Mary is a student beginning her first year at the university of her dreams alongside her friends. As the year progresses, she’ll deal with various problems such as getting a bad grade, taking her cat to the vet, attending a crowded concert, and much more. It’s your job to help her solve each of the titular Little Problems by identifying who’s present, what’s going on, what actions Mary should take, and more.
Little Problems is an adorable detective game developed by Posh Cat Studios and published by Amplified Games. It features gameplay similar to titles such as The Case of the Golden Idol and the Duck Detective duology, in which players have to examine a static scene for clues about the identities of people involved, the nature of the current problem, and what characters’ goals and issues are. Rather than focusing on murder or other serious crimes like the aforementioned games, Little Problems is all about, well, little problems! The game’s ten cases focus on everyday, relatively low-stakes situations that will be very familiar to players.
Little Problems is the game equivalent of reading a cozy mystery novel. It’s delightfully colorful, the problems are all relatively easy to solve, and very few have anything in the way of major, life-altering stakes. Mary’s low grade and subsequent temporary falling out with one of her friends is about as serious as it ever gets. Players who want to flex their detective skills but don’t necessarily want to solve a murder or uncover an international crime ring might find that this game is exactly what they’re looking for.
Don’t mistake the game’s cozy nature for it being easy or not a good mystery, though. The early cases are fairly simple as a great way of drawing you into the its world and explaining how the gameplay works, but there are definitely some tough puzzles to solve along the way. In one case, you need to figure out who checked out what library book by using context clues found in dialogue. Another requires identifying which order groups presented in, which movie each presentation was about, and even what grade each person received on different parts of the project. The final chapter, where Mary and friends attend a murder mystery party, is particularly tricky, and even a veteran mystery gamer like myself spent quite a while figuring out what was going on.
One thing I really loved about Little Problems was the variation in gameplay. It’s mostly a “Golden Idol-like,” where you fill in the blanks to complete statements about the scenario and the people involved. However, there are some chapters that introduce different gameplay styles. The case where Mary goes to a concert is essentially a hidden object game where you have to locate her friends in a crowd. The chapter where she takes her cat to the vet even includes a Chants of Sennaar–like language puzzle that requires you to figure out what the various animals at the vet’s office are saying!
Little Problems is a fairly compact game, able to be completed in just a few hours. It’s both the kind of game you could marathon through (as I did) or one you could play in bite-size pieces, enjoying a case or two at a time. It’s a great game to introduce people to the “Golden Idol-like” subgenre, because it is so cozy and comfortable, but will also be fun for veterans of the genre (again, like myself). I also like that you don’t have to complete every puzzle in a chapter – just the ones that are marked as required – so you can make each chapter as easy or difficult as you personally want.
There’s a small amount of bonus content in the form of a hidden cupcake you can find in each case, which did add some replayability to me as there were multiple instances where I didn’t find the cupcake the first time around. There are also a few bonus puzzles, most of which come with achievements, such as locating a hidden cat in one chapter or figuring out a character’s password. Overall, Little Problems is an absolutely lovely detective experience that is perfect for newbies and veterans alike.
I also have to shout out the game’s art style – it’s adorable. Every scene in Little Problems fully embraces the cozy aesthetic, featuring bright colors, cute animals, and heartwarming scenes like a family celebrating a birthday together or friends hanging out at a cat cafe. Character designs are extremely distinct, which is good as identifying key players is a part of almost every chapter. My favorite design was, of course, Mary’s adorable cat, who is a precious, fluffy ball of warmth who I loved seeing whenever she showed up.
The other thing I need to shout out is the small romance story. There are two characters you can choose to have Mary date, and you can go on cute dates with them between certain chapters. It’s a sweet and adorable story, and I loved that I got to have Mary end the story with a girlfriend that she was clearly head over heels for!
I have almost no complaints with Little Problems. Pretty much my only issue is that you have to repeatedly identify characters like Mary who appear in almost every chapter, which could get a little repetitive, although I understand why it was put there because people might play the cases one at a time and need a refresher. I also wish there was a hint system to help you find the hidden cupcakes or solve the optional puzzles – there is a GREAT hint system that is helpful and straightforward but doesn’t give away too much information, but it only applies to the main puzzles of each case. As I write this, I’m still missing the cupcake from the concert case, and have begun to despair of ever finding it!
That aside, however, Little Problems is an absolutely lovely detective game that effectively and accurately brings the cozy mystery genre into video game form. There are no murders or complex crimes to solve, just everyday issues as you spend your time with a cheery, kind group of friends and their utterly adorable pets. I would recommend Little Problems not just to mystery and detective fans, but to absolutely everyone who wants an adorable and relaxing – but still challenging – set of varied puzzles to solve!
Kate played Little Problems on PC using a provided review copy.
