Little Inferno

Little Inferno is a spectacular title and certainly one that Wii U and PC gamers alike should give a look. It features a seemingly simple story, at first, but it gets more complicated and intriguing as the game progresses. The gameplay is addicting, fun and becomes more sophisticated than first glance. Little Inferno’s graphics are charming and beautiful while containing excellent sound design and music. The game ends up doing plenty of things extremely well; in addition, it has an uplifting and cathartic ending that has a great sense of whimsy and wonder. Little Inferno is well worth the price of admission.

So is Little Inferno a game? I'd wager that it doesn't even matter. Adopting the rigid structure of a more traditional game would do more harm than good in its case. Little Inferno is terrific the way it is, and doesn't need to conform just to fit inside a box. In the end, it’s enough to just snuggle up around the fire and keep it well fed.

Little Inferno is unlike any game I’ve played. It has a big heart that blends perfectly with its dark tones and simple gameplay scope. Days removed from playing it, I’m still thinking about it. I’m recommending it to my friends who love Braid, Unfinished Swan, and Journey. I’m telling my coworkers it’s one of the nicest surprises of the year. It’s one of those games that breaks free from standard video game conventions. Play it, discuss it, and enjoy it. I sure did.

Det er i det heile noko svært avslappande ved Little Inferno. Kanskje handlar det litt om at ein ikkje kan tape, men minst like mykje trur eg det handlar om at det å brenne ting gjer godt for psyken. Det er noko ved det å berre stire inn i flammen som gir ro i sjela. Og så er det noko ved det å slenge ei miniatombombe inn i brannen, slik at alt av oske og kol som hadde samla seg opp der inne blir borte som dogg for sola, som berre ropar ut: «Katarsis!»

It might not last you much more than 3-5 hours, but Little Inferno is a joyous experience full of charm and wit, and it’s cheap too, whichever platform you buy it on. Whatever you end up thinking of it, you won’t be able to put it down, and it’ll more than likely stay with you for a while too.

Like many indie games, Little Inferno doesn’t take players on a grand adventure; rather, this game offers a little slice of a much larger picture. It is a dark picture that you’ll only discover by actually reading the letters from Miss Nancy, Sugar Lumps, and the Weather Man. For that reason, many people will either dislike intensely or just won’t get this game inspired by the Christmas Yule Log. Little Inferno is most likely to be regarded as a guilty pleasure for partially reformed pyromaniacs, like myself. The revelations of the bleak world in which the game takes place are the only lasting reward for completing it, though the game will have you secretly laughing at a number of the incinerations.

Little Inferno's a weird game, all told - not just because of the unusual objective, but because of the way it's mastered the very things that I suspect its designers hate. Its central mechanic is truly empty and truly compulsive, and yet the barest, most devastatingly mindless circuit of its interactions is redeemed by the wonderful art and the sly imagination on display. You'll burn stuff because you have to in order to advance the plot, and because it's the only outlet the designers have given you. You'll also burn stuff because it's so much fun, however: it's so richly rewarding to experiment with different fireplace load-outs, to watch as teddy bears, tiki heads, sunglasses and even house bricks go up in bright, energetic flames. Sometimes, it's not the burning that counts, then. It's what you're burning - and how it makes you feel as you bask in the sooty glow that emanates from your hearth.

On one hand, it’s a little disappointing that a company with such a strong puzzle background decided to make a toy instead of a puzzle game. On the other hand, it’s a pretty interesting toy with a great atmosphere and a story that may actually make you think. (More ambivalence! How meta.) Don’t play Little Inferno if you’re looking for something in the family of World of Goo in gameplay terms (aesthetics are a different story, though, since both games share a similar style). It has more in common with The Unfinished Swan and Dear Esther than Henry Hatsworth. Little Inferno is something you should play if you appreciate weirdness and humour, with a well-crafted atmosphere… no matter how unsettling it can sometimes be.

