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.