100 hidden snails

Developer: Anatoliy Loginovskikh | Publisher: Anatoliy Loginovskikh | Release Date: 2020 | Genre: Casual / Hidden Object / Indie | Website: N/A | Purchase: Steam

Finding snails in real life is usually a simple matter of checking damp spots in the garden or following the trail of destruction left across your plants. 100 Hidden Snails makes things a little trickier by hiding its gastropods inside a surreal black-and-white illustration filled with bizarre doodles and strange scenery. As the title suggests, the goal is very simple: find all 100 hidden snails.

100 Hidden Snails is part of Anatoliy Loginovskikh’s long-running “100 hidden” series of casual hidden object games. These games typically feature a single hand-drawn illustration where players must locate a specific number of creatures or objects. In this case, the objects of desire are snails, and each one clicked rewards players with a Steam achievement. This means achievement hunters will see notifications popping up constantly as they work their way through the picture.

The gameplay could not be simpler. Players scroll up and down a tall black-and-white image while clicking on any snails they spot. Once found, snails are highlighted in red, making it easy to see which ones have already been collected. There are no timers, penalties, mini-games, or additional modes to worry about. The only challenge is carefully scanning the illustration and spotting all 100 snails hidden amongst the surreal details. The total number of snails left to find are always displayed on the bottom of the screen.

The art style is the most memorable part of the game. Everything is presented in a black-and-white doodle sketch style that gives the whole image a strange, dreamlike quality. The illustration is filled with odd shapes, weird characters, and chaotic linework, which makes some snails easy to spot while others blend into the background very well. It is not the cleanest or most readable hidden object game around, but the unusual art gives it more personality than a generic scene filled with random objects.

Unfortunately, 100 Hidden Snails is also extremely short. Players with sharp eyes can complete everything in a matter of minutes, while even those who struggle with the final few snails are unlikely to spend very long with it. There is very little replay value once all 100 have been found unless players want to reset their progress and start again. The one-achievement-per-snail structure makes it attractive for achievement hunters, but anyone looking for a more substantial hidden object experience will be left wanting more.

The audio is very basic and does not play a major role in the experience. Since the game is so short, this is not a big issue, but there is nothing here that stands out in the same way as the artwork. There’s one short, looping tune that plays in the background while searching for the snails and a victory tune that plays once all of them are found. The controls are equally simple, with everything handled via the mouse. Scrolling through the image and clicking snails works exactly as expected, which is all a game like this really needs.

Overall, 100 Hidden Snails is difficult to criticize too harshly because it does exactly what it promises. It presents players with one surreal illustration, hides 100 snails inside it, and rewards each discovery with an achievement. However, it is also over almost as soon as it begins, so expectations should be kept in check. Players who enjoy short hidden object games or want a quick batch of achievements will probably get the most out of it, while everyone else may find it too slight to be memorable.