You might think that Little Inferno sounds boring, but even though it willfully and intentionally wastes your time, it's not a waste of time itself. The creepy atmosphere, the single-minded focus on extremely minimal actions, and the mocking self-awareness all contribute to a deft statement on games and how we play them. And even though it gleefully wastes our time, it doesn't waste too much of it – it might take you a few hours to complete, even with a healthy bit of screwing around.

Little Inferno is a surprising game. It's surprising both for the simplicity of its concept ("burn things"), and for the fact that such a coherent and lovingly crafted experience has been built around that idea. It's also surprisingly different from what we traditionally think of as a game, and because of that, it isn't for everyone. But players drawn to the flame will find a fun, funny, and even moving experience in Little Inferno. It's a lot like setting some of the game's more spectacularly flammable objects ablaze, actually; a fast burn, but beautiful while it lasts.

Little Inferno might not sound like much of an actual game, at least in the usual sense. In fact it could be viewed more as a toy, much like those that you are burning in the fireplace. You can play around with it for an hour and not really achieve anything, but it still feels as though you are having fun. It only does one thing, but it does it well, and there are enough hints at the story to keep you going to the end. There is not much beyond this for a hardcore gamer, but for any secret pyromaniacs out there, Little Inferno will certainly ignite your passion, and it is a lot safer than the real thing.

People burn symbols like flags and books to demonstrate dissent, but what does it mean to burn a Handheld Fireplace in a Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace? Spare an afternoon and fifteen dollars and you might find out. You can treat Little Inferno like a bedtime story or a three-hour movie, but remember that at its heart, Little Inferno is a game about games. It will make you think about what you do in games, the purpose of games, and the future of games, so sit tight, think hard, and keep burning those toys.

Une très bonne expérience, une oeuvre, un bijou, c'est comme vous le sentez. Il n'en reste pas moins que Little Inferno est un excellent cru, mais vous procurera un grand sentiment d'incomplétude. Vous serez satisfait, mais pas rassasié. On en veut encore, et nous pouvons que croiser les doigts pour que la suite des évènements vienne ajouter du contenu au titre. Je ne peux que le conseiller, mais suis forcé de préciser qu'il n'en est qu'à ses débuts. Dans tous les cas, si la durée de vie était équivalente à celle de World of Goo par exemple, je n'aurais presque rien eu à lui reprocher et un beau 18/20 ornerait le bas de cette page.

Une très bonne expérience, une oeuvre, un bijou, c'est comme vous le sentez. Il n'en reste pas moins que Little Inferno est un excellent cru, mais vous procurera un grand sentiment d'incomplétude. Vous serez satisfait, mais pas rassasié. On en veut encore, et nous pouvons que croiser les doigts pour que la suite des évènements vienne ajouter du contenu au titre. Je ne peux que le conseiller, mais suis forcé de préciser qu'il n'en est qu'à ses débuts. Dans tous les cas, si la durée de vie était équivalente à celle de World of Goo par exemple, je n'aurais presque rien eu à lui reprocher et un beau 18/20 ornerait le bas de cette page.

Little Inferno is almost impossible to review, period. Anything I say that would definitely sell you on the game would ruin part of the magic for you. However, if you are a patient person who is also looking for a beautiful story that is woven throughout performing a rather silly task, or are just a pyromaniac, ignore the below score: the game is for you.

And then, when you’re all done, what’s there left to do? There’s not much of a reason to play it after you’ve beaten it. Once you’ve set fire to all of the things, all that’s left is to fill out the checklist of combos. And once that’s done, there’s just the never changing fireplace and your catalogs of toys. They may burn brightly, explode in variable screams, changing the colors of the flames into something truly radiant. Then the flames die out, and there’s nothing left to do but buy more toys and set them on fire again. And again. And again.

The puzzle elements, albeit light and nonsensical, are fun and imaginative. Burning different items together in hopes of unlocking new combos is, in a weird, sadistic way, somewhat soothing, as is watching the well-modeled objects slowly turn to pieces as the fire immolates. Though it’s a little too short and a little too expensive, the mostly unseen world outside the Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace is charming and impressive, and absolutely worth experiencing.

More physics toybox than game, Little Inferno manages to be both enjoyably mad and annoyingly maddening. Wait to snap it up in an eShop fire sale.

