[h1]A cozy HOG that's fun to play in the summer or at any other time. ^^[/h1]
[h2]Introduction[/h2]
[i]Hidden Things Beach Elves[/i] is a free-to-play, cozy, hidden object game developed and published by Galysh Company. You're on a beautiful sunny beach, and you have to find numerous elves, along with other items that are unlocked after you unlock a certain number of elves. The game can be customized to your liking, such as choosing between full screen or windowed mode (and you can choose your screen resolution) and having the option of a timer. The hint option, in the form of a magnifying glass, is present and if used, a bit of time needs to elapse before it can be used again. Plenty of Steam achievements are present, but they won't count towards a user's global total until the game is out of "profile features limited".
[h2]Review[/h2]
It has been a while since I last played a HOG, so I figured it was time to get around to one. XD Also, as I haven't played any of Galysh Company's games before this one, I thought I'd give this a try, and it doesn't hurt that it's free-to-play.
[h3]Gameplay[/h3]
The gameplay is fairly straightforward. You have just one scene in which to find all the elves and other unlockable items. I like how there's a progression system in that you're not given all the items to find at the start. Rather, you have to find a certain number of elves before the next unlockable item, such as fish, are allowed to be found. The usual gameplay mechanics, like zooming in and hint functions, are present. However, what I found to be a bit unusual is that the scene functions more like a globe rather than a flat map. With most HOGs, when you get to the end of the scene, it's obvious by the bordered lines. With this game, though, that isn't the case. While this may be ok for some, this did disorient me a bit since I prefer clearly defined borders, but it's a minor nitpick and the only complaint I have. I had no issues finding all of the items and obtaining all of the achievements (fairly quickly, too).
[h3]Art and Music[/h3]
The art has this lovely, cutesy hand-drawn style, and I like that you can choose from among 4 background colors. I stuck with the default color, but you can change it to a more desirable one. Found items are colored well, feeling bright but not becoming an eyesore.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3748931025
As for the music, there's just one lo-fi track, but it's very relaxing and perfect as you're exploring the beach and finding all those elusive items. Even though I would have liked for a couple more tracks to be present (to add a bit of variety), for a free-to-play game, it's more than acceptable.
[h2]Conclusion[/h2]
Would I recommend [i]Hidden Things Beach Elves[/i]? If you're looking for a short, cozy HOG, then this game is definitely a good fit. Also, it's free-to-play, so there's really no reason not to try it out.
To wrap things up, I'd like to take this time to thank Galysh Company for the review copy. Hidden Things Beach Elves was a fun experience into the Hidden Things series, and I'd definitely love to check out the other games in it. ^^
[quote]For more detailed, fully complete, high quality reviews like this, please follow [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44702020/]The Introverted Gamer[/url], prioritizing heart and soul always. ^^[/quote]
