There are an epic ton of hidden cats games on Steam this year. And I like them a lot. What started off as a totally random thing, became copied by many indie studios for a quick buck. But which studios do I want to support? Well, I'm trying them all.
The oldest hidden cats game I could find on Steam was the 3D Hidden Paws by Manic Hyena in 2018. Manic Hyena's hidden cats games are unique in that they're all in 3D, and you have to navigate the camera around islands to spot each cat and ball of yarn. The controls are a little rough, but I give Manic Hyena credit for the original idea, and I enjoyed the first few levels of Hidden Paws. They've produced 3 hidden cats games in total, a winter themed one, a summer themed one, and a mystery one. The game includes helpful hints for when you get stuck, but doesn't give away the answers entirely. Well done.
100 Hidden Cats is the first 2D hidden cat game, I could find. It was created by Anatoliy Loginovskikh, and the artwork was done by Alexandr Telminov. It was released in April of 2021. The same duo had other 100 hidden objects and animals games, starting with snails in 2020, and they continue to make hidden object games, though not focused on cats. The artwork was fine. The controls were simple. I didn't like the background music, and there is no hint system for when you get stuck. So, even though they did the first 2D hidden cats game, I probably won't be buying more of their games.
2022
In 2022, Nukearts Studio took a crack at hidden cats games with Hidden Cats in Paris. Nukearts Studio brought a lot more polish to the 2D hidden cat genre, since they include a hint system when you get stuck, the black and white picture gets colored in to show your progress, and you can reset the level and start over to play again. The artwork is better, the music is better, and it has a satisfying fully colored illustration at the end. I was so impressed, I bought every hidden cat game they had and followed them to see when they would put out more.
Devcats Studio started publishing cat themed games in 2022 as well. Their third game is a Building Full of Cats, a hidden cat game. It was such a huge success, that they updated it and made a few more. Their hidden cat games have multiple levels, interactive pictures, mini levels, a good hint system, and it's a cat-centric dev team, which I like. They were the first guys to catch my attention with their new release, An Arcade Full of Cats, which was entirely free to play, so I downloaded it and played the first couple levels. Even though they didn't create the hidden cats genre, their colorful games and cat themed library has gotten the genre a lot of attention. They have thousands of good reviews. Yep, I bought all their games and intend to follow them for more too.
EverCats is another studio that started in 2022, and their focus is specifically hidden cat games. They made 3 hidden cat games in 2022, then seemed to have stopped. Their levels are smaller, but they have more of them. They're very aesthetically pleasing to look at. After trying their first game, I wishlisted the other two, but since they seem to have stopped, I won't be following them.
2023
I Commissioned Some Cats feels like a cash grab. Like, just the name, though I appreciate the honesty. Follow the Fun started making hidden object games in 2022, but their first cat themed one was in February of 2023. Though they've released 7 more in the same year, so it must be working for them, commissioning all their art and only having to put the game together. Each game comes with 15 levels, and they've reintroduced balls of yarn to find, like from Hidden Paws in 2018. I played one level, it was fine, but their intention really feels like a cash grab on a popular fad, so I'm not going to invest in all their games until I run out of the others.
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