Expérience vidéoludique pour le moins singulière, Little Inferno risque de laisser de marbre bon nombre de joueurs. Avec un concept obscur, un gameplay répétitif et attentiste, un prix un peu élevé et une durée de vie à première vue assez faible, le jeu est loin d’être une tuerie ludique. Toutefois, ceux qui auront le courage de persévérer découvriront un titre plutôt addictif, bourré de références et bénéficiant d’une esthétique de qualité. En prime, et à condition de prendre un peu de recul, ils auront même l’occasion de réfléchir à quelques questions existentielles, ce qui n’est finalement pas si courant dans un jeu vidéo.

It’s just such a gamble, though, that I can’t readily recommend this. Little Inferno looks nice, tells a unique story and will perhaps be seen by some as a triumph in experimental design. But it’s not really a video game, so feel free to forget this freaky fireplace.

For selv om Little Inferno makter å si noe om Facebook- og mobilspill, og hvordan vi bruker vår tid på disse, er det vanskelig å komme unna at utvikler Tomorrow Corporation går i samme felle selv. Kombinasjonsgåtene er spennende en stund, men blir litt labre i lengden. Man blir for ofte sittende og kjede seg, og det som driver en fremover er uvissheten om hvordan gulroten på enden av pinnen smaker.

A daring experiment in minimalist gameplay and storytelling, although that doesn’t forgive the repetition and high price tag.

Kaum war ich neugierig und hatte keine Lust mehr, weitere Gegenstände auszuprobieren, weil das Verheizen so beliebig wirkte, war das Spiel nach knapp drei Stunden auch schon vorbei. War das alles, Leute? Angesichts der Klasse von World of Goo wirkt Little Inferno wie eine kreative, aber nicht zu Ende gedachte Fingerübung. Zudem vermisst man weitere Spielmodi oder kooperative Ansätze mit dem Wii U-Gamepad, das lediglich als alternativer Bildschirm genutzt werden kann. Für die Mittagspause und kleine Feuerteufel trotzdem ein unterhaltsamer Snack.

Au GamePad sur Wii U comme à la souris sur PC, Little Inferno reste décidément toujours aussi mou et limité. A moins d'être désespérément en manque de production indépendante décalée, on évitera donc de télécharger au prix fort cette curiosité vidéoludique à bien des égards décevante.

There’s a joke being played in Little Inferno, and we’re not quite sure who’s the butt of it. Social games get satirised via both flavour text and mechanics, since you’re forced to wait minutes for your deliveries to arrive, unless you pay in-game stamps to speed things up. But at times it seems like you’re being mocked for choosing digital coal shovelling over the real world. There’s enough charm here for Little Inferno to get by, but sometimes you might consider taking its advice and stop feeding the flames.

Bien trop limité en termes de gameplay, Little Inferno fait partie de ces ovnis vidéoludiques que l'on essaiera par curiosité avant de retourner à des jeux plus conventionnels certes, mais certainement bien plus amusants.

Initially it’s a pleasure to burn every item I receive in Little Inferno. The flash that signals ignition, the way items respond to being incinerated – it all activates some primal part of my brain that can sit in front of a camp fire for hours, sinking deep into my head as I watch the fingers of the flames. The vague story and uninspired puzzles weren’t special enough to keep my attention after that initial sense of awe waned, though, and when viewed alongside some annoying constraints that make the gameplay feel unnecessarily constrained, Little Inferno’s few great ideas fall apart like so much ash.

Si le principe de World of Goo et celui de Henry Hatsworth avaient su séduire, leurs créateurs réunis n'ont pas su insuffler le même savoir-faire dans Little Inferno. Ce conte étrange est malheureusement desservi par un gameplay trop simpliste et une durée de vie bien trop réduite. On tourne très vite en rond, on manque de surprises et d'imprévu, mais aussi d'un peu de challenge. Finalement, Little Inferno n'est qu'un feu de paille et brûle toutes ses cartouches bien trop vite. On s'ennuierait presque autant que devant un vrai feu de cheminée.