If you’re making your way through Little Nightmares 3, you’ll eventually reach the eerie Carnevale level — a twisted carnival full of mechanical nightmares and unsettling charm. Among its puzzles is one involving an old-fashioned radio that can be surprisingly tricky if you’re not sure what to do.
If you’re playing solo, your AI companion will unfortunately handle much of the work for you, leaving little room for experimentation. But if you’re tackling this puzzle in co-op, you’ll need to work together to solve it manually — and that’s where things can get confusing.
Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how to complete the radio puzzle and uncover its hidden secret.
How to complete the radio puzzle in Little Nightmares 3
You’ll first enter a dimly lit room where the centerpiece is a vintage radio sitting on a table. Cranking it won’t seem to do anything because there’s no power. That’s your first clue that something below the surface needs fixing.
Find the power source
In the center of the room, there’s a hatch on the floor. Open it and climb down to find a small power station that’s missing a power block. From here, look up and to the left — you’ll spot a window you can climb through. Inside this side room, the power block rests high on a shelf surrounded by bottles.
Knock down the power block
Here’s where Low’s bow comes in handy. Instead of trying to jump up to the shelf (which doesn’t work), equip the bow and shoot the bottles holding the block in place. After a few well-aimed shots, the bottles will shatter, and the power block will fall to the ground.
If you’re playing solo, your AI partner will likely start to solve this part automatically.
Return the power block
Once you’ve got the block, toss it through the door window into the next room. Then hop through, retrieve it, and carry it down the hatch to the power station.
Insert the block into the empty socket, and you’ll see the power come back online. With that done, climb back up into the radio room.
Activate the radio
Now that the radio has power, interact with the crank. As you turn the handle, you’ll see a light in the room flicker to life. Keep cranking until the light stays on.
Once the light is fully active, your partner will jump onto the box to the left of the light. Keep holding the crank while they do this, then jump up and grab the glowing light itself — it acts as a hidden lever!
Pulling the light will trigger a secret mechanism, and a hidden door will open, revealing the way forward.
A note on playing co-op
While the AI does a decent job in solo mode, it tends to complete these puzzles automatically, robbing you of the fun trial-and-error moments that make Little Nightmares 3 so engaging. The game was clearly designed with co-op play in mind, and this puzzle highlights that perfectly.
If you have the chance, grab a friend and experience the game together. It’s a far more rewarding way to uncover the secrets of the Carnevale, and it’s much creepier when you’re both unsure of what’s coming next.
For more on Little Nightmares 3, visit our guides hub.
