- Publisher: Amplified Games
- Developer: Posh Cat Studio
- Available on: Steam
- Played on Steam
- Copy provided by PR
The Golden Idol series of games are some of the best mystery games out there right now. The Case and The Rise of the Golden Idol both provide a series of scenes full of clues you need to find to unravel exactly what happened in that scene. As you progress, you dig up a dark secret that spans centuries, particularly if you play the two games back-to-back.
However, if you love the mystery solving aspect but aren’t too fond of murder and conspiracy, the game may be a little off-putting. Fortunately, there is an alternative that lifts the gameplay but wraps it in something much gentler. Little Problems, as indicated by its subtitle, is a cosy detective game about life’s smaller mysteries. Social engagements, school projects, even just getting yourself up in the morning, these all come with their own challenges in need of solving.
In Little Problems, you follow a girl through her first year at university. Each chapter of the game focuses on a different aspect of the new challenges she faces, starting with a day where she oversleeps and finds that her cat has genuinely eaten her homework. In these scenarios, you’re presented with a static scene where interactable elements are constantly in motion to make them more obvious. You must click on these objects and people to uncover highlighted words that act as your clues. You then go to a solve screen to fill in lists and an incomplete description with the words you’ve found. Fill in all the text boxes, you’ve solved the problem.
To aid with this, the game comes in two difficulties. The first is standard point-and-click mechanics, where you’re left to your own devices to identify what’s important. The second labels every interactable object with an obvious question mark. This then changes to a check mark to indicate you’ve explored it. It’s a neat feature for those who need it, but I’m a stubborn old school adventure game player, so I left it off the entire time. Fortunately, I didn’t have too many problems, as the subtle animations on important objects was enough for me.
With the game built around a gentler setting, there was a risk that the puzzles themselves may have proven a little too easy. Thankfully, there’s enough meat to these puzzles that even I struggled on a few parts. The last puzzle is a major highlight in particular. I want to avoid spoilers entirely, but the level of detail built into that final challenge was astounding. It has its own timeline you have to keep track of, a cast of mystery characters you need to figure out using a small number of clues, a requirement to keep track of everyone’s items and avoid jumping to any immediate conclusions. I also enjoyed a few side challenges throughout the game involving passwords that weren’t always required. They added some extra challenge if you wanted it, and offered some extra lore and information if necessary.
I was also impressed with how compelling the story is. It’s simple, and mostly consists of a series of mundane events, but there are still some interesting narrative threads here. There are little tales of friendship, collaboration, family drama and even romance woven into the text messages and interactions between these characters. You spend a lot of time with the same groups of people and get to know their quirks and interests in a way that’s genuinely endearing. It’s not a grand world-changing story, but it is a lovely little slice of life.
Where I feel Little Problems falls down, however, is in some of its weird UI quirks. With a cast of recurring characters, I found it a little annoying that I had to enter their names into the solution page every single time. This was something that the Golden Idol games got right, as recurring characters would eventually stop appearing on this page or would just be named outright if having that information was necessary. Little Problems keeps asking you to do it, and it stops making sense about halfway through the game.
Little Problems is also exceptionally short. My playthrough was about three hours long, and I felt it could have easily been double that length without getting stale. The ending even hinted the game could have kept going, and I was disappointed when it didn’t. I can only hope there’s an expansion or sequel sooner rather than later, because I would happily play more.
Little Problems is a unique take on the mystery genre. It may not appeal to those who want a deep, mysterious narrative akin to the games it draws inspiration from due to its simpler subject matter. However, it offers more than enough challenge for any fan of puzzle games who want some chill vibes at the same time. Highly recommended.
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