Though I play my fair share of AAA epic adventures, when something truly cute and cozy comes across my desk, there isn’t a part of me that can say no. Hidden Through Time 2: Discovery was originally offered to the staff at CGM, and I just couldn’t pass it up. I needed the adorable art style and cozy creativity to be mine, and I was so, so right.
At its simplest, Hidden Through Time 2: Discovery is a hidden object game, à la Where’s Waldo. You are given a certain number of objects per level to find, and as you complete each level, the next is bigger, with even more objects to hunt down. It’s fairly simple in concept, and this isn’t the first version of the game; it’s actually the third.
Hidden Through Time was originally released in 2020 and was followed by Hidden Through Time 2: Myths & Magic in June 2023, then ported to Nintendo Switch back in January. Just seven months later, we are back with Hidden Through Time 2: Discovery. This time, the game features three themes: Noir, Victorian and Science Fiction.
“The Hidden Through Time series, including Discovery, adds an extra layer to the search and find books we grew up with or read with our children.”
Each theme has its own storyline that grows with each new map. You will find 11 maps in each story. Noir follows a detective, Victorian follows…another detective, Sherlock, and then Science Fiction follows an astronaut. Each is an explorer in their own right, and although the story isn’t particularly in-depth—or needed at all—it is sweet and quirky and appreciated all the same.
I was particularly excited about the Victorian theme, as it brought with it vampires, ghosts, werewolves and other monsters—even a trip to the beach! Noir sent me on a mission to find a missing corgi, and Science Fiction brought aliens and space travel. Each section was uniquely its own, including different hidden objects and locations, though you might find a vampire, etc., here and there in other maps.
“Hidden Through Time 2: Discovery has become one of my new favourite wind-down, cozy games I play before I head to bed.”
I was a huge fan of the simple but ultra-adorable design of the characters and maps, right down to the animals. I’ve only dabbled in stationary hidden object games, so the slight movement, whether it was a small path walked or a little wiggle or dance, made things so much more interesting and gave new ways to locate objects or get misled.
The Hidden Through Time series, including Discovery, adds an extra layer to the search and find books we grew up with or read with our children. Not only is the movement mentioned above an added bit of flair, but the maps are also interactive. Objects like houses, trucks, spaceships, fridges, and luggage open to hide more objects within them.
Essentially, click everything because who knows what it might do. The game even goes a step further to incorporate day, night or weather variants, meaning certain objects can only be seen in certain conditions. In this case, there will be toggles at the top of the screen to swap between the various maps. It was fun to see what changes from day to night, like vampires sleeping vs being awake.
You could even see small storylines, like a dog playing outside and then needing a bath at night. Little touches like that turn Hidden Through Time 2: Discovery from a simple search and find to something more. It was fun to just look around and see what I could find. I even found a clue right out of the game Clue.
Luckily, there is no timer or penalty for misclicks. Hidden Through Time 2: Discovery—and the series as a whole—is there to entertain you and work your brain just a little, not punish you. That isn’t to say there isn’t a challenge at play. I was stumped more than once, but the game is not there to feel impossible.
If you do get stuck, each object has a little hint to help you. Sometimes these were great, and sometimes they were completely useless. It is really a roll of the dice here. Each map also does not need to be completed to 100% to move on, so if you are truly stuck in Hidden Through Time 2: Discovery, all is not lost.
Hidden Through Time 2: Discovery also features a details map creator mode called Architech in this version. You can jump in and create anything you can think of using anything you find in the campaign and then some. I managed to design an “Everything Pink” complex with 23 hidden objects. You can play these yourself or have friends and family try them out. You can also upload them online so other players can tackle them, too. There were some difficulties with layering while making these maps. It isn’t perfect, but for a game available on Android, iOS and PC, I was pretty impressed.
It may sound strange, but three storylines with 11 maps each, totalling 33 maps, just didn’t feel like enough. Luckily, as with the other Hidden Through Time games, the online portion of the game allows you to play maps that others create online or by downloading, giving you basically infinite maps.
Hidden Through Time 2: Discovery has become one of my new favourite wind-down, cozy games I play before I head to bed. My nine-year-old and partner both play with me and have played the level I created, too. Hidden Through Time 2: Discovery is more than worth its price and a definite recommend to anyone who enjoys puzzles, hidden object games, or level creation.
