What at first seemed like primarily a relaxing treat turned into a pretty engaging experience in which I was having so much fun that I was completely motivated to find every single hidden object even though that's not necessary to progress or finish the game.

The monochrome hand-drawn visuals are what initially drew me to Hidden Folks, but I didn't expect just how much charm the little animations would bring to the table. The areas aren't static, there's always something going on and the further you go, the more alive the game becomes. This is further enhanced by the silly yet stellar sound design - entirely made by the developer voicing the sound effects.

In the beginning all you need to do is find certain people and objects. But the real gameplay is established pretty soon - you need to perform certain actions in order to solve the puzzles based on provided hints. This is what makes it more engaging than regular hidden object games and basically transforms it into a puzzle game.

Hidden Folks aptly embodies venerable indie game philosophy - simple idea and great execution sprinkled with loads of charm and personality.

Superficialmente parece uma simples mistura de "Onde Está Wally?" com a estética de livros de colorir para adultos. Entretanto, Hidden Folks não se limita a isso. O jogo usa muito bem as possibilidades do meio digital interativo para criar uma experiência que não seria possível no meio impresso. Pra começar, alguns cenários são enormes e densos. É um nível de detalhes, quantidade de coisas e espaço ocupado tão grande que seria inviável no papel. E, mais intimamente ligado a natureza interativa desse meio e não necessariamente aspectos logísticos, é tudo lindamente animado e reativo. Não só os bonequinhos se movem e fazem coisas com o cenário, você pode tocar nos personagens e objetos para criar alguma reação ou resolver pequenos puzzles. Nem sempre o objeto ou boneco que você precisa encontrar está à vista. Ele pode estar atrás de uma cortina, ou só aparecer quando certas condições são resolvidas.

Esse é um excelente jogo para:

1) Relaxar. Mesmo que nem sempre você ache os objetivos com facilidade, os cenários são cheios de detalhes, easter eggs e partes interativas que são um prazer de explorar.
2) Jogar com outra pessoa - especialmente alguém não-gamer ou uma criança pequena. A premissa é tão acessível e intuitiva que qualquer um sem deficiência visual é capaz de jogar Hidden Folks, alguns pares extra de olhos são sempre bem-vindos nesse tipo de game.
3) Ignorar 1) e 2), despertar o *true gamer em você e se estressar passando meia hora compulsivamente procurando aquele último objeto filho da mãe que só pode ter sido enfiado n- ACHEI, PORR*!

Hidden Folks feels very unique in its design. It's very reminiscent of early Where's Waldo books and particularly Highlights magazines, as well as the early PC mystery games like Nancy Drew that focused on finding hidden objects in environments, especially by fleshing out gameplay with interactive objects. Hidden Folks is a lot more like the latter games than the former books and magazines, but it still wears those influences very well. It's visual style feels very unique, with the unique sound design propelling it forward as a very identifiable game. All of the levels feel amazing, even the expansive ones (although, I must confess that some hints were needed for some of the incredibly large levels). The two expansions, Beach and On Tour, added nice new mechanics and levels. It's easy to watch the trailer and think that this game would be very frustrating or aggravating, but I felt it to be incredibly therapeutic. It's relaxing in many senses, and I almost always felt like the provided description for each hidden object was sufficient enough to find out where it was. I'd definitely recommend this for anyone looking to...simplify yet diversify their gaming experience. It's a very enjoyable game and I'd recommend it for anyone who has a sufficient attention span.