tier 2 (Light (entry discrete GPU)) — light on PC. It is light enough for older hardware and even integrated graphics at lower settings.
What to tune first on Little Nightmares
- Open-world RPGs lean on CPU and storage in busy towns — SSD + dual-channel RAM first.
- Shadows and lighting scale hardest; keep textures high since they mostly use VRAM.
- An upscaler at 4K recovers the most frames with the smallest visual hit.
The FPS table above is a model estimate from the demand-tier + GPU-index method. Real frame rates vary with drivers, background apps, thermals and resolution. Treat it as a buying or upgrade planning aid, then verify in-game. For step-by-step fixes, see the crash-fix and optimization guides linked on this page.
Sources & attribution
- Game data (release year, genres, platforms, system requirements, description, cover art) via RAWG.io, retrieved 2026-08-21.
- GPU relative-performance indices via TechPowerUp GPU database (relative performance), retrieved 2026-08-29.
- FPS estimates on this page are GameRulePro planning estimates from the demand-tier + GPU-index model — not benchmark results.
- House rules and tournament formats are community-style templates for casual play, not official rulebooks.
- Pre-launch intelligence (release windows, settings, editions, pricing, beta dates) is compiled from each title's official publisher / studio announcements and is source-linked per item with its retrieval date (2026-09-09). Where a detail is from reporting rather than a primary source, the item's source line states so. This is preview material, not an official specification.
- Per-game age-rating & regional compliance reference (ESRB rating via RAWG; curated regulatory notes) from the GameRulePro game-rules dataset, retrieved 2026-08-29.
How the Little Nightmares FPS estimate and rules generator are computed
Each game is scored on a 0–9 demand tier from its published PC requirements (and a year/genre fallback when requirements are absent). The FPS estimate compares your selected GPU's relative-performance index against the tier's required index using a diminishing-returns curve, then scales for resolution. The rules and tournament builder is a community-style template engine: it formats your group size, match format and tiebreaks into a printable sheet. All outputs are planning guides — verify in-game and agree house rules with your group before play.
Do more with Little Nightmares
Can I run it? FPS calculator
Estimate frame rates at 1080p, 1440p and 4K for your exact GPU.
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