A Little to the Left: Cupboards and Drawers DLC Review

So satisfying.

Lucky for me, I picked up A Little to the Left soon after the DLC was released. Okay, the real truth is that I actually planned to get it after the DLC released so I can get both at the same time. Anyway, this DLC focuses on you tidying up and organizing cupboards and drawers. Exactly as the DLC’s name suggests. So is it worth picking up?

A Little to the Left’s Cupboards and Drawers gives us 25 more levels for us to tidy up and organize. Of course, this focuses on cupboards and drawers, including boxes that have their own drawers like tackle boxes. There will be items scattered around, and even incorrectly placed in the drawer(s), and all you ahve to do is figure out where it needs to go. Sometimes it’s easy, like when you notice there’s a perfectly shaped space, but sometimes it can be a bit tricker especially if it’s a group of things that will be in the same compartment. And as you go further, you’ll be introduced to multiple drawers where you’ll be switching between and placing items in.

Since you mainly will be putting items in their right place, the hidden aesthetic rule is more prevalent. What I mean by that is that the game does call for you to not only put things in the right place, but also have it be symmetrical, in a pattern, in alternating directions, or organized by color or number depending on the situation. Most of the time when a level isn’t being completed, there’s something placed that is violating the aesthetic rule.

The DLC levels were honestly pretty fun to do and did strike that perfect balance to have it relaxing. It also managed to remain fresh despite a lot of levels being from the same vein. It definitely helps that we got a bunch of new items and different types of drawers and cupboards.

Looking at a level at the start can be overwhelming, but as you take in all the items and place them it actually reveals to not be so bad. It kind of reflects real life, with it feeling overwhelming when you start, but that feeling peters out until you feel the satisfaction of having everything organized. For the most part, I didn’t have much trouble. The only time I had trouble was when a thin or small item was hiding by another item or underneath a drawer and when I forgot the unspoken aesthetic rule.

Don’t worry though, there are some more light levels to give you a break between the more involved levels.

Only a couple of levels have multiple solutions, but I’m okay with that. I actually was going in not expecting many, if not none, of the levels to have multiple solutions considering the nature of the DLC’s theme. And while I’m here, I have to say that I loved the majority of the levels. The only levels I just liked was the peg board ones (since I struggle with those when there’s not already a correctly placed item to help guide me a bit) and the second to last level. The last level was also great as it did hit the balance of not being too long or short (though I did kind of wished there was maybe one or two more sequences since I liked it so much).

The cat makes a reappearance, of course it will it is your cat, but it takes a cuter role rather than a destructive one. Unlike in the main game where your cat messes up what you just organized or being cheeky by taking your washcloth, here it’s just being cute. There are four levels that act as interludes where the cat is being cute and all you need to do is pet it.

Also, I think we found out why the cat loves to mess with things. One of the interlude cat levels has you petting your cat after it pushed a cup out of a cupboard. Tsk tsk, giving positive reinforcement for a naughty action.

The “Let It Be” skip option and hints make a return. Though, the hints here are still just the solution for where everything is supposed to be placed and how. This DLC made me wish the hint system was more of a “take post-its off the paper” than “erase the scribbles”. I only really found myself needing help in one specific area, or wanting a small hint, but going into the in-game hint just spoils it since you can see through the scribbles or erase more than you need (either by accident or because you just can’t resist erasing it all). Basically, the hint system that I was thinking of was having post-it notes over parts of the solution so you can just unveil the section you’re stuck on. And maybe have it have it so where the first reveal is actually a hint where it shows you the placement of one item (I often found myself just needing to know where one item is to get me started in the right direction) and another click will reveal that section’s solution.

Long story short, a hint system where it gives you little pushes in the right direction before giving you the whole solution would be better than outright giving you the solution.

Also, I noticed a lot of negative reviews mention the DLC doesn’t actually have 25 new puzzles because of the four cat levels where you just pet your cat, but there are 25 puzzles. There are 29 levels (30 if you count the credits) and if you take out all of the cat interludes it’s still 25 levels with puzzles. There’s only one level that I would agree doesn’t count as a level and that’s the second to last level that’s played out as a joke.

I only ran into one bug and that was the “Where Is My Cap?” achievement not unlocking if you didn’t get it on your first playthrough of the level in that session (I thought it was that save file, but I was able to get it without resetting all my levels when I opened the game back up the next day). This should be patched by now.

Verdict

I really liked Cupboards and Drawers. I actually like keeping cupboards and drawers neat and organized in real life, so getting this DLC was a no brainer. And man, did it deliver. While the levels do start out looking overwhelming, nothing is more satisfying than finding out where each item needed to go. Not to mention the satisfaction when you place that last item and everything is all put away perfectly and aesthetically. Plus the cat was being super cute here. While there were a few things that I didn’t like, it barely brought down the DLC for me and I definitely recommend it.

Also, I would be down for more DLCs that focus just on a theme. Like I would totally play a DLC that focuses on you tidying up and organizing bookcases with various items like nail polish or plushies (okay I really want a level where you organize nail polish), items on desks/tables, and even a food theme like putting away food after grocery shopping (freezer packing baby) or putting it on a plate or container to make it aesthetically pleasing.