Hide and Shriek

About

Hide and Shriek is a single player and multiplayer action adventure game with horror, mystery and thriller themes. It was developed by Funcom and was released on October 19, 2017. It received positive reviews from players.

Scare or be scared in this fun Halloween multiplayer game full of hijinks and mischief! Set traps, cast spells, and scare the living hell out of your opponent to win!

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81%

Audience ScoreBased on 2,050 reviews

gameplay24 positive mentions

stability8 negative mentions

Unique and original 1v1 multiplayer horror hide-and-seek concept with a focus on strategy, spells, and traps.
Fun and entertaining gameplay especially with friends, featuring tense and hilarious jump scares.
Good customization options for jump scares and an engaging rune combination system that adds depth.

Only one map and one game mode which leads to repetitive gameplay after short sessions.
Very small and inactive player base resulting in long matchmaking times or no available public matches.
Lack of updates or new content from developers causing stagnation; various reports of bugs, crashes, and technical issues.

gameplay
79 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
66%
4%
The gameplay is praised for its unique 1v1 hide-and-seek mechanic centered on psychological mind games, rune-based spells, and supernatural traps, creating tense yet humorous competitive matches. While the mechanics are simple to learn but strategically deep, many users note the lack of content variety, such as only one map and infrequent updates, which makes the experience repetitive over time. Despite occasional bugs and crashes, the game offers engaging and original gameplay, especially when played with friends.
- “Rather than focusing on combat or survival mechanics, the entire design centers on trickery, psychological mind games, and carefully placed supernatural traps.”
- “This mechanic transforms the entire map into a puzzle of subtle signs and clues, forcing players to constantly observe their surroundings and anticipate the opponent’s next move.”
- “The invisible duel mechanic creates a constant sense of tension, and the rune-based spell system ensures that every match contains opportunities for clever strategy and surprise.”
- “There are no updates with new maps, jump scares, or spells, making the gameplay feel repetitive over time.”
- “From only being 1v1, to only one map to play on, confusing game mechanics and controls.”
- “I could have enjoyed this game; it has the potential to be great, but it is amazing how this game ruins its only mechanics.”
humor
65 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
98%
2%
The game combines spooky hide-and-seek mechanics with playful jump scares and strategic traps, creating a humorous and tense multiplayer experience. Players and their friends frequently find themselves laughing at jump scares and awkward cat-and-mouse moments, making it especially funny when played socially. Overall, its blend of scary and funny elements, along with witty in-game details, delivers consistent amusement and memorable sessions.
- “The result is a multiplayer experience that blends horror aesthetics with playful strategy, creating tense and often hilarious matches where outsmarting the opponent becomes the true objective.”
- “Hide and shriek is a fun game, where you go head-to-head in a spooky showdown, with traps, scares, and strategy, guaranteed to keep you on your toes and laughing till you scream.”
- “The descriptions of each single spell are lovely and funny written, as well as the stories that you are able to find scattered across the map, along with other easter egg customisations.”
graphics
47 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
37%
6%
The game's graphics are widely praised for their detailed, charming, and thematic design, effectively blending horror aesthetics with playful and nostalgic elements. While generally smooth and visually appealing, some users note occasional glitches and performance issues on lower-end machines. Overall, the graphics significantly enhance the atmosphere and enjoyment, especially given the game's indie status and 90s-inspired setting.
- “The game features reasonable 3D graphics and 4K support.”
- “The graphics are awesome and the 90s setting brings back wonderful memories!”
- “This game is beautifully designed in its spliced magical high school aesthetic, everything drawn and textured in detail.”
- “So laggy it felt like a slideshow, even on lowest graphics.”
- “Love but I have to keep graphics low sadly because my laptop is not that good.”
- “I hope the developers can add more graphical options for low and medium-end machines, like DirectX settings and similar features.”
story
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
74%
13%
The game largely lacks a substantial story, focusing primarily on gameplay and jumpscares rather than narrative depth or character development. While some references and minimal lore connect it to existing universes, overall reviewers find the story underdeveloped or absent, with many suggesting the experience is better enjoyed without expecting a strong plot.
- “There are plenty of runes to find and fuse, pages of story to unlock and different masks to customize your jumpscare.”
- “Story/character development: like with any Funcom game, the narrative background of this particular game is set in the same universe as Funcom's MMO The Secret World, with several allusions to TSW around the map and in the lore.”
- “I love the premise of the story and how it sets the frame of mind for the game.”
- “Honestly, its development feels like a kind of con job to milk out money then fold up without extending the story.”
- “It is the barest of actual tie-ins with no real lore or addition to the story or source material.”
- “There isn’t a big backstory behind the game except for a few ‘the secret world’ references and the following paragraph from the game’s Steam store page: ‘It’s Halloween and the students of magic at Little Springs High and Innsmouth Academy are about to honor an ancient tradition: sneaking into school after midnight, turning themselves invisible, and scaring the living hell out of each other!’”
optimization
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The game suffers from poor optimization, causing frequent performance drops, crashes, and glitches even on capable hardware. While some users report playable frame rates, many find the performance unstable and in need of significant patches to improve stability and overall playability.
