Hidden Through Time 2: Myths & Magic Review – A Surprising Hidden Object Game (Switch)

While playing games on my phone, I’ve come across ads for hidden objects games, with scenarios such as find the balloons in a carnival scene. These games have caught my eye, but I’ve never played one of these before – and then I got the chance to try out Hidden Through Time 2 and knew I had to give it a go. The result: I loved it! But what’s even greater was that Hidden Through Time 2 wasn’t quite what I was expecting, in a good way obviously. There’s a lot more to this game than just finding objects in a scene, as we’ll explore in this review of Hidden Through Time 2: Myths & Magic, which is the sequel to the first Hidden Through Time.

Hidden Through Time 2: Myths & Magic is available on Steam, GOG.com, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X | S, and Nintendo Switch for $12.99. The game is also set to be released on Android and iOS.

Story – Finding Things in Four Different Eras

Hidden Through Time 2 is full of things I wasn’t expecting, which pleased me greatly. One of them is the addition of a story mode. While Hidden Through Time focuses on locations, Hidden Through Time 2 is more about time periods and mythology. The Campaign includes four different eras, or storylines: Arabia’s 1001 Nights, Ancient Greek Mythology, The Middle Ages, and Magical 80s. Each is unique to each other, featuring different characters and settings, but all with some kind of story scenario going on to make things more interesting. For example, Magical 80s is centered around a witch hoping to go to prom with a werewolf in an 80s world full of mythical beings.

I was expecting Hidden Through Time 2 to feature levels centered around mythology and magic, hence the title, but I didn’t expect to have scenarios for each level, and I really liked this aspect of the game. It was fun exploring the levels in each era. In fact, I hope that in the future, the developers will add more eras and more levels to the game, similar to the DLC for Hidden Through Time, which added more locations.

Plus, if the four pre-made eras and their levels aren’t enough for you, there’s Hidden Through Time 2‘s Architect mode, which allows you to create your own levels and scenarios. We’ll go into more detail with that later in this review.

Hidden Through Time 2 features levels in four different eras. The pre-made ones come with stories to follow.

Gameplay – Find the Object, Plus Lots More

Hidden Through Time 2 is a hidden objects game. You’re presented with a scene and have to find a list of items in that scene. As you progress through the later levels, it gets harder, with the scenes being bigger, there being more objects to find, and said objects being more difficult to find. The best way to sum up Hidden Through Time 2 is that it’s challenging, but not ridiculously impossible that gets you infuriated and want to quit. In fact, I found that Hidden Through Time 2‘s challenges made me more eager to play and find every single object.

I have played hidden objects games before, but it’s been a while, and I have to say that Hidden Through Time 2 is definitely up there as one of the best of this genre. There are special additions to this game that make it stand out and give it that little edge, and also make it slightly more challenging. 

What, or Who, Are You Looking For?

Finding things is the core gameplay of Hidden Through Time 2, but what things exactly? The listed objects could be anything, and they include people and animals as well. The objects in question can be as mundane as a banana skin. The objects to find are never that big; for example, you’re not asked to look for something like a car. They’re often something relatively small. In fact, the people and animals tend to be the bigger objects to find, but even then they can be tricky to locate, although of course the smaller objects are probably the hardest, being more difficult to pick out. Objects can be craftily concealed amongst the scenery, or just tucked away out of sight so it’s very easy to scroll past them and miss them. This game really does teach you to look closely, take your time looking, and have a sharp eye. With so many objects and so much going on, it’s all about attention to detail, as well as patience.

To make things really interesting, the scenes you’re shown aren’t static, but are very much alive. The characters don’t just stand there. They have a vast array of animations, so they might be talking or dancing. Characters can even walk around. It can easily distract you when you’re busy looking for something, adding further to the challenge.

On top of that, each era also contains an additional hidden object that is part of a secret objective. This counts towards the total objects to find, but isn’t given a clue as to where to find it, or in which mode, which can make locating this particular object harder. This special object is the same in each level as well, depending on the era. For example, in the Magical 80s, you can find a red jerry can.

This is probably one of the trickier levels in Hidden Through Time 2.

Give Us a Clue

Hidden Through Time 2 doesn’t just give you a list of objects and then expects you to find everything. Many of the levels are quite big, not to mention incredibly detailed, so locating all the listed objects can be rather tricky. Fortunately, this game doesn’t totally leave you in the dark. Every object you need to find comes with a clue that directs you to where you can find it. They’re not ridiculously cryptic, but they’re not always totally straightforward either, so you have to really work it out and search the whole scene. Clues can point you in the right direction, but it’s still up to you to work it out and find the object.

Without clues, finding objects in the game is much harder.

Look In Every Nook and Cranny

While Hidden Through Time 2 isn’t challenging on an impossible level, it does contain features that makes finding objects that little bit harder. Buildings and even certain vehicles such as large boats and RVs can be cut away so you can see inside. Many of these do in fact have objects for you to find in them. Also, to go even deeper in searching, there are certain objects you can interact with to open them up to reveal even more objects. Such objects include chests, refrigerators, and drawers. You never know what you’ll find inside: it could well be the object you’re looking for!

