The Little Acre (Xbox One) Review

Set in the 1950s in a small Ireland town, main character Aidan awakens to find that his inventor father is missing, and thus begins a journey to figure out his whereabouts - he'll spend his expedition exploring new worlds and making new friends by way of familiar drag-and-drop mechanics. He isn't the only controllable character, though; Aidan's young daughter, Lily, joins the fun, too, and the game will switch back and forth between the two as the story progresses. Luckily, that design doesn't break any sort of flow - with both Aidan and Lily having their own infectious personalities, it's practically a treat that it's possible to play as both, as it helps make the emotional connection with them all the easier.

The Little Acre brims with simplicity from head to toe, but for something like this, that's more of a compliment than a critique. Like most point-and-clicks, the gameplay revolves around interacting with items around you, putting them into an inventory, and then using them to help get to the next part of the story. There's even timed puzzles thrown in to add some variety. It's also worth clicking around on things before it's needed in the scenario, as it usually results in a humorous occasion; for example, when Lily tries opening a child-proofed cabinet and assumes that it must be because of the family dog's antics. Additionally, some items even provide detail into the characters' (unfortunately) vague backstories, like a photo of Aidan, his father, and a woman - presumably his wife who's never mentioned - hanging up on the wall.

Overall, puzzles are extremely simple and anything that can be interacted with is very bluntly displayed as such, so it's pretty impossible to get stuck at any point; there won't be any real difficulty or brain teasing present here. However, where the game excels the most is in its full voice acting and cartoon-like animation. Sure, there's not going to be any Nolan North-type voice work that's heard, but all of the dialogue works incredibly well and fits the characters perfectly. Coupled with the gorgeous environments and warm vibe it creates, it makes it easy to brush any criticisms off to the side.

Really, though, the game is hardly long enough to have a list of issues, anyway. It can be completed in just a couple of hours, and for the achievement/trophy hunters out there, there's one for beating it in less than one hour. It feels like a conclusion is reached before there's ever a chance to fall in love with what is already given, but it's also impressive that something can be so inviting and delightful without truly being fleshed out like it could be.