Game: Summer Paws
Genre: Puzzle, Adventure, Education, Other
System: Nintendo Switch (also on Steam, Console and Mobile)
Developers | Publishers: Manic Hyena| Silesia Games
Age Rating: US E | EU 3+
Price: US $4.99 | UK £3.59 | EU €4.99
Release Date: June 24, 2021
Review code used, with many thanks to Silesia Games
Summer Paws is the third instalment of the Hidden Paws series. the other two previous games by developer Manic Hyena are Hidden Paws and Hidden Paws Mystery. Summer Paws is the first game released on the Nintendo Switch in the series.
Hide and Seek
Summer Paws is essentially a hide and seek game. On each of the eighteen handcrafted islands in the game, you are searching for sleeping hidden cats. You’ll need to find only the sleeping cats in among all the awake cats of which there are many. They have a sleeping animation that differentiates them from the other cats in the levels. When you find the sleeping cat you have to wake them up. It is a relaxing game with no violence. Just you and the islands and heaps of cats and kittens to find.
In all, there are eighteen islands to play through. It’s not a long game by any means, taking me an hour or so to complete. Additionally, it’s a very relaxing game to play. There isn’t any time limits or a clock counting down the seconds in the corner of the screen, don’t you just dislike those? I do!
Search for sleeping Kitties
It is not just the sleeping cats you are looking for. On each level, there are also pink seashells to find as well. Like the sleeping cats, the seashells can be hidden anywhere on the level. You’ll have to hunt high and low, open doors, look in boxes and barrels scattered around the levels.
There are a few easy puzzles to solve, they’re mostly of the flick a switch puzzles or rotate statues the correct way kind of puzzle, nothing too brain-taxing or frustrating.
Once you find everything you move on to the next level, all levels are locked until you complete the previous one. This is fine as it’s not a difficult game by any means. Depending on your observation skills will depend on how long it takes you to finish the game. It is not a game that has any replay value either, once you have finished a level that’s it.
Visuals and Controls
Summer Paws has lovely hand-drawn summer islands, which give you the feel of the summer months. The bright and cheerful look of the game would appeal to any age group.
Young children would delight in playing Summer Paws. It has a nice chill soundtrack and the lighting of the islands is used to good effects, such as the windows of the building showing light in the window.
The controls are fine and work as they should. You can play the game using the joy-con or the touchscreen and both perform as they should.
Conclusion
Summer Paws is a lovely, chill-out kind of game. A game to play with a cup of coffee instead of the crossword in the local newspaper. Play it on a commute into work as it is an easy game to pop in and out of too. I can see the game being a big hit with younger members of the family as they hunt for the cute kitties.
Final Verdict: I Like It 