Developed and published by Rogueside Hidden Through Time 2: Discovery is the hidden object game to help quench your Where’s Wally fix. Not so much a sequel but may an expansion on Hidden Through Time 2: Myths & Magic game which was released early 2024 that had themes based on myths and magic. This time you are venturing through Victorian, Noir and Sci Fi landscapes to find those tough to spot items.
There is a story woven into the different stages, so you might see a detective solving some crimes in one scene all the way to sherlock Holmes and Watson conversing with Count Dracula. But they are just pure scene setters to immerse you into the game and get you hunting.
The controls have been configured for console in the best way possible using the left stick to move a mouse around and the right stick to move the screen along. The triggers zoom in and out of stage and the A button is what you press on the hidden objects or parts of stage to reveal other parts. It would feel much more fluid with a mouse but it’s not infuriating to use a controller unless you are trying to hover over something particular small and then it can get a bit fiddly.
The stages themselves are colourful and vibrant as well as being animated so you are not staring at a static image. Most of the items you click on are reactive and will give a small animation when clicked to help with immersion and try to stop the game getting stale too quickly. Usually, you are given around 10 items to find on each stage to find and some are much hard than others. You are given cryptic hints for each item to assist you in finding them but some of those hints really don’t help at all. The stages also come with layers; each building you see on the map can be clicked on to see inside. as well as being able to navigate multiple floors too. Then to go further sometimes in these rooms there maybe cupboards or drawers you can click on to open those too. This is a clever idea to help hide items a bit more and it can also be a nuisance as sometimes there are rooms or floors you didn’t know you can click on as they are not immediately obvious. But it is an encouragement to just click away as this game has no pressure tied to it. There is no timer to work against and you are not punished for just clicking way aggressively so you can take the game at your own pace.
There are about 33 maps to play through and keep you busy and if you do have a desire to keep going then there is an architect mode where you can create your own maps for friends and family members to play through. But you can also send your proudest creations online for others to play through. So as with your own creations you can review and download other players creations which have been rated to keep the fun going and admire their creations.
The only drawbacks I experienced with the game is that there is no hint button. Some of the items on some stages are just so tricky to find and sometimes it brings the blood to the boil out of frustration. I am happy to be defeated, but clicking a hint button to narrow down where to search would have helped ease that anger and put me out of my misery.
Conclusion
Hidden Through Time 2: Discovery Is almost everything you want from a hidden object game. I think a hint system would have been the final piece to include to ease frustration on some levels but as its not restrictive and you can just play on and come back to it later its fine. These games are fun to just jump on and relax and it’s something the family can join in on.
This game was reviewed based on Xbox S|X review code, using an Xbox S|X console. All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by publisher.
