Hidden Paws Mystery
- December 18, 2018
- Manic Hyena
- 4h median play time
Get on SteamHidden Paws Mystery is a casual detective game where players uncover clues and solve puzzles to find a missing maned wolf. Interact with various animal characters, explore different environments, and use clever detective skills to unearth the truth. With its engaging story and charming art style, Hidden Paws Mystery offers a unique and entertaining gaming experience.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 4
Windows
PlayStation
Reviews
- The game features beautiful graphics and a variety of creatively designed islands, enhancing the overall experience.
- It's a relaxing hidden object game with a charming premise of finding cats and yarn, making it enjoyable for casual play.
- The hint system for yarns and the audio cues from cats add a nice touch, making the gameplay more engaging.
- The camera controls are clunky and can be frustrating, making navigation difficult and sometimes leading to motion sickness.
- Some cats and yarns are hidden in unfair ways, blending into the environment, which can make them hard to find.
- The game is relatively short, with a playtime of around 3-4 hours, which may leave some players wanting more content.
- music42 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally described as soothing, relaxing, and well-suited to the game's atmosphere, enhancing the overall experience. While some players noted that the soundtrack can be repetitive or reminiscent of royalty-free tracks, many appreciated its calming qualities and how it complements the visuals and gameplay. Overall, the music contributes positively to the game's charm, making it enjoyable for casual play.
“The music fits the landscape perfectly.”
“The music is very relaxing and the camera controls are better than the first game.”
“The soundtrack is fantastic (and also soothing) and this is a nice little casual game where you look at different environments trying to find cats of all shapes and colors.”
“The music is teeth grindingly repetitive, and the balls of yarn are sometimes ridiculously difficult to find because of their colorations and the clumsy way in which you rotate and tilt the islands to look for objects, but none of these objections stopped me from really enjoying myself.”
“Recommended, but beware of the repetitive music and the frustrations involved in making the islands move around so you can see every side and from every angle.”
“My only complaint is that the music was pretty lackluster.”
- graphics40 mentions
- 63 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game have received generally positive feedback, with many users praising the beautiful artwork, improved visuals, and varied level designs that enhance the overall aesthetic. However, some players noted performance issues and criticized the hidden object mechanics, which sometimes relied on unfair placements of items. Overall, the visuals are considered charming and well-executed, contributing to a relaxing gaming experience.
“The graphics are so beautiful and the music is very relaxing... for only 4€, I recommend it a lot!!!”
“I'm absolutely in love with the visuals of this game.”
“Beefed up graphics and unique environments breathe new life into the series.”
“Unfortunately, this game still has the same issues as the previous one: awful controls and making the graphics card go insane.”
“I wish the devs did something about that, but they decided to focus on the visuals instead.”
“Graphics are basic but colorful and cute.”
- story13 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 46 % neutral mentions
- 31 % negative mentions
The game features minimal storytelling, with players primarily focused on repetitive gameplay involving the search for hidden cats and yarn. While there are no characters or a central narrative, the diverse and quirky environments provide a sense of exploration and atmosphere, allowing each location to evoke its own unique charm. Overall, the lack of a traditional storyline is compensated by the relaxing and enjoyable experience of uncovering secrets in whimsical settings.
“Having played the previous game years ago, I don't exactly remember how this one measures up in difficulty, though I can recall the previous game featuring semi-ominous storytelling and having a memorable art style for the genre.”
“A hut in a forest of fireflies, a spooky mansion stranded on an island, a forest of gigantic mushrooms, or a surreal chess board lost in space - each of these seems to tell its own distinctive story.”
“No violence, no stress, just exploring quirky, otherworldly little landscapes with a mission to motivate you.”
“No story, no characters, just extremely repetitive gameplay; move awkwardly and look for cats and balls of yarn, that's it, nothing else.”
“[b]story:[/b] there is no storyline.”
“That's it, there's no story to it.”
- atmosphere11 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its relaxing and ethereal qualities, enhanced by soothing music and the whimsical sounds of cats. Players appreciate the unique thematic elements, particularly the spooky, Halloween-inspired vibe that complements the fantasy setting. Overall, the combination of charming graphics and ambient audio creates an immersive experience that draws players into its cute yet mysterious world.
“Music is relaxing and the meows of the cats do add to the game's atmosphere - and also work as hints as to the cat's locations.”
“Well, it's another game in the hidden paws series but with a different theme; this time it will not be a Christmas atmosphere, but something more gloomy, Halloween-type.”
“The atmosphere has a very strong fantasy with a dash of Halloween feel to it.”
“You get to boop cats & find all the yarn balls in this spooky, ethereal atmosphere!”
- gameplay9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by its simplicity and repetitiveness, focusing on searching for cats and yarn balls in a serene environment, which can lead to frustration with the mechanics. While the game offers around three hours of playtime filled with mysteries and beautiful landscapes, it lacks depth and replay value once all objectives are completed. Overall, it provides a calming experience, though it may not satisfy players seeking more engaging or varied gameplay.
“Approximately over 3 hours of gameplay filled with plenty of mysteries to be discovered.”
“The colors are calm, the gameplay is easy, and the music is soothing.”
“The gameplay may be short, and the cats may come secondary to the astonishingly beautiful landscapes, but I think there's something fantastic about being able to sit down for nearly 4 hours, being both relaxed and angrily zooming around an impressive landscape in search of the last cat, that's patiently waiting to be found camouflaged on a rock the entire time.”
“No story, no characters, just extremely repetitive gameplay. You move awkwardly and look for cats and balls of yarn; that's it, nothing else.”
“For me, I kept running into issues where I was spending more time on the mechanics (stressful) than I'd care to for a relaxing game.”
“Of course, when you find all of the cats and yarn balls, the game is over, so it doesn't have much replay value and depending on how good you are, it won't give you very many hours of gameplay either.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features appealing graphics and creative level designs, but players report performance and camera issues, along with some frustratingly hidden objects. However, there have been notable improvements in performance and visuals.
“Performance and visuals are greatly improved.”
“Overall, a hidden object game with nice graphics and cool level designs.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, often questioning their motivation to continue due to repetitive music and challenging object-finding mechanics. However, despite these drawbacks, many still enjoy the overall experience and appreciate the availability of guides to assist with difficult tasks.
“Boring, tedious, why am I playing this?”
“The music is teeth-grindingly repetitive, and the balls of yarn are sometimes ridiculously difficult to find because of their colorations and the clumsy way in which you rotate and tilt the islands to look for objects.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its heartwarming narrative, though some players experienced discomfort due to the fast-paced movement controls, which detracted from their overall enjoyment.
“Yet another heartwarming game from Manic Hyena.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game has limited replayability, as players can complete it by finding all the cats and yarn balls, which may lead to a lack of incentive to play again. Additionally, the overall gameplay duration is influenced by individual skill levels, potentially reducing the hours of engagement.
“I personally am unsure about the replay value, since I have not gone another round yet.”
