Hidden Cats in Rio de Janeiro Review

A Zen-Like Hunt within the Solar

These pesky cats are again, and this time they’ve hopped on a aircraft and made for Brazil, hiding away within the nooks and crannies of Rio de Janeiro. And what which means? Yeah, we have to uncover them. As a seasoned veteran of this feline-finding franchise, I used to be greater than prepared for the duty.

Sizzling on the heels of Hidden Cats in Tokyo – a sport that took the collection ahead in methods we by no means anticipated, with a full-blown narrative and mini-games – Silesia Video games and Nukearts have taken a big step again to fundamentals with Hidden Cats in Rio de Janeiro. They’ve fully stripped away the story, a component we thought may turn out to be a brand new staple.

As an alternative, the main focus is positioned totally on the cats themselves, for it’s they who’re the true stars. This time, they’re hidden away in eight distinctive situations, all steeped in a vibrant, sun-soaked Brazilian really feel.

The cats are in Brazil!

The Attraction of the Franchise

Actually, that’s all we ever actually needed from the Hidden Cats franchise: an hour or two of pure, unadulterated kitty uncovering, with little fuss and little trouble. Tokyo was an fascinating experiment, however its ambitions generally bought in the way in which of the core, zen-like attraction. And truthfully, this collection has by no means been about complicated mechanics or deep narrative; it’s the last word digital consolation meals, a soothing palate cleanser after a hectic day.

In case you’re a veteran of the scene, we’d suspect that’s precisely what you’ll need to hear too, diving in for a few hours of enjoyable, maybe topping all of it off with a bunch of easy-to-obtain Gamerscore and achievements. If that seems like your concept of a very good time, get on that aircraft your self, for the Copacabana is looking.

Eight Scenes of Brazilian Attraction

In Hidden Cats in Rio de Janeiro, you’ll discover eight distinct phases, every populated by quite a few hidden felines. Your first port of name is the principle Rio de Janeiro degree, and it’s a stunner. This big monochrome cityscape is begging to be interacted with, a sprawling canvas of iconic landmarks, bustling streets, and packed favelas. As you accomplish that, clicking on the hidden cats you come upon (in addition to quite a lot of particular characters), that drab, hand-drawn scene is injected with superb color. New hues and pleasant animations pop with each satisfying meow.

Zooming out and in on this large stage is as pleasant as ever – easy, responsive, and completely on level. Hidden Cats in Rio de Janeiro attracts you in instantly, and it’s a real pleasure to simply watch the scene play out. There is probably not an excessive amount of motion happening, however the world feels alive, with bustling site visitors and animated residents bringing the Brazilian vibes, all whilst you meticulously hunt for these kitties that make up everything of the gameplay.

Mid-Sized Ranges and the Carnaval Chore

After ticking off some 232 hidden objects, and having collected some particular playing cards within the course of on this important Rio-based degree (a process that can fortunately eat a very good chunk of your time), you’ll end up unlocking the following cease in your Brazilian tour: the Grocery Retailer. This can be a a lot smaller stage, a single, static display extra akin to the Cats & Seek collection that sits as a youthful, much less mature sibling to Hidden Cats. It’s a reasonably easy affair, tasking you with discovering felines hiding behind shows and peeking out of purchasing baskets.

Hidden Cats in Rio de Janeiro review 2 — Collectibles?

Some 53 clicks later, you’ll unlock the Bar after which the Cable Automobile, each of which work on comparable concepts and angles. Are these ranges simply filler? Maybe. They’re over in a flash and lack the grand scale of the principle stage. However, as fast five-minute distractions that break up the bigger hunts, looking down these cats continues to be all cool.

Maracana and Muted Tones

From there, comes a bigger (simply) stage within the type of Meowing Hill. That is adopted swiftly by the Botanical Backyard and the enduring Maracana – Brazil’s world-famous sports activities stadium. All these ranges work properly and permit the minutes to fly by. The Botanical Backyard is a lush, inexperienced setting the place cats’ tails are cleverly disguised as hanging vines, whereas the Maracana is a sea of soccer followers, with kitties cleverly dotted among the many crowd.

Nonetheless, by no means do these mid-sized ranges attain the heights of that preliminary, spectacular Rio stage. Maybe it’s the dearth of the pop in color, with this mid-point phases choosing a extra muted, single-tone palette; and that brings the keenness down only a bit. Nonetheless, with useful hints accessible ought to you must be suggested on the location of sure, unfound kitties, they greater than do the job supposed of them.

Every little thing we’ve got talked about to date will probably be acquainted to veterans of the scene, as will the ultimate stage: the large, sprawling mass (and maybe mess, at occasions) of the Carnaval. This degree is a visible feast of parade floats, dancers, and chaos. You’ll discover one other 150-odd looking alternatives on this, and while it’s all nice as you scour the land for cats, it’s a unique proposition totally whenever you begin specializing in the number of people.

See, the Hidden Cats collection loves so as to add additional clicking alternatives, and right here that’s targeted on ticking off particular human characters. The issue is that Carnaval is such a big degree, and the sport enforces a baffling restrict of simply 5 goal people being accessible at anybody time. This mechanic, which we’ve seen earlier than, turns what ought to be a joyful exploration right into a tedious, systematic grid-search. You might be pressured to scroll by the large stage, zooming in, zooming out, time and again, simply ready for the character you must turn out to be energetic. I’ll be sincere, as soon as the cats had been picked out of this Carnaval, I handed the controller to my daughter to let her youthful, keener eyes deal with the human-hunting chore..

So what about replayability? Effectively, there’s probably not a lot. Maybe you might want to return by for a second play to make sure you can full issues with no hints (a requirement for an achievement), however Hidden Cats in Rio de Janeiro in all fairness simple. So long as you give issues time, you’ll not often want a touch or nudge in the fitting route anyway.

It’s all easy when it comes to sound, too; the sport sticking to the collection’ minimalist roots. The odd, satisfying meow right here and there to suggest a hidden cat is about all you get for results.

Hidden Cats in Rio de Janeiro review 3 — The same old Hidden Cats stuff

An Gratifying Waste of an Night

To conclude, Hidden Cats in Rio de Janeiro is a welcome return to what makes the Hidden Cats franchise so interesting. By stripping away the narrative ambitions of Tokyo, it rediscovers the straightforward, zen-like pleasure that made us fall in love with the collection within the first place. It understands precisely what it’s: a low-stakes, high-reward night of digital consolation.

Must you be a fan of the franchise, there’s little doubt that you simply’ll need to take this journey to Brazil. It’s not good, and the Carnaval degree’s human-hunting mechanic is a irritating blemish, however for a few hours of chilled-out sport time, it is a purr-fectly satisfying waste of a night.