When the world feels overwhelming, it’s difficult to get back on course. It may be outside influences from the world starting to affect daily life, or maybe it’s just a personally busy time with work and family and all sorts of small tasks keeping oneself from getting proper rest and relaxation. With so much going on, we fail to see the little things, the small successes, the steps towards improvement; alongside that, it’s more of a struggle to try to celebrate the good things, no matter how small. Just remember, it’s the little things that make up the big things. The snowflakes create an avalanche. When big things become overwhelming, break them into smaller pieces and take care of them first. That’s just one of the lessons that Hidden Folks taught me through gameplay, as well as through playing the game itself. Take big things piece by piece, and suddenly the big things aren’t big and scary anymore. They can even become enjoyable, if you try. I learned all of this through Hidden Folks.
Hidden Folks released recently on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Windows, Mac, and Linux. Within it are vast, intricately detailed spaces full of interactive elements. Your task is to find the particular folks that are hidden in each area. At the bottom of the screen is a list of people, each with a description and a name. The player’s task is then to find all of them. The first area is pretty simple, with a small patch jungle and couple folks to find. Hidden Folks eases you into the mechanics with this stage. After that first area, changing over to the second area, and there is a large, diverse environment full of hideaways to explore, extending past the boarders of your screen. Sometimes finding folks requires cutting through a bush, it’s opening a garage door, sometimes it’s opening a tent to find someone sleeping inside. The game gives the player as long as they want to explore each area, and as long as they want or need to find everyone. Besides no time constraints, the game’s color palette is colorblind friendly (also features a sepia tone and a white-on-black inverse color scheme if preferred). There’s no penalty for the player for picking “wrong” folks. It’s been releasted on iOS Devices as well as PC, among those hopefully a way that you normally play games.
For those looking for a calm game to play amid the turmoil of life, look to the Hidden Folks to find an enjoyable time. For when life becomes incredibly hectic and unable to be dealt with, enjoy going to a neighborhood and poking through doors at your leisure. Take the time needed to explore, remove yourself from the problems of the day, and take this challenge on, bit by bit. Explore and enjoy, completing the game bit by bit and piece by piece. The maps may be large and overwhelming at first, but look for the Hidden Folks one at a time, and find the enjoyment in moving at a comfortable pace. If this sounds like your sort of experience, look into Hidden Folks on iOS or on Steam.
(A copy of the game was provided on iOS by the developer)