[b]My Playtime:[/b] 4.9h (100% achievement, finished the game)
[list][*][i]Main levels:[/i] 3.4h
[*][i]Extra levels:[/i] 1.5h
[/list]
[b]Grindy Achievement(s):[/b] No.
[b]Optional Achievement(s):[/b] Yes (9 achievements).
[b]Difficult Achievement(s):[/b] No.
[h1]Intro[/h1]
[i]Hidden in my Paradise[/i] is a hidden object game where you are given four types of objectives in each level. Each level is short and can be finished quickly, and with the implementation of the level editor, you can play it as long as you want.
[b]Pros:[/b]
- 25+9 levels
- In-game tracker for all types of objectives
- Move any objects to find what you need easily
[b]Cons:[/b]
- Hints are not available for all types of objectives
- Snap hints can be buggy
[b]Specs[/b]
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, 16GB RAM, AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT
[h1]Should you buy this game?[/h1]
[i]If you enjoy hidden object games, this one is very cheap on sale with a lot of content.[/i]
[hr][/hr]
[h1]In-Depth Review[/h1]
[h3]The Game[/h3]
You'll be offered a level selection screen as soon as you boot the game, and it lets you know how many objects you need to find when you are about to start a level. There are four types of objectives: finding objects, snaps, fairies, and treasures. The first and last ones are similar to other hidden object games, with the former having various objects listed at the bottom of the screen while the latter has treasure chests in various colors hidden throughout the levels.
The hidden objects are generally easy to find and require you to find smaller objects. You can guess the general location of some objects, although some will also be hidden beneath the trees. This means that you need to hover over them to produce a flashlight-like effect, allowing you to scour the hidden objects behind them. Alternatively, you can just move all objects to find the one you want. This is really helpful for some objects that are more obscurely hidden behind others.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3564493724
However, I don't like that it doesn't automatically hide found objects; I needed to manually scroll the listed objects at the bottom of the screen whenever I'm finished with most of them. Moreover, the game never marks objects that you have found if it asks you to find multiple objects of the same item, which will cause confusion when you are looking for the few remaining ones.
The treasures are more hidden. You'll find most of them beneath the trees, and since they are more secret than the other objectives, you can only see the full count after finishing the last level. The last level won't unlock right away, though—you need to play earlier levels and complete objectives in some levels to unlock them. You don't need to finish them all to unlock the last level, but you need to finish a decent number of objectives to do it.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3346857918
Finding the fairies is easier. You just need to spot some glittering objects and move them. This also serves as a reminder that you can move objects, which is helpful for finding some objects. That being said, the fairies are usually hidden in plain sight, and you can find them as long as you are looking at everything carefully.
[b]Snaps[/b]
Snaps are exactly like what it said: the game will give you photo(s), and you must replicate them. At first, I thought the game wanted me to make the scene exactly like in the photo, but it turns out that it's very lenient—you just need to make sure that the objects are rotated and stacked correctly with other objects. The placement can be anywhere.
People might be confused about how the camera works, though. You can zoom in/out both the screen and the camera lens. The former will make you able to fit more objects since everything will look smaller, while the latter will increase the region for the camera snaps. Some photos will require you to place a lot of objects, and those who don't know about this "trick" will only zoom in/out using one of them and think that there is not enough space to fit everything in the picture.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3554286271
[b]Hints[/b]
The game offers hints for hidden objects and snaps. The hidden object hints will directly show you the object location, although snap hints are trickier. It will try to locate the object that you miss, and if you moved those objects somewhere, it will still point to the original location of where the object was. Moreover, since it only shows the object location, your snap will still fail if you don't arrange the objects in the way that the game wants.
[b]Level Editor[/b]
One of the unique aspects of this game is that it has a level editor. You don't unlock all objects in it right away; you need to use currency that you get from finishing the main levels in either the shop or the gacha machine to unlock them. Note that you don't need to grind to get them all—finishing each level once is enough.
You can also play levels made by each user, although it can be hard to find a quality one; I tried to play one of the high rated one, and it doesn't seem to feel like the main levels, so I just stopped.
[b]Length and Difficulty[/b]
The game has 25 main levels and 9 extra levels. I finished the main levels in 3.4h and spent the rest finishing the extra levels and sweeping the achievement. The game is not hard; you can find everything easily, and if you end up stuck, you can use the hints or just move everything in your sight until you find the object you are looking for.
The game has a long transition time between pages, though. It will always show an animation that displays the game's title and the two mascot characters whenever you move the pages. I got fed up looking at them at some point.
[h1]Conclusion[/h1]
[i]Hidden in my Paradise[/i] is a simple hidden object game, but that simplicity is what makes the game charming. Each level is small enough for you not to get overwhelmed, and short enough to finish in several sessions. It's the perfect game to wind up after a long day. Moreover, the game is very cheap on sale, and considering how long you can get out of it, it's definitely a steal.
