I’m usually a hidden object gamer but when I do play the genre, its usually because something else about the game piqued my interest. Shy Cats Hidden Orchestra is a hidden object game where you need to find 20 cats inside each unusual vista from across the galaxy. The twist here is that each cat plays an instrument and you can muck about with the music they create as you play.
The main reason you should play this game is for the hidden object part of the game, which is the vast majority of the “gameplay”. The cats are all well hidden and blend into the beautifully drawn backdrops, with some faded into the background as the fog and mist of dense jungles or alien landscapes make them difficult to spot. There are only 10 levels and you’ll usually be able to find 19 of the 20 cats in each level with your eye alone. You’ll also be on the lookout for a key to open the riddle box in each level too. Once you’ve spotted it, you’ll be given a riddle to solve that relates to the cats you’ve collected and here is where the musical aspect comes to play.
Each cat plays an instrument and when you collect them, they’ll start adding to the music like a loop builder. The soundtrack is a mixture of tribal and military band percussion with traditional and jazzy instruments. It sounds really cool as the music builds up but you can also mute anyone you collect, making it a playful little digital audio workstation in a way. The riddles all play into this asking you to only play the bass, or the Christmas band members or matching silhouettes. They are usually very simple to understand but a couple aren’t well explained. This then releases the last cat to then be found on the level.
Shy Cats Hidden Orchestra is style over substance but I really enjoyed my time with it. I’d have loved to have been able to play with the cats and mix and match loops separately having completed a level but that’s not possible. Indeed, for all the fun the musical cats provide, it feels under utilised in the game. I also came across a couple of issues clicking on cats that were right next to UI and the game assumes you are clicking the options button instead. Zooming in can solve most of this but it did feel a little like fuzzy mobile port controls were at play.
I completed Shy Cats Hidden Orchestra in under 2 hours and whilst I may go back and play with the cats, the lack of looping or exporting MIDI for example means the replayability of the game is quite small. It does have that cute and unique factor whilst you first play it though and that’s what ultimately bumps up the score for me.
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