Another Dirty Gaming Secret

Every gamer has a certain game or type of game that they would be embarrassed to admit that they enjoy.  For me, it's always been awkward admitting that I've spent time playing The Sims series.  What can I say, there's just something oddly enjoyable about watching your character achieve their life goals.  Another genre that I will only grudgingly admit to enjoying is the hidden object game.  For some reason being able to find an object gives me a lot of satisfaction.  Yes, hidden object games are completely casual in nature, but they are just so dang relaxing.  Recently I decided to check out a couple of very different hidden object games and see what I've been missing in this casual genre.

The first game I checked out was Grim Legends:  The Forsaken Bride--a game developed by Artifex Mundi who apparently are one of the most well known names in the hidden object genre.  Grim Legends tells the story of a set of events surrounding a wedding gone wrong (in a very fairy tale sense).  As the story unfolds players are given an opportunity to find hidden objects and then to complete point and click tasks.  You might notice a small key stuck inside a pipe and need to find another object to help you fish the key out.  There are also more traditional hidden object areas where you are given a list of specific items to find in a jumble of objects.  The best part about the traditional hidden object areas is that the artwork is beautiful.

One of the beautiful hidden object puzzles in Grim Legends.

Besides finding hidden objects there are also many puzzles for players to complete.  These can range from putting together the pieces of something broken to finding the items for a potion and then following a recipe to create it.  There is plenty of variety to keep players invested in the story.  The puzzles aren't so difficult that you'll find yourself getting frustrated but they are just challenging enough that they do require some thought.  One nice feature is that puzzles can be skipped if you can't solve them.

I managed to get Grim Legends on sale for $3 (regular price is $9.99) and was happy with the amount that I paid.  It took me about 7 hours to complete the main story and a short additional bonus story that was included.  The story isn't anything novel but the variety in puzzles and hidden object interaction was fun.

Since I was on a bit of a hidden object game bender, I also decided to check out Hidden Folks.  Unlike Grim Legends, Hidden Folks is more about simply finding things and reminds me of the Where's Waldo? books that were so popular when I was a kid.  Hidden Folks is a series of cute, hand-drawn scenarios with a pictorial list of people or objects for players to find.  Finding those folks can be a straightforward matter of simply being able to spot them on a chaotic map filled with many, many moving pieces or could involve you needing to manipulate an object in order to find them--they might be hanging out in a tent and you need to click on the flap to open it up or hanging out inside a house and you need to open a door.  The game almost challenges you to click on things and see if they move or change--this is something that many hidden object games actually discourage and penalize.



The best part of Hidden Folks is the sound effects.  They are basically some guy making noises--"beep, beep" when you click on a car or a "whoosh" noise for something moving.  You want to click on things just to hear the noise that it makes.

There are four different zones in Hidden Folks--the jungle, the desert, the city, and the factory.  Each has their own distinct challenges.  The desert is a large, sprawling map with a few pockets of activity but otherwise very empty.  The factory is filled with shelves, drawers, computers, moving parts and tons o' folks.  The objects players are asked to find can seem quite daunting--like a tiny mushroom or a golf ball--but it can be done and it's actually fun to get stuck and try to find an object.

If you're looking for some relaxing games I would highly recommend both Grim Legends and Hidden Folks.  Even if you're someone who's not really into casual puzzle games, you will find yourself engrossed in both of them.