“The most worth-while thing is to try to put happiness into the lives of others.” – Sir Robert Baden-Powell (founder of the modern Scouting movement)
Overview
Wind Peaks is a fun point-and-click hidden object game about a group of 5 scouts who embark on a mysterious adventure through Wind Peak Preserve and into the magical forest after finding a hidden treasure map! It was originally developed for PC and released on Steam during summer 2020 and has just made it’s way to Nintendo Switch.
Developer: Actoon Studio
Released: July 2020
Price: £6.19 – £9.99
Gameplay
Each chapter in Wind Peaks present a new and longer list of items that need to be found, some are hidden in logical places, some in plain sight and some are placed with seeming randomness and require the player to simply scour the environment. There are also red herrings in the form of out of place objects or previously sought items.
While Wind Peaks is primarily a hidden object game there are also some basic puzzle elements such as having to find certain objects in order to find others. There are also extra mini-activities such as collecting bottles to recycle or building totems. These additions add an extra layer of interest to the game and elevate it slightly beyond a typical hidden object experience.
The game is not overly challenging and can easily be completed in under 2 hours, but it does have a hint system in place for anyone that needs it. On requesting a hint for a specific object however, there is a 3 minute delay until the hint is revealed. Additionally, past levels can be revisited upon completion of the game if any of the extra activities or achievements (Windows) were missed.
Narrative and Styling
The game is divided into ten chapters, each one presenting an obstacle that can only be overcome by finding the prescribed items such as having to find a scout’s clothes after they lose them in the river or having to find things with which to wake up the scout leader. These hurdles are indicated with cut scenes and small comic strips and combine to make a simple but jolly narrative that even has a couple of little twists!
Wind Peaks has a cute cartoon art style that fits the theme and narrative well. It also uses a colour palette of muted colours and vibrant earth tones that similarly match the natural themes, settings and camping scout characters. The main criticism in terms of aesthetic would be the lack of variation, many of the scenes had a similar look and feel and the same assets were replicated quite heavily.
The game’s soundtrack is relaxing but atmospheric with music featuring acoustic guitar, marimba and chimes for a really fun, unique sound. The ambient nature sound effects also added to the overall feel of the environments.
Summary
Overall, Wind Peaks is a short but enjoyable and relaxing experience that is easy to recommend to fans of hidden object games. It is a welcome addition to this style of game, expanding on the expected mechanics in minimal and subtle ways that add some freshness without straying too far from its true genre.
Giveaway
If you’d like a chance to win a Steam key for Wind Peaks just join us on Discord for more details! We’ll be announcing the winner on Monday 8th March 2021!
But also, if you don’t want to win the Wind Peaks and just like chatting about indie games and sharing animal pictures, we’d still love for you to join our little Discord community!
If you enjoy explorative curios and hidden object game, you may also want to read about:
TraptionBakery – Hidden Folk – Everything
