Xboxaddict.com Article
A Little to the Left: Seeing Stars DLC Review
by Peggy DoyleFive months ago I was introduced to A Little to the Left when it finally dropped on Xbox with the Cupboards and Drawers DLC (which you can read my review HERE). Now Max Inferno and Secret Mode have given us an additional DLC named Seeing Stars which contains 38 new puzzles, a few new mechanics, and more cats than the original.
I am far from what people would call a neat freak, and my house is very ‘lived in', but I always find games like this relaxing and satisfying. A place for everything and everything in its place as it were. With 100 stars to earn over the 38 puzzles, some with up to 5 possible solutions. This means that you will spend more time looking at some of the puzzles than before if you want to complete all the new achievements. Trying to see some of these puzzles in five separate ways really made me open my eyes and analyze things more carefully. Of note, only 33 of the puzzles are immediately available to you with the DLC, to access the remaining 5 bonus puzzles, you'll have to complete puzzle solutions and earn enough stars to open them.
The original game had a hint solution, very helpful for players who got stuck but it only showed you one solution. The hint system has since been upgraded to include all solutions but still won't guide you to how to get there, you still have to work your mind to get to the end. It was intuitive as to how to see each solution at first, but there is a folded corner at the bottom of the page for you to ‘flip the page' to the next solution.
Also unexpected was how the "Let it Be" functioned. I thought it would pause the puzzle at the point you were at, but it actually just let you leave the puzzle. If you went back in, you started from the beginning again. Since some of the games are very large with multiple moving pieces, it would have been nice to be able to pick up where you left off, even if mid solution.
There are a few new mechanics introduced in the Seeing Stars DLC. There are more that are drawer based, with items that can change shape by pushing buttons or dragging parts of them. These new ways of manipulation give more ways to solve the puzzles and I found myself making mental notes as I was working through solutions. These puzzles are the most satisfying to me, where everything gets tucked away into its own perfectly fitting space. Another perfect example of this was a scrapbook with pressed leaves, a joy to complete. I very much enjoyed the pattern recognition puzzles, specifically one involving wool eating moths. You had to find multiple solutions using patterns and I found this to be a tough but highly satisfying puzzle once completed.
I enjoyed A Little to the Left: Seeing Stars DLC, but not as much as I liked the based game and the Cupboards and Drawers DLC. I couldn't entirely put my finger on why until I realized that it wasn't as pretty as the base game and first DLC. It wasn't full of pretty lines and symmetry. Now that will be a personal preference for the aesthetic, and some people will enjoy the expanded solutions options and increased movements. Neither is wrong, and that's the beauty of cozy games. I was happy to spend about four hours working through the puzzles.
I briefly mentioned the additional cats at the beginning of this review, and without spoiling something quite adorable at the end of the game, there are enough cats to make my crazy cat lady heart happy throughout the levels.
A fairly inexpensive DLC to a game I enjoy immensely, it's an easy recommendation if you want a chill and cozy game to lose yourself in for a few hours.
Score: 8/10
