Hidden Folks. Time to relax - 9 games to play if you're tired
- Time to Relax - 9 Titles to Play if You're Tired
- Catamari Damacy Reroll
- Journey
- Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
- House Flipper
- Chicory: A Colorful Tale
- A Hat in Time
- Hidden Folks
- Donut County
Hidden Folks
- Publisher: Adriaan de Jongh
- Platforms: PC, Switch, Android, iOS
- Relax factor: 8/10
Searching for specific things in a picture is a very simple idea, and it seems difficult to make it interesting and original. This is a common problem of repetitive patterns and the reason why they often only function as mini-games within a given production, so as not to bore the recipients. The author of Hidden Folks, who developed the entire game on his own, was not afraid of disappointed reactions and created a title that's entirely based on searching for things at a given level. Fortunately, because he definitely came out on top, and the gameplay is not boring at all.
The levels in Hidden Folks are black-and-white, visually very simple and quite static, the animation adds a lot of variety to them, but it's not the most important aspect. At the bottom of the screen, we see a list of things to find, and each of them is equipped with a brilliant hint, which, properly interpreted, can significantly facilitate the search. What distinguishes Hidden Folks from other games of this type are huge levels, full of secrets and objects that, after interacting with them, reveal previously invisible things. Often the items we are looking for are not visible and we need to figure out how to force our surroundings to show them to us first.
Hidden Folks is completely devoid of a soundtrack, but many elements of each level make different sounds. The entire audio layer, from the sounds of monkeys to the sounds of vehicles, is a properly modulated human voice that can unexpectedly amuse us as we're calmly gazing at the board. The most important thing about Hidden Folks, however, is that it's... difficult and can often make you ask anyone to help you search. This small, black-and-white production requires a great deal of perceptiveness, so if you are planning a quiet evening with someone you know, searching together may be the perfect idea for a relaxing time.
