A Little To The Left Preview: No Chaos, Just Order

Something so simple couldn’t be considered genius, but A Little To The Left is precisely that. Think about how many people you know claim to have OCD, those unfortunate enough to have the disorder, and others who get confused with being particular. This is the game for you/them.

This indie game from Max Inferno taps into that necessity to straighten out the pencils, realign a picture frame, or organise underwear by order of their hue. Like how they were when you bought them, not how they appear now. We all do it in some way (not the latter, that’s weird), and in the game, that’s what you do.

Sometimes it’s a simple case of knowing what is expected from you, but great minds think alike and what-not, so it doesn’t take long to work out you need to line a series of pencils by length order, or position a plate and cutlery, then move it to the beats of a cat paw looking to unsettle things.

As with the bulk of the games I played during the Steam Next Fest, I played this with my four-year-old, and in some respects, she was better at the game than I was. A Little To The Left isn’t a conventional game of extra lives and princesses so that anyone can play it, but that simple order method is immensely satisfying – putting things in their correct place.

A bit like Unpacking.

There was only one puzzle we ‘struggled’ with, and that was a stationary tray. Some items could fit in multiple compartments, and despite our efforts, the level didn’t move on. It wasn’t until about 20 minutes later that we had to look at a hint to make sure we were on the right path.

In short, A Little To The Left was a highlight of the Steam Next Fest, and I can’t wait to play this in full, nor hesitate to recommend this. In the meantime, I’ll re-order my sock draw and reposition my gamer mat for the tenth time.