The Little Acre
A pint-sized adventure lacking in challenge
$12.99 Developer Pewter Games Studios, pewtergamesstudios.com Requirements OS X 10.10 or later, Intel Core i7 2.3GHz, 2GB RAM, GeForce 9400M or equivalent graphics
What would happen if you were just minding your own business in your modest cottage in 1950s Ireland and stumbled upon a portal to another dimension? That’s the premise upon which point-and-click adventure The Little Acre is built. After the disappearance of his scientist father, Aidan is struggling to raise his rambunctious daughter Lily on his own. Fooling around with the missing Arthur’s inventions, Aidan accidentally stumbles into a mysterious, dangerous, and technologically advanced place – and while he’s looking for a way out, Lily climbs in after him.
Both Aidan and Lily are playable in this charming adventure, though they can’t be selected at will. Instead, the game will switch between them at certain story points as they try to reunite and escape – and maybe find out what happened to Arthur along the way.
The tale is conveyed through animated cut-scenes and lovely hand-drawn artwork, and you can really feel the influence of ’90s adventure games such as Broken Steel in every frame. Also retaining that classic feel
is the simple way you play: collecting items and figuring out how to use them within the varied environments.
The Little Acre is on the short side, with the story wrapping up in less than three hours, depending on how long you linger on any
particular puzzle. The length alone isn’t a problem, but the lack of challenge is definitely a drawback. You’ll never have more than a handful of items in your inventory at any one time, and the game’s hand-holding and lengthy dialog explainers mean you’ll never really be stumped. That’s great if you’re new to the genre or looking for a brief experience, but not so much if you want the satisfaction of unraveling a truly devious brainteaser.
Still, even without the memorable cleverness of some of its adventure game counterparts, The Little Acre is enjoyable from start to finish. The story and characters are lovely, and its distinct style perfectly suits the tone.
the bottom line. Though not the most challenging experience the genre has to offer, The Little Acre is nonetheless a completely charming point-and-click adventure. Sarah LeBoeuf