The Little Acre is a tough nut for me to crack in some ways. How exactly do I score this game? On the one hand, it can be beaten in just a couple of hours. This wouldn’t be an issue if it was selling for its $2.99 mobile price, but on Switch it’s $12.99 – over 4 times the cost. On the other hand, this high-quality game is just absolutely bursting with charm. When you have a name like Charles Cecil attached as Executive Producer (Beneath a Steel Sky, Broken Sword series) you without fail command my attention. So let’s journey to Ireland for the short but sweet adventure that is The Little Acre.

The focus here is on family, namely Aidan’s search for his missing father. Joining Aidan is his daughter, Lily, and you’ll control both of them at different points in the story. They are voice acted, as are all the game’s characters. With a lone exception, the Irish vocals are pleasing and sincere in their deliveries. All of the sounds can have their volume adjusted too. Coupled with a cozy, fitting score, this is a game that’ll be a treat to your ears.

It’s your eyes that are in for the real treat though. Words can’t properly convey how great the hand-drawn animation is! I would often leave the game idle just to pick up on small details. Little touches like smoke rising from a chimney, clouds slowly rolling by, birds flying past, leaves falling off trees, and these (plus more) are just on the title screen. Check out the trailer to get a taste of what’s in store for you.This family quest tackles sci-fi, but in a setting from over 60 years ago. I feel it nonetheless manages to have something of a timeless quality, as charming adventures often tend to do. Of course, much of my joy comes from simply clicking on every single interactive object just to hear Aidan and Lily talk about them. I admit that, even among point-n-click genre enthusiasts, not everyone has the patience to appreciate such things. But I love such attention to detail.So I circle back to my original dilemma. The game’s length by itself proves to be no real issue, as I’ve already played through it twice. Due to the high quality, I anticipate a third time, perhaps with friends watching to partake in the animation. But $12.99… even by Nintendo Switch standards, that’s an awfully high multiplier. What to do? Aw heck with it, if you’re a genre fan The Little Acre really is a must-have on your favorite console. Still, I hope Pewter Games Studios studies the Switch eShop when pricing their next release. How about  Little Acre 2?