If you’ve been to the doctor’s office or the dentist anytime in the 90s you’d find a magazine or a book where you had to find Waldo or an illustrated character in a goofy setting filled with objects and other characters. I’d look through the book and more often than not after a couple of minutes of surveying, I’d find Waldo. I never thought about this activity outside of doctor’s visits and I never thought they’d make a game about this concept. Turns out the studio Rogueside decided to make a series of games behind this premise. I didn’t play the first one, but when I was offered a chance to review the newest one, Hidden Through Time 2, my curiosity about this game motivated me to check it out. How does the ”find the Hidden Things” premise work as a video game?
Let’s dive into it.
Narrative:
As you can imagine by the game’s premise this isn’t a game that’s focused on delivering a narrative. It does have a campaign, but it doesn’t have a story that ties the maps you are looking through together. If you are looking for a relaxed “play at your own pace” kind of game then Hidden Through Time might be your jam. If you are in the mood for something narrative centric then this isn’t going to be for you.
The Gameplay:
In each map, you are given a list of items, animals, or people that you need to find. Each map is filled with things, animals, and people that are centered around that map’s theme. For instance, one map features a Hollywood-style film studio, another is a town and the stores around its park, and another is a school’s campus during prom night.
When you find a item that is on the list you simply click on it with your mouse or use the controller to move the action icon to it. Each map has two facets to it and some parts of your list can only be found in one facet of the map. So for example one map could have a base cycle and a night cycle, and only a part of your list can be found during the night time. What’s great is that the map itself changes a little bit from the daytime to the night time so you have a lot to explore and it presents another layer for you to think about.
Additional Pros:
The art style of this game is so cartoony and colorful in the best ways. Everything is presented in a very detailed and organized way. As you’re playing through each map there is a real risk that you are doing the same things over and over and you would get that “samey” feel to the gameplay. The detailed illustrations and the variety of things that you encounter on each map help things to feel different even though you are doing those same actions over and over again.
Another aspect that I want to shout out is the fact that you can create maps and share them for other people to explore and try to find objects in. That is a cool feature that provides some longevity. I am by no means creative enough to actually create my own map but I enjoy playing with the creations of others.
Cons/Flaws:
You would be fooled by looking at the art style and looking at the overall concept of this game and thinking that this game was easy. On the flip side, this game is surprisingly challenging. I would go quite a long spell without finding anything on the list and eventually, I felt like I would need a change of scenery so I would skip to the next map and try to find items on the list on the next map. I enjoy challenges just like the next gamer, however, I often find myself frustrated with how hard some of the maps are.
Outside of the first couple of levels, I didn’t find a hint system in the game at all. So once you get stuck there’s no way through but to barrel ahead and find the items. I wish the hint system would have stayed on for the duration of the game.
One aspect that I didn’t like about the game is how close some of the items are to one another. For example, there is a bonus gas container item that you can find in every level however the container that I found in one level was not clickable due to a person being too close to the container. Every time I was going to click that gas container I would instead click on the person. This game is a challenge so having that additional barrier there was frustrating.
Overall/Should you Play Hidden Through Time 2:
This is a weird game because it’s so challenging that I don’t know if I would classify it as a chill and relaxed experience but I could see how it would be that for a lot of people. If you are looking for an action game, or a big narrative experience then this game isn’t for you however if you have some minutes to kill and just want to do a quick session where you’re just finding interesting items on an intricate map then I’d definitely recommend you check this game out.
Hidden Through Time 2 is also a cool game that you can play with your kids or play with your significant other. My wife and I had an enjoyable time trying to find all the items on a map. It’s not a co-op experience natively but it is a fun backseat gamer experience to play with others.
Where Should Hidden Through Time 2 fit in your video game backlog:
Here at the ProNerd Report and on the Single Player Experience Podcast, we practice the 10 games backlog rule. In this practice, you log down 10 games, those games are gonna be your video game backlog. To be as productive as you possibly can be, we recommend that you only play three games at one time. One single player narrative game, one game that’s gonna be your chill and relaxed game, and another game that’s going to be your palate cleanser game, which is a game that you play when you’re not in the mood for your other narrative. When you complete or get tired of one game, it leaves the backlog list. Then you decide which new game is added to the list, and which game on the list advances to your active three games.
Hidden Through Time 2 – This game should be in your video game backlog if you’re looking for something casual and like to play and you like games in the puzzle genre. If you’re looking for something heavy in the narrative or action adventure department this isn’t going to be the game for you however Hidden Through Time 2 is a cool game with a unique concept that should be in your video game backlog if you’re looking for a good chill and relax experience.
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Reviewed on PS5
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