‘twould be a detriment to my enjoyment to binge A Little To The Left all in one go, and believe it or not, despite the vast quantities of games there are to review, I do actually like playing games – this one from Max Inferno being a particular highlight.
Completion takes between 2.5 – 4 hours, approximately. If you’ve finished the game, you’d be able to state how long it took you, but as I haven’t finished it yet – receiving a review code on launch, you’ll have to appreciate this write-up isn’t based on having completed the game already. Do you need that to have a perspective on this game? I don’t think so – A Little To The Left is consistently wonderful.
An indie puzzler, your job is to ‘fix things’, putting them into their correct position. Correct is mildly debatable as it depends on what you see as doing things right. I’ve mentioned this before unless you’ve been tested for OCD, you may find you’re just a bit anal-retentive, so don’t start saying your OCD is flaring up because a pencil is out of position. Whatever your label is, this game is for you.
A Little To The Left Review
There’s no plot other than tidying up, as well as a cat narrative where it’s out to get you and mess up your feng shui. But you don’t need a plot: A Little To The Left is unconditional bliss, and to save you from reading into any of the waffle here, I recommend it to anyone looking for a chilled-out game that still requires a little flex on the old grey matter.
Essentially you’ll be lining up books and pencils according to their length, and then gradually, these get a little more complicated, and you’ll have to arrange them based on patterns or the sharpness of the lead. You’ll even be able to clear up any pencil shavings, crumbs and other tiny debris to ensure your work of art is left unspoiled. That’s right: a work of art.
Arranging everything is only part of A Little To The Left – the other is the analysis. For the bulk of the puzzles, anyone with a keen eye for order will immediately know that they need to straighten a picture frame and, even later, move them to a position that reflects the image’s horizon. However, there are more than enough puzzles that will stump you, perhaps even have you pixel hunting and listening out for a little ‘ding’ to confirm you have one item in its correct place.
Straightening Things Out
Fortunately, there’s a hint system, which more or less gives you the answer if you aren’t careful, but pay attention and exercise a bit of willpower, and you won’t spoil it. What am I takin’ about? The hint system is a separate piece of paper with some pencil scribblings. You must remove it with a pencil eraser to reveal parts of the clue to aid your problem-solving. Alternatively, erase it in one go to give you the answer.
I ended up using the hint system a few too many times for my liking, perhaps more to do with finishing the game before the review. Still, as mentioned, that would ruin my fun, and I’m stubbornly publishing this now in line with its release to encourage you to buy this. Do also note that while it isn’t officially supported on Steam Deck at the time of writing, I played in its entirety on Valve’s trusty rectangle.
Since playing the Steam Next Fest demo, it’s been a title I’ve been highly anticipating, and it does not disappoint. Easily one of the best Zen-like experiences this year to coin an overused expression, but A Little To The Left is perfect symmetry. Highly recommended.
