Hidden Folks

Developer: 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 solving puzzles, watching cut scenes, and playing 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, 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 one of the game’s highlights, 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 are having fun along the way by clicking on random things to see what happens.

If you cannot 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 helpful enough to narrow 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 one to move on to the next level. The game was released with a handful of levels, ranging from tiny to massive. Afterward, the developers released a free factory-themed update as well as two DLC packs that added snow and music-themed levels. These DLC packs were later unified into the game, along with a slight price increase. In a nice gesture, players who owned the game before this happened were given the added content for free.

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

You can switch to a sepia or night mode to make things easier on the eyes. Levels are split into themes, such as forest, dry lands, city, and factory, each featuring tiny people engaging in various 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 features a novel approach to its audio. Every sound effect in the game is mouth-originated, which is quite a feat when you realize that there are more than 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. However, we found it easier to use the keyboard buttons to scroll around some of the larger levels without accidentally clicking on things.

One of the only complaints we could level at Hidden Folk when it was released was that it was over too soon, but even then, it offered plenty of value for money, considering the low asking price. The addition of the new content has increased the game’s price since then but will keep players busy for much longer. 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 has got you covered. It might look fairly basic in static screenshots, but you’ll see its true charm when the game is in motion. It is also refreshing to play a game that goes against the grain, and instead of over-complicating everything, it simply lets you get on with having fun.