Thursday, July 18, 2013

Thursday Impressions: Little Inferno


Little Inferno is, at first glance, an entirely pointless game. Well, if you can even call it a game.

Basically, you're in an apocalyptic world in which the entire planet is slowly freezing to death. You're given a furnace for entertainment. You can burn things in the furnace, and you get money from doing so. You use the money, then, to buy more things to burn, and the cycle continues. You're given very few limitations, and there's no overall goal except to try to find combos so you can unlock more stuff.

So, as mentioned, this game seems entirely pointless at first glance. Some would argue that it is. However, occasionally you get letters that you can burn too, after you read them. These are from the company that makes the furnaces, from the weather company, or from your ecstatic neighbor who has a "Little Inferno" herself. Through these letters you're gradually given a picture of the world outside; one of those rare, very subtle ways of telling a story.

Overall, through these letters the game becomes intriguing, sad, and even a little depressing. It's brilliant, though, and no matter how absolutely pointless it is, it's incredibly addicting. I've spent more time playing Little Inferno then I've spent playing any other Thursday Impressions games before writing the blog post.

Verdict: Keep playing.
I want to see how the story ends.

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