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About Max Inferno

Making curious creations together

Annie and Lukas founded MAX INFERNO, a seaside indie game studio from K'jipuktuk/Halifax, Nova Scotia. Daniel Crane joined the team in 2023 and together they make charming games that are inspired by moments in their daily lives. Currently, they’re working on A Little to the Left, a puzzle game about tidying up.

Annie and Lukas have always loved making things together: halloween costumes, treasure hunts, dance moves... But when they made their first game at GMTKJam 2020, it ignited a new spark. In 2021 they formed MAX INFERNO (a nickname they had given to the corner they’d meet at to go on adventures today, many years ago). Now they have a platform for all of the odd and lovely ideas for interactions they want to see in the gaming world.

Developer: Max Inferno
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Founded: 2021
Games: A Little to the Left
Website: maxinferno.com
Contact: info@maxinferno.com
Social: Twitter Instagram TikTok YouTube Steam

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Team

Annie Macmillan - Cofounder - Illustration, Animation and Design
Lukas Steinman - Cofounder - Programming and Design
Daniel Crane - Technical Lead

About A Little to the Left

Sort, stack, and organize household objects into just the right spot in A Little to the Left, a tidy puzzle game with 75+ intuitive puzzles and a mischievous cat who likes to shake things up!

Which way should the clock hands point? How to arrange the eggs? Who put so many stickers on this fruit?!? Come enjoy a calming world with an observational puzzle game with surprises around every corner. With charming illustrations and surprising scenarios, A Little to the Left is satisfying and curious with 100+ delightful puzzles to discover. Keep your eye out for a mischievous cat who has an inclination for chaos!

And now introducing to you... The Daily Tidy Delivery! With the Daily Tidy, you’ll get a puzzle delivered EVERY DAY with a variation on one of our favourite puzzles that’s unique to you. You’ll earn fun badges for playing too! If only tidying in real life was this rewarding.

FEATURES:

  • Over 100+ unique logical puzzles

  • Quick-to-solve puzzles make for satisfying game-play

  • Intuitive drag and drop controls

  • Full controller support

  • A puzzle unique to you delivered each day with The Daily Tidy Delivery

  • Multiple solutions

  • Charming illustration

  • Atmospheric sound design

  • A mischievous (but very cute) cat

  • Funny and playful, great for all ages!

DLC:

A Little to the Left: Cupboards & Drawers (June 27th, 2023)
A Little to the Left: Seeing Stars (June 25th, 2024)

Developer: Max Inferno
Publisher: Secret Mode
Release Dates:
November 8th, 2022 (Steam, Switch)
February 15th, 2024 (Xbox, PlayStation)
Retail Price: $14.99, £12.99, 14.99€
Supported Languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Turkish
Platforms: Steam (PC/Mac), Nintendo Switch, Xbox GamePass, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows Store, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
Genre: Casual, Puzzle, Cozy, Wholesome, Indie
Controller Support: Yes

Selected Press

“A supremely rewarding ode to neatness”
4/5 – The Guardian

“Max Inferno’s debut is a warm, charming triumph”
4/5 – NME

“A Little to the Left is the perfect accompaniment for your next quiet weekend at home”
The Escapist

“Organisation has never been so pleasing.”
PCGamer

Awards Nominations

Canada Indie Cup 2022 (Critics Choice Award)
BIG Festival ‘23 (International Game, Sound, Innovation)
Develop:Star Awards ‘23 (Best Original IP, Best Small Studio)
Canadian Indie Game Awards (Indie GOTY, Best Debut, Best Casual)
TIGA Awards ‘23 (Best Puzzle Game, Best Visual Design)

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Key Art

Screenshots

Videos

Nintendo IndieWorld Nov’22 Trailer (1:00)

Nintendo Switch Launch Trailer (1:00)

Official Release Date Trailer (1:30)

Day of the Devs / SummerGameFest ‘22 Trailer (3:00)

Gameplay Trailer 1 (1:00)

Daily Tidy Feature Announcement (0:30)

Consoles Release Date Trailer (1:01)

About A Little to the Left: Cupboards & Drawers

Prepare to clean out cabinets and compartments with even more charming illustrations, surprising scenarios, and 25 delightful new Cupboards & Drawers themed puzzles to discover.

FEATURES:

  • 25 new puzzles: a mixture of Cupboard & Drawers themed levels and traditional organization levels.

  • Puzzles nested within puzzles.

  • New functionality: Multiple steps to organizing within a single level.

  • Secret compartments!

  • Multiple drawers that are opened/closed within a level, requiring a player to move objects between them.

Developer: Max Inferno
Publisher: Secret Mode
Release Dates:
June 27th, 2023 (Steam, Switch)
February 15th, 2024 (Xbox, PlayStation)
Retail Price: $5.99, £4.99, 5.99€
Supported Languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Turkish
Platforms: Steam (PC/Mac), Nintendo Switch, Xbox GamePass, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows Store, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
Genre: Casual, Puzzle, Cozy, Wholesome, Indie
Controller Support: Yes

Awards Nominations

Golden Joystick Awards (Best Game Expansion)
Thinky Game Awards (Best DLC)

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Key Art

Screenshots

Videos

Nintendo IndieWorld April’23 Announcement Trailer (0:58)

Wholesome Direct June’23 Release Date Trailer (0:29)

A Little to the Left: Cupboards & Drawers was featured in the following presentations:

About A Little to the Left: Seeing Stars

Seeing Stars is all about multiple solutions, with 100 stars to discover across 38 playful puzzles, and some extra cute visitors too.

FEATURES:

  • 33 new levels: a mixture of “Multiple Solution” themed puzzles and traditional organizational levels.

  • 5 additional bonus levels.

  • 100 Solutions to discover.

  • Levels with up to 5 different solutions!

  • Interactive items that you can fold, flap, crush, join, stick, bounce, stack, strum and smash.

  • Lots of variety.

  • New OST.

  • Hints for ALL solutions.

  • Layered levels with both easy and challenging solutions.

  • Multiple cats!

Developer: Max Inferno
Publisher: Secret Mode
Release Dates:
June 25th, 2024 (All Platforms)
Retail Price: $8.99, £6.99, 8.99€
Supported Languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Turkish
Platforms: Steam (PC/Mac), Nintendo Switch, Xbox GamePass, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows Store, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
Genre: Casual, Puzzle, Cozy, Wholesome, Indie
Controller Support: Yes

Logos

Key Art

Screenshots

Videos

Day of the Devs: SGF’24 Announcement Trailer (1:24)

A Little to the Left: Seeing Star was featured in the following presentations:

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