While I love this aspect of the game, there were one or two teething issues. With multi-level buildings, sometimes it was hard to tell what was going to happen where you clicked. You think you’d open up a floor, but instead you’d end up closing it or unveiling the floor below. Another issue was with one particular chest that I struggled to open. Because it was concealed behind a movable screen, you had to click on the exact spot to open it.

You can click on buildings to cut away the walls and roofs to find even more objects.

Switching Scenes

Each level in Hidden Through Time 2 has two different modes. For example, you can switch between day and night, or change the weather so it’s either sunny or raining. This visually changes the scene on many levels, and not just aesthetically. It’s also a part of the hidden objects gameplay. Some objects can only be found in one mode, or both. For example, some objects can only be found when the level is set to raining, or sunny, and some objects may appear in both weathers. To throw you off more, there are a few subtle changes in the scene. Characters will move around, or disappear altogether, or even be added into the scene. Objects can also be taken out or put in, including the ones you’re looking for.

Hidden Through Time 2 does help you out with this particular mechanic. Against each object-to-find’s picture, it’ll tell you what mode you need to be in. For example, it’ll tell you that you need to set the scene to the sunny mode in order to find that particular object. An object that can be found in either mode will have both modes marked.

Every level in Hidden Through Time 2 has two alternate settings, changing the weather or time of day.

Architect Mode, aka Create Your Own Level

If you’ve completed all the pre-made levels, or you feel inspired to make your own, you can, thanks to Hidden Through Time 2‘s Architect mode. This is essentially the game’s level creator and editor, so you can make your very own levels from scratch, using the tools and objects provided, and of course your imagination. I couldn’t do this review of Hidden Through Time 2 without at least checking out Architect mode, so I had a little play around.

To begin with, just as with Campaign mode, you’re given the option of a tutorial before you start. You can choose to skip it. There’s quite a lot of information to take in; Architect mode is incredibly detailed, but you can always read the tutorial again, or you can just figure it out yourself. The level of control and creativity in Architect mode is amazing. You can only use the objects previously seen in the four eras, but there’s still lots of room for imagination in what you can put together. Why not mix Ancient Greek architecture with the more modern 80s items? With structures such as houses, you can place windows and doors to make each one unique. In your level, you can change the color of the ground, so it’s either all one solid color or a mixture. You can even place things like rivers and waterfalls in your level. The color of objects can be changed as well.

You can place characters in your own level, and even set animations and walk paths, something I found surprisingly easy. In fact, nothing in Architect mode is confusing or overcomplicated. There’s a lot you can do, but it’s not overwhelming. 

Architect Mode is incredibly detailed, but thankfully not too overcomplicated.

There’s so much creative control in Architect mode that it’s almost unbelievable. You can set the music to whatever you want, and add which modes you want to include in your level, such as sunny, wet, snowing, and nighttime. 

Then there’s the hidden objects themselves. This also has an amazing amount of detail. Pretty much any object can be a hidden object, and you can place them in buildings or other objects such as chests. You can even set the objects so they only appear in a certain mode. Finally, while setting a hidden object, you can write up your very own clue!

You can test your level out any time you like. Switching between the editor and test mode is very simple. Then, once you’re happy with your creation, you can share it online so others can try it out!

On the whole, Architect mode is certainly impressive. However, it did have a few hiccups. I couldn’t figure out how to scroll along to see and select more objects from the catalog. Also, the game would lag slightly whenever moving the cursor over the catalog. Probably the most pressing issue I had was the whole catalog of objects disappearing after being in Architect mode for a while. With no way to bring them back, I was forced to exit Architect mode and reload my saved level. It was a shame because I found this mode enjoyable and having a lot of potential. I don’t know if it’s just me who experienced this, or something I’m doing wrong, or if it’s just the console I was playing on. Hopefully this is something that can be resolved via patches.

With Architect Mode, you can create complex levels.

Graphics & Audio – Striking Visuals, Engaging Music

There’s one thing I really want to say about Hidden Through Time 2: I love its graphics. They are just absolutely stunning to look at. As a game with a cartoon graphic style, it looks amazing, which is just as well since you spend so much time in each level looking for objects. Every scene feels alive. The black outlined images are beautifully striking, and the colors aren’t oversaturated and hard to look at. It’s definitely a big thumbs-up for Hidden Through Time 2. 

The audio side of the game isn’t a letdown either. There’s music throughout the game, including the main menu scenes, which gives you the impression of wonder and discovery. The four eras have their own soundtrack, which loop over and over. You’ll find yourself in each level for quite some time, especially the bigger more difficult ones, and fortunately the music doesn’t get overly repetitive and annoying after a while. In fact, it’s rather pleasant to listen to, and almost a clever influence. The music is set perfectly for the game, whichever era you’re in. It gives you a real sense of “Look at this amazing scene; there’s so much to find!” Combined with the images, the music cleverly draws you in and is almost inspiring in making you search harder. It’s like the music is enticing you, saying “What you’re looking for is here somewhere – keep looking!”

Continuing with Hidden Through Time 2‘s audio, the sound effects don’t let the side down either. It’s particularly satisfying when you find an object, especially one that you might have been searching for ages and almost given up on, and then when you locate and click on it, the accompanying sound effect makes you feel especially good. The musical jingle that plays whenever you complete a level, finding every object, is even more satisfying.

Hidden Through Time 2: Myths & Magic was reviewed on the Nintendo Switch with a key provided by Pirate PR.