Little Inferno

Genre: Puzzle / Misc.

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local)

The Nintendo Switch 2 Difference

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Review:

Little Inferno is an odd game that loosely falls in the Puzzle genre, but mostly it’s more a sort of sandbox toy than anything. In it, players take the role of a new owner of an “entertainment fireplace”, where they can set various objects on fire. This game was originally released on Wii U and PC in 2012, and has subsequently been brought to various mobile platforms, with the game coming to Nintendo Switch in 2017.

Visually, this game is heavily stylized, but makes good use of in-game physics both to depict the fires you’re setting as well as the movements of the objects you’ll be burning. Pictures of humans are depicted as crude drawings, as they were in the prior game by the developer, World of Goo. As with that game, there’s clearly a biting satire of capitalism and rampant consumerism here, although this time around that satire takes a much more prominent position in the game, with its central mechanic of buying stuff only to burn it being about as subtle as hitting you over the head with a hammer… and then burning the hammer… and your head.

As for the gameplay… if you can even call it that… Little Inferno is a game that isn’t about winning or losing. Well, technically there is an ending (though I’d hardly call it “winning”), but there’s no way to lose. You’re literally just burning various objects, then scrounging in the ashes for coins to use to buy more objects. The fun here comes mainly in seeing how these objects act, as well as solving the cryptic clues about which combinations of objects to burn together to earn “stamps”.

As a toy, it’s amusing, if a bit shallow. As a game, it’s not especially engaging. If you try to approach it with a mind of solving the game’s puzzles, you’ll likely find many of the hints to be a dead giveaway, while some will require a little trial and error, and perhaps a few you’ll want to look up online. However, there’s not really any challenge here. You’re not being timed, and if you burn the wrong things, you can always just… try again. Well, after the timer preventing you from buying the object again so soon elapses, at least.

I should mention that this game controls wonderfully on the Nintendo Switch, supporting Joy-Con motion controls very well, as well as allowing the use of the touchscreen in handheld mode. This is about the best-case scenario that could be hoped for in a Nintendo Switch port of this game.

In the end, a part of me is tempted to not give Little Inferno a review score at all, as it’s hardly even a game. This is more of a toy, where you’re setting fire to various objects just to watch them burn. There are Puzzle elements here, sure, but that seems almost secondary next to the minor spectacle that is setting a bunch of random stuff on fire. And while that is amusing for a little while, it’s not the sort of thing you’re likely to enjoy for hours on end.

tl;dr – Little Inferno is an interactive toy with Puzzle elements that has you setting fire to various objects to watch them burn. It’s amusing but shallow, and while you may enjoy this game for a little bit, it’s not likely to be a game you’ll spend much time with before moving on.

Grade: C-

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The Nintendo Switch 2 Difference

Little Inferno

Genre: Puzzle / Misc.

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local)

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Review:

Much as with Tomorrow Corporation’s first game, World of Goo, Little Inferno benefits from the leap to Nintendo Switch 2 in a way that has nothing to do with improvements to framerates, resolution, or loading times. Instead, this game’s improvements are due to a less-advertised feature of the Nintendo Switch 2 and its Joy-Con 2 controllers – the motion control is much-improved here.

On the Nintendo Switch version of the game, the motion-controlled cursor would gradually drift away from where it started, requiring you to recalibrate it every so often. On Nintendo Switch 2, this issue is either drastically reduced to the point where I cannot notice it anymore, or is simply nonexistent. Either way, this removes one of the biggest annoyances that was present in the original game.

That said, Little Inferno is still an odd game that’s not going to be something everyone will enjoy, and in many ways it’s more of an interactive toy than a game. That’s not the sort of thing that’s going to be fixed by improved controls, but at least on Nintendo Switch 2, the controls aren’t going to contribute to this game’s frustrations. If you’ve ever found yourself curious about Little Inferno, there has never been a better time to try it… just understand that because of how odd and niche it is, I can’t guarantee you’ll enjoy it.

tl;dr – Little Inferno is an interactive toy with Puzzle elements that has you setting fire to various objects to watch them burn. It’s amusing but shallow, and while you may enjoy this game for a little bit, it’s not likely to be a game you’ll spend much time with before moving on. However, while it won’t be for everyone, the improved “pointer” motion controls on Nintendo Switch 2 definitely make this an improvement over playing the game on the Nintendo Switch. If you’re going to play this game, you should play it on Nintendo Switch 2.

Grade: C

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