Sophia the Traveler Review: A Relaxing Trip to Venice (Switch)

Earlier this year, I played and reviewed a game called Hidden Through Time 2: Myths & Magic and thoroughly enjoyed it. That’s why when I spotted Sophia the Traveler, a similar hidden objects game, I was keen to play it. I’m not going to spend this whole review comparing the two games, because while they are the same genre, I think they’re quite different in style. I have to admit, when I first started Sophia the Traveler, I was busy and distracted, but it wasn’t long before the game taught me to slow down and just enjoy the amazing sights of Venice, and soon, I was into it. After playing Sophia the Traveler, this is why I think you should consider getting it if you’re looking for a hidden objects game.

Sophia the Traveler will be available from April 11th on PC and Nintendo Switch for $8.99.

Story – Sophia Goes Traveling in Venice

The set up for Sophia the Traveler is very simple and pretty self-explanatory. Simply put, Sophia goes on her travels to Venice, accompanied by her dog Mike and Polly the parrot. Before you start a level, you see a comic book strip style scene with Sophia, Mike and Polly going about their holiday. As you find the hidden objects in the levels, you get a postcard written by Sophia, talking about her travels. There’s not really much of a story that comes with Sophia the Traveler, except that she’s someone who’s gone traveling on holiday. This isn’t a bad thing though; this simple set up is perfect for the game’s relaxed pace and gameplay. With Sophia on holiday in Venice, you kind of feel like you’ve gone with her on her travels. It’s the perfect form of escapism in your everyday life.

Gameplay – So Much to See, So Much to Find

The gameplay for Sophia the Traveler is pretty much as simple and straightforward as the story. You are presented with scenes full of buildings, people and objects, and your goal is to find all the listed subjects hidden in the scenes. For a hidden objects game, you couldn’t ask for any more, but how well does it play?

Altogether, Sophia the Traveler has 10 levels. This may not seem like much to some, but trust me, it’s plenty. It has a healthy mixture of smaller scenes with less objects to locate, but also much bigger scenes with about 20 hidden objects. Believe me, the big scenes are enormous! When you take a look at the overall map, you can’t imagine how you’re going to find anything – but you do (eventually!)

Getting Around Venice With the Controls

The mechanics of Sophia the Traveler are very easy and expected of any hidden objects game. You scour the scene for the listed hidden objects, and when you do find one, you select it and it’s checked off the list. How does Sophia the Traveler pull off this mechanic? For the most part, pretty well. The only thing that slightly lets it down is the controls, which are a bit iffy.

I played this game on the Nintendo Switch, both in handheld mode and with the controllers (which to me is a thumbs up for any game). With the handheld’s touch screen controls, it was mostly okay. The only bit that wasn’t that good was moving around the scenes. It was a bit janky. When I switched over to using the controllers, navigating the scenes with the joystick was a lot easier and smoother. With the controllers, you move and interact around the screen with a hand cursor. It’s a little bit slower, and it’s sometimes hard to see where you’re meant to click with the cursor, but otherwise it works well. Whichever mode you choose to play in is down to you. Both ways have their pros and cons, but I personally preferred docking the Switch and playing through the TV with the controllers.

Like Looking for a Needle in a Haystack

Let’s talk about the hidden objects gameplay, since this is the core objective of Sophia the Traveler. Some of the scenes are very easy to complete, taking about 5-10 minutes to find everything listed. The much bigger scenes are a different story though. You could spend a good hour or so trawling through the vast scenes, scanning your eyes across hundreds of people milling about in the crowd, scouring rooftops and windows, peering into shops. These hidden objects can be anywhere! I was very grateful that Sophia the Traveler didn’t do what Hidden Through Time did, which was let you look into buildings. If this game did that, you would be looking forever. You can interact with windows, shutters, curtains and doors though to open them up and look inside, sometimes unveiling a hidden object.

If you think this scene is big enough, this is only a small portion of the level!

I have to admit, when I was confronted by the bigger scenes, it seemed very overwhelming and I wondered if locating anything was going to be possible at all. Soon though, these thoughts were dispelled as I began meticulously and methodically sweeping the scenes, moving along the crowded streets and the miles of rooftops, stopping to look at shops and restaurants and rooftop verandas. There was one thing that Sophia the Traveler taught me: to slow down, take my time, and to just relax and enjoy the scenes – all the while looking for those hidden objects. This actually taught me to appreciate the game, embrace the slower pace, take in the incredible sights of Venice that was created for this game. I started to properly relax and get into the game, and then I began to find the hidden objects, and soon, they were all ticked off and I could move onto the next scene.

Every listed hidden object comes with a clue to help you locate it. It can still be hard to locate the objects in the much vaster and busier scenes, but it does help. Usually, the people or objects look quite distinctive, which helps to pick them out among a big crowd.

A Lifeline With a Catch

If you ever do get seriously stuck in Sophia the Traveler, there is a lifeline. You can use a magnifying glass, which will automatically locate one of the undiscovered hidden objects for you. Needless to say, it is extremely useful. However, such a useful tool does have a catch: one use of the magnifying glass only becomes available after a 6-minute timer (which stops when the game is paused). There’s a second catch as well: you can only accumulate up to 5 uses of the magnifying glass. You cannot gain anymore until you have used it at least once. I actually quite like this feature because it stops you from giving up easily and using the magnifying glass. I only tried to use it when I was really stuck and even then I felt bad for giving up so quickly and easily, but it’s good to have it there if you need it. The accumulation is also saved when you exit the game, so you can use it when you resume later.

Graphics & Audio – Getting Warped Right Into Venice

One thing that a hidden objects game must have is good enough graphics so that it’s easy to find stuff. Suffice to say that Sophia the Traveler ticks that box – and more! I actually love the art style of this game. You really feel as if you’re looking at a hidden objects book, but brought to life with animation and sound in a video game. I have to give serious kudos to the people behind the hand-drawn scenes, buildings, people and objects. Their recreation of Venice is just absolutely jawdropping. It must have taken them ages to put these scenes together, and I feel all that effort has really paid off. Even though the bigger scenes are more challenging in terms of finding objects, I just enjoy looking at everything, admiring all the detail. If anything, it makes locating the hidden objects even more satisfying.

To really enhance the scenes, the added sound effects and ambient music is the final piece of the puzzle that transports you straight to Venice. You really feel as if you’re there, standing amongst a crowd of people while music from a street performer plays. I’ll admit, some sound effects and music can get a little grating after listening to them for a while, if you’re searching that same area for a hidden object. This might be because the audio file plays from the start every time you approach it, rather than it playing on a constant loop even when you’re not close.

Sophia the Traveler was reviewed on the Nintendo Switch with a key provided by Thermite Games.