Hidden Folks

Developesr: Adriaan de Jongh / Sylvain Tegroeg | Publisher: Adriaan de Jongh | Release Date: 2017 | Genre: Adventure / Casual / Indie | Website: Official Website | Purchase: Steam

Do you enjoy hidden object games, but feel like searching for things without having to solve puzzles, watch cut-scenes and play mini-games? There are undoubtedly a lot of hidden object games on the market, but often it feels like the actual hidden object scenes are merely added as an afterthought. This is definitely not the case with Hidden Folks, a game where the focus is purely on finding things. There is no story, no miss-click penalties or even time limits, so you can simply sit back, relax and scrutinize the detailed levels for some elusive targets.

Simplicity is definitely one of the highlights in the game as it is easy to jump in and start playing without the need for any tutorials or explanations. In fact, if you have ever paged through a Where’s Waldo book before, you’ll know exactly what to do. A strip on the bottom of the screen shows you images of your targets, all of which are hidden away amongst the detailed, hand drawn miniature landscapes. Initially your targets are basically hiding in plain sight, but as the game progresses the scenes become not only larger, but also more detailed. Increasing the challenge even further is the fact that the landscapes are all very interactive. This means that many objects, such as doors, windows, trees, bushes, tents and more can be manipulated by clicking on them or clicking and dragging. It is not just objects obscuring your targets that are interactive, but virtually everything reacts in some way when clicked, which is a really nice touch. It also means that you are not simply scouring the screen for your targets, but having fun along the way by clicking on random things to see what happens

If you are unable to locate your target, you can click their icon on the bottom strip and a handy hint will point you in their general direction. These hints are useful enough that you can narrow down your search somewhat, but not so obvious that they show you exactly where the target is. Don’t worry if you are still not able to find all the targets as you don’t have to locate each and every one to move on to the next level. Speaking of levels, there are about 14 of them currently in the game. Some are tiny, while others are massive and require you to scroll around to see everything. The developers have also promised to add more areas and features in the future and there are currently three levels listed in the game as “soon.”

Visually, the game makes use of plain white backgrounds while everything else is sketched out in black. This monochromatic scheme not only looks really neat, but also makes it more of a challenge to find all the targets.

To make things a little easier on the eyes you can also switch to a sepia or night mode. Levels are split up into themes, such as forest, dry lands city and factory, each featuring tiny people engaging in all kinds of activities. For example, on the forest levels you’ll see people paddling in rivers, catching fish and sleeping in tents, while the city levels are packed with cars, trucks and all kinds of buildings. In addition to the eye-catching visuals, Hidden Folks also feature a novel approach to its audio. Every single sound effect in the game is mouth-originated, which is quite a feat when you realize that there are close to a thousand of them. Half the fun is clicking on random things to see what wacky sound effects are associated with them. From the honking of cars to the chirping of birds and even the rustling of hedges, the scenes come alive when clicked. Of course, there are also plenty of mouth-originated sound effects that make up the ambient noises as you scroll around the scenes, which sounds a lot better than you might imagine. Interacting with the game is as easy as clicking and dragging, while the mouse wheel is used for zooming in or out. We did find it easier to use the keyboard buttons for scrolling around some of the larger levels without accidentally clicking on things.

The only complaint we can level at Hidden Folks is the fact that it is over all too soon, but considering the low asking price, it still offers plenty of value for money. The fact that the developers will be adding more content in the future is also heartening, although we have no idea how long this might take. Whether you are looking to play something that enables you to focus purely on finding things without any other distractions, or simply want to mess around and click on everything in sight, Hidden Folks have got you covered. It might look fairly basic in static screenshots, but when the game is in motion you’ll see its true charm. It is also refreshing to play a game that goes against the grain and instead of over-complicating everything, simply lets you get on with having fun.