The Little Acre (PC) Review

This game is very reminiscent of the 90s point and click era. Its hand-drawn animations and beautiful backgrounds add a lot of spark to every scene. The music is perfectly adept at serving two purposes; it offers pleasant tunes during the puzzle-solving, while striking the right cues during the more dramatic moments. The interface is very easy to understand. Points of interest are clearly marked, and using items is a painless process. The two main characters do a fine job of providing their thoughts on the current situation, which helps the player, so they can determine what to do next. All in all, this makes for an adventure game that's accessible to all ages.

While the storytelling is sufficient, it feels like everything moves too quickly. The first few scenes offer a lot of great background information and character development. However, some interesting moments - such as lily's shop - are just that…moments. At one point early on, Lily opens her shop, but quickly leaves so that the plot can continue. It really would have been nice to spend at least a few minutes looking around and interacting with the various trinkets she has for sale. It's odd that this would be glossed over, considering that, earlier, the game made an ordeal of Aidan getting dressed and Lily making breakfast (which is more compelling than it sounds).

The uneven pacing becomes much more of an issue in the other world. There's not really a sense of place, more just a series of locations where events occur. While there has to be respect for the stakes involved, it still feels like more time could be allowed for wandering around. It's a strange world with many curious sights, but the game offers a cursory glance and not much else. On the bright side, the few inhabitants that Aidan and Lily meet are pretty charming.