If games like Unpacking have taught us anything, it's that tidying can be meditative - at least digitally anyway. Now A Little to the Left is coming to organize your troubles away. It's not quite as zen as Unpacking because it is much more puzzle-based, but the simplicity in its interactions evokes that same sense of satisfaction.
It's helped by the fact the majority of puzzles are based on simple everyday objects, with the entire game kicking off with a single, wonky picture frame. Straighten it up and you get a delightful little bell chime to tell you that you've achieved organizational nirvana. And that's, in essence, what A Little to the Left is all about. Each level presents you with a mess to tidy up, a series of objects to sort out, or otherwise neaten, and it's down to you to figure out how.
It's not always straightforward though, I'll warn you. But, there is a wonderful little hint system that requires rubbing out a layer of pencil scribbles to reveal a solution that will always guide you toward an answer. However, the hint system only ever gives you the answer for a single way to solve a puzzle, whereas some have two or even three ways to complete them - one of which still has me scratching my head some weeks later.
Calming cleaning
Have you tried… dragging your husband by the ear while treasure hunting in Falling Out?
The puzzles that work best are the ones that are as close to real-life as possible. Whether it's aligning soup tins so that the labels all face outwards, arranging jars of various foodstuffs, or simply arranging spoons in height order, there's something so oddly soothing about making things neat in A Little to the Left. My personal favorite type of puzzle though was being presented with an empty drawer kitted out with various-sized compartments, and then making the items of cutlery or stationary strewn about fit within it. Each item can be dragged into place and if it works, it'll gently lock into a slot with a precision that's so pleasing to see. Seeing a spoon slot neatly into place, or aligning a small collection of paperclips perfectly was as near to elation as I've gotten in a game of late.
There's a little narrative of sorts too, with a cheeky cat being the thing that ties everything together neatly. Occasionally, you'll complete a puzzle and then have a white paw swipe across your screen to mess things up again. It's playful, and always unexpected, which is a fun touch. Each 'chapter' or collection of puzzles also takes you to a different theme. There's a kitchen theme, nature, home decor and later, things get a little more surreal - I think that's where A Little to the Left did lose me a bit. Understanding how to solve some of the puzzles is sometimes a case of cheating by looking at the hint, because how I thought something should be organized wasn't matched by the game. When you're presented with a collection of leaves, seeds, and dried flowers, for example, with no guidance on what the game is looking for. I tried grouping by color, item type, and other various combos before peeking at the hint to see that actually the game wanted symmetry.
But that didn't stop me from getting completely absorbed in A Little to the Left and coming away feeling like I'd had a wonderful time lost in tidying one rainy Sunday afternoon. If you ever get so stumped you want to quit, you can dip into the menu and hit 'Leave It Be', which lets you skip to the next puzzle whenever you want to. It's a lovely feature and means you never feel frustrated for long.
A Little to the Left is only four or so hours long, or a little longer if you want to 100% every puzzle, but it handily has a Daily Tidy to come back to each day to earn itself a spot on your platform of choice after you've ticked everything else off. They're essentially a reworked version of the game's existing puzzles but with a twist that's tailored specifically to how you play. I'm not entirely sure I've worked out how they do that, but it's still lovely to have something fresh to keep you coming back each day.
A Little to the Left is going to be the perfect game for a lot of people. If you're someone who enjoys arranging books, or creating a home larder (yes, there are lots of us out there) this is video game bliss in its purest form.
A Little to the Left is out now on PC, Mac, and Nintendo Switch.
