[h1]100 Hidden Cats – Exactly What the Title Promises, but Only Once[/h1]
[i]I have been gaming since the 1980s, have played thousands of games across PC and consoles, and have written close to 500 Steam Curator reviews. Sometimes a game does not need a story, complex systems or dozens of hours of content. Sometimes it only needs a large drawing and 100 cats hiding inside it.[/i]
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[h2]The entire game in one sentence[/h2]
100 Hidden Cats gives you one large black-and-white city illustration containing 100 hidden cats.
You scroll through the drawing, click each cat you recognise, and watch it change colour while the counter decreases. Find all 100 and the game is complete.
That is the entire concept. There are no complicated rules, tutorials, inventory systems, timers or penalties. It is a digital hidden-object page built around one clear objective.
[h2]Artwork and presentation[/h2]
The hand-drawn artwork by Alexandr Telminov is the strongest part of the game.
The city is filled with buildings, vehicles, characters, signs and small visual jokes. Cats are hidden inside windows, architecture, crowds and other parts of the scene. Some are immediately obvious, while others blend into the line work or resemble ordinary parts of the drawing.
When a cat is selected, it becomes visually distinct, making it easier to track what has already been found.
The black-and-white presentation fits the hidden-object design because the cats must be recognised by shape rather than bright colour. The game also includes a night mode by pressing N, which can make the image easier on the eyes for some players.
The music gives the search a relaxed atmosphere, although the game offers very limited control over its presentation. A proper settings menu with separate music and sound controls would have been useful.
[h2]Difficulty[/h2]
The store page jokingly describes the game as “Ultra hard,” but most of the cats are not especially difficult to find.
The first large group will likely be discovered quickly. The challenge comes from the final few cats, when the obvious shapes are gone and you have to scan the entire image repeatedly.
That familiar hidden-object experience is where the game works best. You can stare directly at the final cat several times without recognising it, then suddenly see that it had been sitting in plain sight the entire time.
There are no hints, outlines or automatic assistance. Whether that is positive depends on the player. It keeps the search simple and honest, but it can also make the last one or two cats frustrating.
[h2]Length and replay value[/h2]
This is an extremely short game.
Many players will complete it in approximately 10 to 30 minutes, and experienced hidden-object players may finish even faster. Steam shows 3.9 hours on my account, but that should not be treated as the expected length of one normal playthrough.
There is only one main illustration in the base game. Once every cat has been found, there is little reason to replay unless you want to search again with another person or reset the game.
The store page explains that pressing Delete and then Escape resets the achievements and progress. That allows another run, but the locations do not change, so the second playthrough is based mostly on memory.
The largest weakness is therefore not the gameplay itself but the lack of content. A few additional pictures would have made the package feel much more complete.
[h2]Achievements and Steam features[/h2]
Every cat awards a Steam achievement, giving the game 100 achievements in total.
That makes it attractive to achievement hunters who want a quick perfect game. It also includes Steam Trading Cards and Points Shop items.
The achievements match the objective instead of being random spam unrelated to the game: find a cat and receive an achievement. However, anyone buying purely for achievements should still understand that this is one small picture rather than a longer puzzle collection.
[h2]Price and value[/h2]
At €0.99, the game is inexpensive, but value depends heavily on how you judge very short games.
A physical hidden-object book would usually contain many pages, while this game contains one interactive illustration. Compared with a full puzzle game, the amount of content is extremely limited.
On the other hand, the game delivers exactly what it advertises. The artwork is original, the interface works, the objective is clear, and it provides a brief relaxing activity for less than the price of most drinks or snacks.
I would prefer to see several of the developer’s “100 Hidden” games combined into one larger collection instead of being sold individually. That would create a stronger package and make it easier to move directly from one drawing to another.
[h2]Who is it for?[/h2]
This is best suited to:
[list]
[*]Fans of hidden-object games
[*]Cat lovers
[*]Achievement hunters
[*]Players wanting a short and relaxing activity
[*]Parents playing together with children
[*]People looking for something simple between longer games
[/list]
It is not intended for players expecting a deep puzzle system, story, exploration or several hours of new content.
[h2]Final verdict[/h2]
100 Hidden Cats is simple, pleasant and honest about what it is.
The hand-drawn city is charming, clicking each discovered cat is satisfying, and searching for the final few can provide a small but genuine challenge.
The main problem is that the game ends almost immediately after it begins. One illustration is not much content, even at a low price, and the lack of proper audio and display options makes the package feel basic.
Still, I cannot call it bad for doing exactly what the title promises.
[b]Recommended, with the warning that it is extremely short.[/b]
Buy it for a brief hidden-object puzzle, cute artwork and 100 easy achievements. Do not buy it expecting a full-sized puzzle game.
