Burn everything and anything just to stay warm with your new Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace.
There’s some kind of justice being served here. Despite my glowing review, Little Inferno still faced a lot of accusations of not being a game. Suddenly, its structure not only determined where it fit in our “gamer” vocabulary, but also if it was fun.
By making our list, we’re making it clear that game or not, Little Inferno was a great way to spend the remaining days of 2012.
In tasking players to burn, and nothing more, Tomorrow Corporation’s debut effort hid its genius. Placing items within the Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace is simple, and setting them ablaze was just the same. The game’s combo list, composed of vague descriptors that hinted at which items were to be burned together for bonus incentives, certainly adds an interesting layer to the gameplay. But the game’s true appeal lies in its story.
As you progress through the game, letters from various characters begin to arrive. Each brings a sense of unease, a feeling that something else is going on. Despite it being very clear that Little Inferno’s goal is to burn as much as you can manage, you begin to doubt your motivations. Despite tales of an arctic wasteland just outside your front door, you've never seen it for yourself. A neighbor of yours seems unhinged, her cutie-pie letters making you feel uncomfortable in your own skin. She begins to request items, though never properly explains why she needs them. The figurehead behind the fictional Tomorrow Corporation (the in-game manufacture of the Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace) writes letters in attempts to soothe you, warming you to the idea of constantly feeding your fire. But her marketing spin is far from normal, and her writings become just as disturbing as your neighbors. You quickly feel very alone, not sure who or what to trust.
But there you sit, in front of your fireplace. No matter how unsure you are of just what it is you are doing, you have to keep stoking the flames to progress. The letters keep coming, and you read a person’s mind spinning into what you believe to be insanity.
You end up not only playing to just be playing, but to see just where things are going. Holding one’s interest can be the most difficult goal of any product. Some games can achieve that through one aspect alone, relegating other parts as fluff. Little Inferno engages in every way. What you do and how you do it is fun, simple, and never frustrating. It’s a very well-rounded product, and while it may never be clear whether it’s a game or not, what can’t be argued is how enjoyable it is. And what could be more important than that?
