Hidden Through Time 2: Discovery review

Hidden Through Time 2: Discovery, from Rogueside, is a hidden object game featuring three “stories” that all unfold as you find specific objects hidden – often in plain sight – in cluttered, colourful, and changing environments.

It’s simplistic, relaxing, and adorable. If you played the first game or have ever played the mobile game Find Out, you’ll be familiar with this concept. It’ll present perhaps a busy urban environment with cute little people going about their business, tons of tiny visual gags and touches, and a variety of hidden objects, some which are so normal they don’t stand out at all, some which are stashed in cupboards or other containers. Clicking on most things will produce a little animation of some kind.

The objects themselves have clues attached, relating to the rough area they might be hidden in. Interestingly Hidden Through Time 2: Discovery has changeable world states, such as day and night, or rain and shine, which alter the set up of the map slightly and allow certain objects to be found.

Each campaign has a story attached, which unfolds across 11 different maps. Neither is complex or deep, following a couple of detectives and an astronaut. They’re largely forgettable, but a nice touch nonetheless. Switching world states also reveals some evolution, such as a street vendor who’ll either be sheltering from the rain or hocking his wares. Again, it’s not intricate, but each of these shows creativity and care on the part of the developer.

Once you’re done with the provided campaign, you can download community challenges or create your own in Architect Mode. This surprised me, as there’s a huge choice of elements to pick from, as well as particular themes you can use. Creating the maps is easy, as you apply multiple layers of detail, characters, obscuring obstacles, and finally your hidden objects. It can be a little fiddly at times to get the layers right, but it’s just really cool that this mode exists.

I played Hidden Through Time 2: Discovery exclusively on Steamdeck, using the touch screen to click on the world, but it’s possible with a mouse or controller on PC or console. You won’t find any failure states here, no stress or timers, just the challenge of observing the world’s – and when they’re this cute and lovely that’s no bad thing.

Architect mode adds depth and creativity to the mix, while the 33 maps included in the main campaign offer a decent amount of variety and light challenge that will keep you busy – and only occasionally stumped – for a little while. Overall, Hidden Through Time 2: Discovery is exactly what it needs to be, and a great option for anyone looking for a different kind of cozy puzzle game.