- “Performance is really good, tested on a GTX 760 (minimum 40 fps on high settings).”
- “[Performance:] Sometimes the FPS randomly drops from 60 to 45 for a couple of seconds, but it doesn't ruin the experience.”
- “This point is, of course, a given; better optimization.”
- “The gameplay is fun and engaging, but I wouldn't know as the game is so poorly optimized for a game that doesn't even look that good, and has so many game-breaking bugs that constantly crash my PC and render the game nearly unplayable.”
- “Terribly optimized and needs a mess of patches to make it playable on even the most efficient of laptops.”
- “Overall the idea is interesting but has performance troubles.”
stability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent freezes at startup and during matchmaking, as well as various glitches and bugs. While the graphics and aesthetics are praised, these technical problems often disrupt gameplay and lead to disconnections, limiting the overall experience.
- “Fun game but dead public servers and tons of glitches.”
- “To be honest, the game looks really good but I just can’t recommend it because every time I join a game, it freezes when it finds a match and then I get disconnected.”
- “When I originally bought it I thought my laptop could handle it but I went a long time without playing it to refund it and I can't play it because my Nvidia was out of date. I updated it and when I click to start, I get the 'hide and shriek' thing in my taskbar but then nothing—my computer freezes.”
replayability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
37%
25%
Replayability varies among users, with some noting limited replay value without expansions, while others appreciate the multiple strategies and randomness that enhance replay potential. Social interaction and potential updates also contribute positively to ongoing engagement. Overall, the game offers decent replayability, especially when played with others.
- “Multiple strategies seem to be possible and just enough randomness make for a good replayability.”
- “There's a lot of replay value in finding other people to play against, and seeing their reactions, and hopefully we get some updates tossed in from time to time.”
- “Replay value: moving on from my reminiscence and into the actual quality of the game, the replay value is somewhat abundant.”
- “Can be fun with friends but not much replayability.”
- “I think even just adding a couple more could go a long way to making the game more replayable.”
music
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
43%
The music in the game is highly praised for enhancing the atmosphere, with a fitting, subtle, and magical quality that complements the paranormal theme. Sound effects like screams and door noises add to the immersive and amusing experience, making the overall audio both unique and enjoyable.
- “When I first opened the game I was met with beautiful graphics and subtle magical-like music, which definitely set the atmosphere for the paranormal.”
- “The sound is very important in the game, since you can hear the sound of doors opening and closing, and the soundtrack is pretty good at setting the creepy but amusing tone that the developers achieved.”
- “The graphics are well done and the music is very fitting.”
atmosphere
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's atmosphere is generally praised for its blend of spooky and playful tones, as well as tense moments and jump scares that enhance the horror experience. However, some feel the atmosphere lacks depth, relying heavily on jump scares without substantial suspense or story-driven chilling elements. Visuals and music effectively contribute to a paranormal ambiance, though limited variety and a single location slightly diminish immersion.
- “The tone of the game balances spooky atmosphere with playful charm.”
- “One of the game's strengths lies in its tense atmosphere and jump scares.”
- “When I first opened the game, I was met with beautiful graphics and subtle magical-like music, which definitely set the atmosphere for the paranormal.”
- “The best competitive horror game with lots of spells and atmosphere, but the only negative is little variety, one single location, and lack of new content.”
- “The jumpscares aren’t enough to justify a horror; a true horror needs spooky atmosphere and a chilling backstory with lots of suspense – the only suspense here is the jumpscares.”
- “When I first opened the game I was met with beautiful graphics and subtle magical-like music, which definitely set the atmosphere for the paranormal.”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
Grinding in the game is frequently described as tedious and lengthy, often requiring extra effort or resources like a "second life" to progress. Updates have largely focused on adding more grind rather than meaningful new content, which has contributed to player frustration.
- “One long, tedious grind.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “On The Secret World, they promised new content for almost a year, but in the end only delivered a few changes to annual events and minor updates that added more grinding to the game.”
monetization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Monetization relies heavily on YouTube Let's Play ads and some Steam promotion, but overall advertising is limited, leading to a smaller player base. Despite this, the game benefits from support by popular YouTubers. Expanding content and increasing advertising efforts could improve player retention and growth.
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development in the game features colorful, cartoonish designs with customizable cosmetic items for personalization. The narrative is enriched by its connection to Funcom's MMO The Secret World, offering lore and references that deepen the story within a shared universe.
- “Story/character development: Like with any Funcom game, the narrative background of this particular game is set in the same universe as Funcom's MMO The Secret World, with several allusions to The Secret World around the map and in the lore.”
- “The character designs are colorful and cartoonish, and players can unlock cosmetic items such as masks and accessories that personalize their invisible prankster.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game evokes strong emotional responses, with some players experiencing moments that brought them to tears.