The very original puzzle game A Little to the Left made a good impression on the Xboxygen editorial team during its test. Five months later, it is enriched with a DLC called Seeing Stars, which promises us no less than thirty-eight new puzzles, some of which have five different solutions. This new adventure also offers us a redesigned hint system, higher difficulty and even more cats! Put on your Mapa gloves, there are still things to put away.
Marie Kondo 2
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- The levels are always very varied
As in the basic game, it is always a question of stacking, classifying, organizing… from largest to smallest, by color, by shape… Even if you are allergic to tidying up, try your hand at A for a moment Little to the Left and you might discover a curiously relaxing activity there. Contrary to what the title of this DLC might suggest, there will not be an interstellar ranking, but rather one hundred new stars to unlock! As for its theme, Seeing Stars is more of an ode to daydreaming and leisure.
- Memories…
These thirty-eight new puzzles invite us to play with books, sporting goods, plants, DIY materials and even cat toys. If the principle does not change one iota, it is pleasant to find the friendly environments and the cozy graphic style of the original game. The developers at Secret Mode have not been lazy, since all the objects and situations are entirely new, without reusing elements from the base game.
To infinity and beyond
The biggest new feature is the number of possible solutions for each puzzle: up to five different approaches! Of course, while the first ones may seem easily accessible, you'll have to rack your brains to get all the stars in each level. Especially since some objects can now be modified: paper that can be crumpled with a simple click, a toy that unfolds, a retractable comb… so many ways to change their shape and therefore the storage possibilities.
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- Boxes !
The game is still as accessible as ever. While the ability to pass levels without compensation is still available, the clues are enriched with several pages corresponding to as many possible solutions. It is therefore possible to choose to help yourself a little, a lot, or not at all, for the time of a single solution, or for all the stars.
What a mess !
If Seeing Stars remains as relaxing and fun as ever, these new features are unfortunately accompanied by sometimes frustrating bugs: objects which are “ejected” off the screen, solutions which are not validated, stars blocked… Taking into account the fact that the time to solve puzzles has been multiplied by four on certain tables, having to start a level again after having fumbled for a while because of a bug will push many to give up.
- The race for the stars
The object modification system also makes manipulation more haphazard. Grabbing certain small items was already difficult when playing with a controller. With the addition of this DLC, it has become common to press the button that deploys the blade of a cutter or unfolds a piece of paper instead of simply grabbing them. The fault lies with the stick manipulation that lacks precision. Frustrating!
Tested on Xbox Series X / code provided by the publisher