100 hidden fish

Developer: Anatoliy Loginovskikh, Аlexandr Telminov | Publisher: Anatoliy Loginovskikh | Release Date: 21 January 2022 | Genre: Hidden Object / Casual / Puzzle | Website: N/A | Purchase: Steam

By the time 100 Hidden Fish arrived, the 100 Hidden series had already established a familiar formula. Players explore a large hand-drawn black-and-white illustration while searching for one hundred carefully concealed objects. There are no complicated mechanics, time limits, or extra modes. The success of each entry depends almost entirely on the quality of its artwork and how enjoyable it is to hunt for the final few hidden objects.

Fortunately, 100 Hidden Fish is one of the stronger entries. Rather than relying on a cluttered collection of unrelated sketches, the game presents a coherent underwater world packed with marine life, submarines, shipwrecks and forgotten machinery. It doesn’t reinvent the formula, but its attractive setting and well-hidden fish make for a short but enjoyable session.

The premise is exactly what the title suggests. One hundred fish have hidden themselves throughout a huge underwater illustration, and your task is simply to find them all. Every successful click unlocks its own Steam achievement while reducing the remaining counter until the final fish has been discovered.

The underwater setting provides plenty to explore while searching. Ancient shipwrecks rest on the seabed, oil pipelines snake across the ocean floor, schools of jellyfish drift through the water and a giant sea turtle dominates one section of the artwork. Several submarines are scattered throughout the map, some of which amusingly contain cats peering through the windows.

These little visual jokes give the illustration more personality than a straightforward collection of coral and seaweed. The cats serve no gameplay purpose whatsoever, yet they add a playful charm that rewards players who take time to appreciate the environment rather than simply hunting for fish.

The fish themselves strike an excellent balance between camouflage and readability. They blend naturally into coral, rocks, machinery, and marine life without becoming so distorted that they stop looking like fish altogether. In many hidden object games the objects are stretched beyond recognition, forcing players to search for abstract shapes instead. 100 Hidden Fish avoids that trap.

As a result, discoveries feel satisfying rather than arbitrary. Most missed fish produce that familiar moment of realisation where something that seemed invisible suddenly becomes impossible to overlook. During my playthrough only the very last fish caused any real frustration, and even then it ultimately turned out to be hiding in plain sight rather than relying on an unfair trick.

The game does include a handful of animations, although they remain fairly restrained. Bubbles gently rise through the water while two or three small submarines slowly move around parts of the scene. These subtle touches help bring the environment to life without constantly distracting from the search itself. Compared to 100 Hidden Birds, which relied almost entirely on static artwork, these moving elements add a welcome sense of activity. 

Controls are as simple as ever. Players use the mouse to scroll around the enormous illustration before clicking on hidden fish. There are no penalties for incorrect clicks, making the experience approachable even for younger players or those completely unfamiliar with hidden object games.

Night Mode can once again be activated using the N key, offering an alternative presentation that some players may find easier on the eyes during longer searches. Achievements can also be reset using the documented keyboard shortcut, allowing another complete playthrough without reinstalling the game.

Visually, 100 Hidden Fish is one of the cleaner-looking entries in the series. The underwater setting naturally lends itself to flowing lines, layered scenery, and interesting silhouettes without becoming excessively cluttered. Coral reefs, wrecked ships, pipelines and marine wildlife all contribute to an illustration that feels cohesive from top to bottom.

Unlike 100 Hidden Cups, whose artwork often resembled unrelated doodles thrown together on a page, everything here belongs within the same underwater ecosystem. The result is considerably easier to read while still offering enough visual complexity to hide one hundred fish successfully.

The soundtrack provides gentle background music that complements the relaxed pace of the game. It remains unobtrusive throughout the search and never becomes distracting, although like many entries in the series it is unlikely to remain memorable after completion. 

A complete playthrough is relatively brief, often taking under ten minutes, depending on experience with the series. As always, the pace slows considerably once only a handful of fish remain, but the generally fair hiding places prevent the ending from becoming unnecessarily frustrating.

Replay value remains limited. Once every fish location has been memorised, there is little reason to repeat the search beyond earning the achievements again after resetting them. Fortunately, the game is priced and structured as a short casual experience rather than something intended to provide dozens of hours of content.

Compared to 100 Hidden Birds, 100 Hidden Fish offers a more cohesive environment and slightly livelier presentation thanks to its animated bubbles and submarines. It also compares favourably to 100 Hidden Dogs, whose rotated sections increased the challenge through visual disorientation. Here, the difficulty comes almost entirely from clever camouflage, creating a more traditional hidden object experience.