A Little to the Left is a 2022 puzzle game developed by the Canadian[1] indie studio Max Inferno and published by Secret Mode. The game was well received.
| A Little to the Left | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Max Inferno |
| Publisher(s) | Secret Mode |
| Programmer(s) | Lukas Steinman |
| Artist(s) | Annie Macmillan Lukas Steinman |
| Platform(s) | Windows macOS Nintendo Switch Xbox One Xbox Series X/S |
| Release | November 8, 2022 |
| Genre(s) | Puzzle |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Gameplay
editIn each level, the player must drag and drop objects to clean up an unorganized space. Some puzzles have more than one answer. Completed puzzles are represented with stars, and for puzzles with more than one answer, the stars appear partially filled.
Development
editThe game was initially made for the GMTK Game Jam 2020. In the game jam, contestants had 48 hours to produce a game following the theme Out of Control. After the event, developers Annie Macmillan and Lukas Steinman established Max Inferno in 2021. It was planned to release by October 2021.
According to Macmillan, she and Steinman developed A Little to the Left as a side project. They were approached by publisher Secret Mode, who would expand the game's prototype.[2]
Release
editThe game was released for Windows and Mac on November 8, 2022.[2][3] Max Inferno had planned to release A Little to the Left in December, but due to it being developed ahead of time, it was released alongside both ports.[3] Within a year of release, the game had received a million sales.[4] After Alice O'Connor of Rock Paper Shotgun described that one of the puzzles had an unclear solution,[5] Max Inferno added the Let it Be feature to allow players to skip levels.[6] "Cupboards and Drawers," an expansion pack to the original game, was released June 27, 2023. The DLC focusses on home organization.[7]
Reception
edit| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 75/100 (PC, NS) 77/100 (XSX) |
| OpenCritic | 69% recommend[8] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Digital Trends | 4/5[9] |
| Hardcore Gamer | 4/5[10] |
| Nintendo Life | 8/10[11] |
| Nintendo World Report | 7/10[12] |
| NME | 4/5[13] |
| The Guardian | 4/5[14] |
On Metacritic, A Little to the Left has a "generally favorable" for its PC, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox Series X ports.[15][16][17] On OpenCritic, the game has a 69% approval rating.[8]
References
edit- ^ "Game dev duo in a seaside town making a tidy puzzler, A Little to the Left". Max Inferno. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
- ^ a b Dealessandri, Marie (August 24, 2022). "A Little to the Left dev: "I want people to reimagine the mundane as something with hidden potential"". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
- ^ a b Dring, Christopher (January 4, 2024). "How digital showcases helped make A Little To The Left an indie hit". Gamesindustry.biz. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
- ^ "[From the industry] A Little to the Left cleans up with 999,999 sales". MCVDevelop. November 20, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
- ^ O'Connor, Alice (May 20, 2022). "Alright, you tell me how you would organise these keys". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
- ^ Bell, Alice (October 12, 2022). "Lovely tidying game A Little to the Left has added a skip puzzle feature because of an article we done". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
- ^ "A Little to the Left: Cupboards & Drawers DLC opens up on 27 June | Secret Mode". wearesecretmode.com. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
- ^ a b "A Little to the Left". OpenCritic. November 14, 2022. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
- ^ Colantonio, Giovanni (November 7, 2022). "A Little to the Left review: good housekeeping makes for a great puzzle game". Digital Trends. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
- ^ Helm, Jordan (November 20, 2022). "Review: A Little to the Left". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
- ^ Ingram, Roland (November 15, 2022). "Mini Review: A Little To The Left (Switch) - An Evocative, Imaginative Tidy 'Em Up". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
- ^ Hilhorst, Willem (December 22, 2022). "A Little to the Left (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
- ^ Brown, Andy (November 7, 2022). "'A Little to the Left' review: household zen". NME. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
- ^ Packwood, Lewis (November 7, 2022). "A Little to the Left review – a supremely rewarding ode to neatness". The Guardian. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
- ^ "A Little To The Left: PC Critic Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
- ^ "A Little To The Left: Nintendo Switch Critic Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
- ^ "A Little To The Left: Xbox Series X Critic Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved March 30, 2024.