Game: Hidden Things Forest Elves
Genre: Puzzle, Hidden Object
System: Steam (Windows)
Developers & Publishers: Galysh Company
Controller Support: No
Price: US $3.89 | UK £3.31 | EU €3,89
Release Date: August 11th, 2025
Review code used, and many thanks to Galysh Company.
The hidden object genre is a satisfying cozy niche that goes through some pretty fallow periods. Gone is the heyday of Big Fish Games and their cornucopia of murder mysteries and strange landscapes loaded with oddities to pick out of a hoarder’s mess of stuff. Fortunately, there’s still ways to find those old games — and better still, there’s the occasional indie out to scratch the itch for us.
The apex game of the modern hidden object program is probably Hidden Folks, and it’s spawned a caboodle of devs happy to imitate it a little in order to feed us that happy serotonin. Some of our favorites are the ones with cats! Developer Galysh is a newer face in this field, with only their second miniature slice of finding wonder on our review table today, with the first one being Hidden Winter Things. Hidden Things Forest Elves is a small game at a small price, with very small elves scattered across a sketchbook Bayeux Tapestry of cuteness for you to find. Is it worth a couple of your hard earned dollar bucks? Let’s see.
Hidden Things Forest Elves Is a Simple Lil Thing
For your couple of bucks, Hidden Things Forest Elves offers two large, scrollable pieces of art featuring a hundred elves each to uncover. As you tap on each found figure, they light up in shades of lively neon. It won’t be long before your efforts unlock other items to pick out from the background, and some of them get fairly diabolical to notice.
One of the many sunflower seeds you need to find, for example, may be taking a side job as an elf’s front door. Or you’re looking for an elf’s butt dangling from the rafters, with not much else to help you spot him. Yes, while your example sketches of objects are useful for finding your targets, the targets themselves may vary slightly. A series of hidden flowers may have variances in their stems, but you’re always looking for a three-petal tulip, for example. And the elves themselves are always Up To Something.
Controls? Don’t Worry About It Much
As a point and click affair, Hidden Things Forest Elves isn’t just straightforward to load and play, but it’ll probably play on the oldest laptop you have. It also works fine on Steam Deck; all you’re doing is loading up, selecting which of the two screens you want to play, and rolling the image around to tap and poke. The usual mouse and button combo works just fine, and there’s no pressure or failure state to hamper your vibe.
If you’re really having trouble finding that last acorn — and you might, detail fatigue always makes things tricky after a while — there is a hint option that’ll zoom you over to the right area, with a large circle highlighted to help you narrow down your missing thingie. The hint feature is on a cool down of what feels like a minute or so, just enough to keep you trying to figure things out on your own without letting you get frustrated.
A Simple Art Style Is Fine, But It Might All Be Too Simple
Hidden Things Forest Elves features similar stick figure cartoon art as its popular predecessor, Hidden Folks, but the two forest scenes it offers are large and full of nifty details that tell loose stories. Mostly what’s clear is the rambunctious harmony between elvenkind and their woodland neighbors. Foxes and other critters roam peacefully between the trees, and the mushrooms make for popular family gatherings. Absurdly, you’ll quickly notice a rocket ship on the second piece of art. Be sure to click on it for a little surprise.
The neon lights that illuminate each found object vary and blend into each other with bright harmony. It’s a nice detail that offers a warm and happily lit up scene the closer you come to completion. It’s a subtle reward, and a pretty one that differentiates it from similar games that use small animations instead.
The only thing that may quirk at a value-orientated person looking for puzzles to chill to is that there’s no hidden unlockables or extra scenes. When the game offers you its two screens, that’s what you’re going to get. There’s no confusion about this part, so there’s no feeling of confusion. It’s simply a matter of if you think there’s enough value for your money here. As a cozy puzzler that’ll eat up a half hour or so here or there as you revisit the game for its charming whimsy, the answer is, maybe so. There’s certainly love and care in the art, and the developer seems keen on bringing out more mini packs of screens to dig through.
Conclusion
Hidden Things Forest Elves is a pleasant puzzler in the vein of other modern hidden object style games. With two large screens full of detail to play through, its value is up to you, but it’s a nice bite of zen time for those looking for a moment’s peace in a globally tough time. It won’t take you long to finish your time with the game and it’s not breaking any new ground with its charming graphics and simple play, but it’ll be nice time spent, presented well.
Verdict: I Like It
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