We played the Hidden Cats series developed by Nukearts Studio and published by Silesia Games.
The series consists of the following installments:
- Hidden Cats in Rio de Janeiro
- Hidden Cats in Tokyo
- Hidden Cats in Santa's Realm
- Hidden Cats in Spooky Town
- Hidden Cats in Berlin
- Hidden Cats in Rome
- Hidden Cats in Paris
- Hidden Cats in New York
- Hidden Cats in London
This is a series that is more or less the same/similar in all aspects, so we will not do an individual review of each installment but will present you with an overall overview of the series.
This game is intended for relaxed play. The controls are quite simple and involve only movement and marking (clicking on the sought elements).
The game consists of a basic map, an animated drawing, depicting a tourist postcard of each city with the most significant attractions that illustrate each destination. This basic part of the game (the animated drawing) contains two gameplay modes: basic (normal) and advanced. In the basic mode, you search for approximately 100 cats in fixed positions with the option of 3 hints, while in the advanced mode, you typically search for 150-200 cats in random positions, special cats, and certain people.
By successfully completing these two gameplay modes, you unlock bonus levels where there is no animated drawing, but only drawings in which you need to find cats. The bonus levels feature drawings that are in spaces typical for each city. For example, the bonus level for Paris includes Cabaret and Versailles, for Berlin, of course, the Berlin Wall, for London, a Pub, while for New York, it is the subway. All of these are places that are typical, and sometimes even stereotypical, for the mentioned locations.
The drawings are in black and white, and you need to mark all the sought elements (cats, special cats, and people) to get the entire drawing in color. The drawings within this series are a true little masterpiece and definitely worth attention. The game is easy to play because when you click on several cats in a certain area (for example, on a building), that part of the drawing gets colored/painted, just like with certain cats, special cats, and people. This also helps you in finding the remaining elements you haven't clicked on.
This is a game that doesn't require much skill or knowledge of controls; it serves for fun and relaxation, without any special "training," but sometimes a good eye and sharp sight (read: vision) are needed to find those (last) few cats that have cleverly hidden from you somewhere you least expect. While searching for elements in the game, especially in the main part, you can hear various sounds. These include church bells in Rome or music in Paris, or sounds coming from a pub. All these little and subtle elements add extra charm to the game itself. While searching for cats, during a close encounter, you will hear the cats meowing and asking for your better (greater) attention to notice them.
The challenge is in line with the type of game. In short, it is difficult enough to remain fun and not be tiring.
The game has no story, nor is that its point, but it has a good atmosphere in line with the specific city and place. It definitely serves for relaxation and rest. Cat lovers will definitely love this combination - a famous tourist spot and landmarks, relaxation while playing, and of course - cats!
As for the drawings, they are, as we mentioned earlier, exceptionally good and special. The feeling of fulfillment is when you receive the final product after finding all the cats and people.
The sound is appropriate; we would say it's okay, it could of course be better, but it's wonderful when the sound amplifies or activates when you get close to certain landmarks. That somehow compensates for everything related to this segment.
And what we are all interested in is value for money, and here comes another advantage of this game. Some series can be purchased for just a few euros, which definitely justifies the quality and length of each game. This is definitely a game/series that can be said to justify the money spent, meaning you get good value for money. The prerequisite is, of course, that you love this type of game (and cats).
This is definitely a game you should play.
Check out a few images in our gallery, which we hope will encourage you to play at least one part of this series.
