A Little to the Left

Slick puzzle design finds itself at odds with the creativity of organising that A Little to the Left wants to evoke.

A pleasant and, at times, playful soundtrack, fun visual effects, and the occasional light interference of a mischievous cat add to an overall charming package. A Little to the Left may have left me scratching my head in confusion at times, but more often, it left me pleased and content with the neatly arranged spaces I created.

If you love to arrange things, this puzzle game is made for you – and if you don't, it might persuade you how gratifying neatness can be

A charming puzzle game about the satisfaction found in organsing and tidying. Plus one mischievous kitty.

The "little" in the title also summarises the game's length. As with most games like this, you'll likely finish it in three to four hours, which for some is a perfect length considering how long it takes to finish other games being released these days. Nevertheless, the experience itself is charming, with a lovely soundtrack, and interesting puzzles to solve. If you're after another cosy game to play, then you will likely enjoy yourself.

When it all clicks, A Little to the Left provides an experience that is a weird mingling of the semi-passive and viscerally intrusive. It is only the occasions when tiny touch targets cry out for a mouse pointer that the magic falls away. Once that happens, the plainer, less surprising puzzles aren’t able to carry the show on their own. As a piece, it can’t always sustain its best rhythm, but when it does, it's stimulating, quiet, and memorable.

From start to finish, A Little to the Left is just downright pleasant. It’s an intuitive approach to the puzzle genre that plays with the human urge to keep our surroundings nice and tidy — and the feline instinct to absolutely ruin them.

The game's simple nature binds a Little to the Left, but it achieves its aims very well. Even when testing your brain with a puzzle, it is a calming game. It offers various puzzles, some with multiple solutions, a daily puzzle to keep coming back to, and a little amusing narrative in the background that all cat owners will find familiar. This is a game I've enjoyed, and I can find myself returning to it, offering an excellent refresher and palate cleanser.

In all its tricks, turns and trials to overcome, A Little to the Left succeeds on the basis of its charming and relatable premise on the obsessive nature of order and sequence.

If you enjoy any form of cleanliness or arranging things to fit in place, A Little to the Left could be the perfect game for you to get your hands on. It has soothing capabilities and lets you explore solutions that may not come to mind at first glance. It looks gorgeous, sounds delightful, and played with very few issues – mainly me just missing what the level requires me to do! There is concern with the accessibility but overall, A Little to the Left gave me some much-needed cosy gaming vibes and allowed me to acquire some new visions of just how many ways items can be organised if you take the time to weigh up your options.