Game Review | The Little Acre
Remember when you were a kid and you explored the scary forest behind your house? Weren’t you sure there were monsters that could only be defeated by your trusty wooden sword and faithful canine companion? The Little Acre takes us back to those simpler times in a light-hearted short adventure.
Living in a quaint and cozy cottage in the Irish countryside called the Little Acre, Aidan and his fearless daughter Lilly find themselves caught up in interdimensional adventure. Aidan’s father has gone missing, and all signs point to a mysterious experiment he was working on in the garden shed. Using items found in the environment, and even the family dog, the player will switch between these two and discover the mystery hiding in the Little Acre.
The player begins the adventure as Aidan, a young widowed father of the precocious Lily. Careful to not wake Lily, Aidan sneaks out of bed using hilariously convoluted methods and soon discovers his inventor father is missing. Clues from his father’s workshop and a mysterious package lead to Aidan being transported to another world, and the player switches to the awaking Lily.
Where Aidan is careful and methodical, Lily is carefree and chaotic. She has no hesitation to leap before she looks, and consequentially, she explores the same environments that Aidan passed through in very different ways. High bookshelves and precarious ledges are no obstacle for her invincible reach, and she will break more than a few items along the way with her lack of care. Tagging along behind her is the faithful and patient family dog, who does his best to keep Lily out of trouble. Although not directly controlled, interacting with the dog solves several puzzles in very amusing ways.
The characters and settings of the game are beautifully hand drawn and animated, giving the game a delightful Saturday morning cartoon look. The Little Acre is a lovely cottage I would love to live in, surrounded by lush rolling hills and open blue skies. The other world is also richly illustrated, with colors and shapes decidedly alien to the world we’re used to. The animation style changes for the characters when they cross over to the other world, switching to a squashed, superdeformed style. The characters switching form across dimensions was a neat idea that I hadn’t seen in a game before, and it was fun to have two different versions of the same character. The music is top notch, sounding like a well produced score for a movie or TV show. The characters are voice acted very well, especially Lilly who comes across as plucky and confident.
The Little Acre has a very controller friendly interface to play with. As you explore an environment, symbols like Y or triangle (depending on what console you’re playing) will hover over items you can interact with. This means you will not have to hunt pixel by pixel through every scene, trying to find the next thing to pick up or push. The inventory menu is also very streamlined and simple, and there’s even a hint system if you get stuck. The game will not burden the player with a lot of useless or strange items, and most items disappear once their intended use is met. Most puzzles will have everything needed for the solution in the same area, and the puzzles have logical, simple solutions. This streamlined and simple interface is great for a relaxing adventure, but along with a linear story results in a shorter experience.
Final Verdict
If you want to introduce a young gamer to point and click adventure games, this game is perfect. It’s cartoon-like presentation along with simple menus will give a first time gamer a really positive experience, and you won’t have to worry about adult themes souring their experience. This game also speaks to the nostalgia of a mature gamer, capturing the fun and and sense of childhood invincibility. Gamers seeking a challenge will be disappointed by the games lack of challenging puzzles, and may also dislike the game’s short length and lack of branching choices. No matter your age, if you are seeking a charming adventure that you can experience in an evening, The Little Acre is a great place to visit.
