Miniatures, a short narrative point-and-click game, opens in the shadows. It places a closed handcrafted wooden box in front of you and only once you flip the switch of the lamp sitting to the screen’s right will you be able to click on the ornate key lodged in the keyhole that will creak the box open. The way the game paces out these actions sets the tone perfectly for what to expect in Miniatures. As the game’s main theme is childhood, it captures a feeling of ‘childhood wonder’ of the world. Through the point-and-click mechanic, the player is able to explore each scene, with each correct click exposing some new wonder.

When the box is opened to you, you will find four tiny objects nested into the four compartments of the box’s interior. Each of these objects represents a different handcrafted story for you to experience. Click on one and you’ll be transported to its world, reminding me of how seeing objects from when I was a kid quickly brings back so many sights and sounds of my childhood.

The story of each object comes in at just over 10 minutes of gameplay meaning the game can be completed in around 45 minutes. This feels right for Miniatures, as the stories work like four distinct moments in time. Each of these moments has a different story and setting and all contain an element of the strange and slightly magical.

Gameplay is all about progressing the story via interacting with the scene in front of you. That could take the form of dragging a “page” and turning it like a picture book, or clicking on a door to knock and wake up a worm who needs to play the saxophone, or fitting some screws in wooden holes for an adult to nail them down. It’s all about exploration and those pauses between actions, showing that the game really pushes for the player to have a mindful playthrough.

The art style is quite minimalistic, using toned-down colours and a soundtrack that leans more into the diegetic sounds, providing minimal instrumentals. By making these sound choices the short but intriguing experience once again steers the player to focus on the here and now, rather than being overwhelmed by a lively soundtrack.

Though the aesthetic is gorgeous, I found some issues with the narratives themselves. As I was playing through I was searching for meaning in Miniature’s stories; having marketed the game as connected with childhood themes, I was interested to experience what ideas these stories would present on the topic. However, Miniatures presents dream-like scenarios and therefore there is a lack of substance to the narrative. The gameplay and narrative feel disconnected, as if one is interactive but the other falls short of providing enough detail to leave a meaningful message. As the stories are super short, developer Other Tales Interactive could have spent more time mapping out their narratives and finding ways to make the stories less confusing and more symbolic. It’s still enjoyable due to its style and easy gameplay, but giving the narrative a little bit more care could have made this into a more memorable experience.