Little Inferno (Wii U) Review

At first glance, Little Inferno seems like just an ordinary fireplace simulator, in which players burn random items just for the sheer fun of it. Whilst this is partly the case, there is so much more to this game. It's hard to really define the genre of Little Inferno because of its uniqueness, but if this was something that had to be determined, it would fit into the puzzle category just nicely.

The game starts off with the player receiving a letter from Tomorrow Corporation, which is the maker of the Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace. Yes, that's right; the developers are also the corporate bigwigs in the game! Once players have read the letter, they can then set it on fire and watch it burn. Sounds pretty boring, right? Well, actually… it's quite the opposite. Burning items can be achieved by using either the GamePad's touch screen or the Wii Remote's pointer controls. Both control schemes work great, so it's up to the player to choose which they feel more comfortable with.

Playing Little Inferno using the GamePad has one slight advantage, which is the ability to play the game exclusively on the GamePad's screen, a feature that is becoming widely used in Wii U games. It's nice to see another developer taking advantage of it!

Receiving letters is the sole form of communication in Little Inferno and even though there is no direct connection with other characters, players may feel themselves getting attached to them. One of the characters that the player receives frequent messages from is the weather reporter, who hovers above the city in his hot air balloon, delivering up-to-date broadcasts of the weather to all of the townspeople. It's really quite hard to describe the plot and story of Little Inferno, but players who love gripping tales with a great moral at the end of it will not be disappointed with this game.

The main plot focuses on the outside world, which characters often say contains something much more dangerous than fire. Snow has been falling for as long as anyone can remember and nobody dares step foot outside into the blistering cold. Instead, they would much rather spend all day sitting in front of their fireplaces, burning various items they ordered from Tomorrow Corporation's many different catalogues. There are seven catalogues in total, with each one following a certain theme such as food, video games and toys. The video game catalogue has a bunch of references to other games including World of Goo and Henry Hatsworth -- but let's not spoil anything!

When players receive their first catalogue, they will be given a brief tutorial on how to order items. They can then start placing orders on various different items, ranging from school buses to family portraits and even miniature planets. These items can be purchased using the in-game currency, which is known as "Tomorrow Bucks." Players don't start off with much money, but by burning items they order from the catalogue, their income will steadily rise meaning they can purchase the more expensive items that yield more of these Tomorrow Bucks. When placing an order on an item, a specific amount of time will have to be waited for it to arrive. This can take anywhere from a few seconds up to around four minutes for later objects, and whilst it sounds like a daunting task waiting for items to appear in the inventory, the process can be sped up by placing "Tomorrow Stamps" on the item in question.

Tomorrow Stamps are first introduced to the player after burning a few items and can be placed on a certain item so that players can obtain it instantaneously. They can also be obtained by burning the different items. These stamps work like First Class or Expedited Delivery do in the real world; however, players don't have to sit around and wait because they get it there and then (if only that was the case for real First Class delivery!). After ordering all the items from the first catalogue, players can then purchase the next one.

This pattern carries on throughout the game, although the later catalogues require players to perform a certain amount of combos before they can unlock that catalogue. These are performed by burning two or three specific items together, with the only help being the titles of each combination located on the in-game list. For example, the first introduced is the Bike Pirate, which consists of simply burning a Toy Pirate and Wooden Bicycle together. Sounds easy, right? Well, these combos get trickier as players progress through the game and require the usage of items from more than one of the catalogues.

It's worth noting that Little Inferno only takes around four hours to complete if merely wanting to complete the main objective. However, this playtime boosts to about six-to-eight hours for those who want to experience everything the game has to offer, such as working out all the combos. Replayability of the game all depends on whether the player wants to go through the game again, trying to get the best ending by keeping certain key items rather than burning them, or whether they will just get bored after experiencing the full package.

This is definitely a recommended title for readers who want to experience something fresh and original all at the same time with a charming story and some really wacky characters. It must be pointed out that this isn't a game for everyone, but when placed in the right hands could easily be called a masterpiece.