[b]Note:[/b] An awesome friend gifted me a copy of this game.
[h1]A very short but fun cat-themed HOG in which you save the world from aliens. XD[/h1]
[h2]Introduction[/h2]
[i]Secret Cats - Independence Day[/i] is a cozy, hidden object game developed and published by Hidden Cats. Earth is being invaded by aliens (yup, think of that movie lol), and it's up to humans and rats to save the planet. 100 cats are hidden in an alien invasion scene, and you have to find them all. When you find a cat, you can click on it with the left mouse button, which also nets you a Steam achievement. You can zoom in and out of a scene by either scrolling the mouse wheel or using the plus and minus buttons on the lower left of the game screen. The magnifying glass serves as your hint function, and you have unlimited hints that never need recharging. You can choose between full screen or windowed mode, and you can adjust the music and sound effect volumes in the settings areas in the main menu. Also, you can choose to play the scene in dark mode for easier viewing. Plenty of Steam achievements are available, but they won't count towards a user's global total until the game is out of "Steam is learning about this game".
[h2]Review[/h2]
It has been quite a while since I last played a [i]Secret Cats[/i] game. (Still have quite a few to catch up on. :o) Anyway, I usually enjoy these games, and I got this game, thanks to a very awesome friend. ^^
[h3]Gameplay[/h3]
I like how [i]Secret Cats - Independence Day[/i] takes inspiration from a certain Hollywood movie. At first, I thought it would be more US-themed since the game was released on July 4th. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see it themed more around the movie. XD
Anyway, the gameplay is simple. Even though it can be a bit challenging to find some of the cats, zooming in really helps. Also, the unlimited hint function is great. You don't get penalized for using it, and you don't have to wait for the hint function to recharge. The game can almost feel too easy in that sense. However, if you want a challenge, you can choose to ignore the hint function. In addition, I like that you can choose between full screen and windowed mode although with windowed mode, you only have one screen resolution. The only criticism I have (and this is probably because I forgot that this is still a problem in this series lol) is that if you exit the game without first finding all the cats, the game resets when you go back into the level. (This explains my gameplay time since it took me more around 5 minutes to 100% complete the game.) I find this annoying, and I wish that the game would have some sort of auto-save feature. Still, I can understand why the dev wouldn't include it although I think it's worth considering. Regardless, all achievements are obtainable, and I'd recommend doing so in one playthrough.
[h3]Art and Music[/h3]
The art style is the same as in the previous games from what I remember. It has a delightful cartoony style, and the cats look especially adorable even though they are very tiny. After you find a cat, it's colored in a lovely light blue color to make it stand out from the yellowish-peach background and the purple-pink aliens.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3759638926
As for the music, there's just one track. It has pretty generic-sounding instrumentals, nothing that would give off that it's based off of the game's theme. I think it's fine since I'm more focused on the gameplay, especially getting all the achievements, but it can be a negative for those who'd like to listen to more tracks.
[h2]Conclusion[/h2]
Would I recommend [i]Secret Cats - Independence Day[/i]? If you're looking for a very short, easy HOG, you like cats, and/or you like easily obtainable Steam achievements, then it's worth a try. If you've played the other games in the series, you probably know what to expect, coming into this game. However, if you're looking for a longer, more challenging HOG, then you may consider giving this a pass. Still, at the asking price, it's a great deal, and it's in a Steam bundle. ^^
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