Cats Visiting Fairy Tales Review (PC)

AGE Zero’s presence in the hidden object category is continuing to evolve as the studio looks to foster yet another chapter in its repository of enchantingly diverse worlds of whimsical designs and whisker-like photographs. In the case of Cats Visiting Fairy Tales, specifically, the gloves (or paws) are off, and the series’ previous installment, Cats Visiting Historical Times, finally has a successor to lift the torch and usher the catalog towards an even grander future—an era that will no doubt receive an enormous array of dynamic sketchbook settings and even more cutesy kitten companions to unearth and collect.

Cats Visiting Fairy Tales, for those who’ve missed out on earlier iterations in AGE Zero’s timeline of feline-centric puzzlers, is a short but engaging hidden object game in which you, the analyzer with a magnifying glass and a sweet tooth for small details, navigate a total of five unique fairy tale scrapbooks. In each of these settings, you have a simple goal to complete: scrub the nooks and crannies of a composition, and locate “special” items among other furry things in order to fulfill a checklist. All in all, there’s about twenty minutes’ worth of seeking to do, with each of the levels offering a unique fairy tale setting and a rough five-minute excursion to participate in. But more on that later.

If you’re new to AGE Zero’s hidden object series, or if you’re a returning fan who just so happens to be looking for that next big sketchbook adventure, here’s everything you should know before slipping into Cats Visiting Fairy Tales…

Wondrous Whiskers

As mentioned above, Cats Visiting Fairy Tales is an incredibly short hidden object game. Though, to be fair, most hidden object games that befall the category are, respectfully, short. For the sake of bursting a bubble as early on as possible, however, it is worth mentioning here that the game itself isn’t teeming with objects to find, nor is it necessarily brimming with bonus materials, post-completion rewards, or the added complexity of a lucrative DLC of any kind. To put it simply, Cats Visiting Fairy Tales is a one-and-done collect-a-thon—a quick romp of a puzzler that you could quite easily shovel through in just under thirty minutes. With all of that out in the open, let’s move on.

Cats Visiting Fairy Tales includes just five panels to work through, with each panel containing something of a visual love letter to a classic fairy tale setting. By that, we’re talking about enchanted necessities like woodland grottos, critter-coddled cubbies, spiraling oak trees, and, above all else, colorful cats. The game, no matter which level you find yourself in, still plays out in a similar fashion as other hidden object titles — with a handy to-do list to work through, and a useful hint system that helpfully points you in the direction of any subjects that you might miss along the way. Aside from that, Cats Visiting Fairy Tales isn’t overly difficult to decipher. There are 500 cats to find, and a small collection of artsy levels to scrub over with a fine-tooth comb.

A Fairy Tale Ending

While the gameplay itself doesn’t stretch much beyond the scope of a basic hidden object title, the art and visual embellishments are two things that deserve to be recognized here. From the intricate line work to the small but significantly complex subjects that nest themselves inside the canvas, Cats Visiting Fairy Tales does indeed capture a striking image that’s befitting of a children’s storybook setting, with its fantastical nature and elegant yet contextless story providing a solid foundation for a picture-perfect scrapbook. Could it do with a few more details to help broaden its appeal? Maybe. But then, I’m not about to dock points for a lack of interesting features, for it does have more than enough to keep you invested for the brief period of time that it gives itself to shine.

More to the point, if you enjoy brief visits into pocket-sized artworks that don’t ask much of you, but make every possible attempt to scoot you in the direction of your next milestone, then you’ll probably love peeling back the corners of Cats Visiting Fairy Tales’ book. The hint system, while more of a “giving up” tool that essentially reveals the object in question rather than ushering you toward the general vicinity of it, isn’t a great addition, I’ll admit. That said, such a feature does lift the weight off your shoulders ever so slightly, effectively making it so that you don’t spend too long pondering the same minor details over and over again. It takes the challenge out of the equation, for sure, but it also makes it more accessible and easier to complete. A bit of a double-edged sword, I suppose.

Verdict

Fans of either the 100 Hidden Cats series, or more generally speaking, hidden object games as a whole, are more than likely capable of identifying the whiskers and other whimsical wonders of this particular scratching post. Like its predecessor, Cats Visiting Historical Times, the newest entry in the saga boasts a surprisingly in-depth collection of fine line work and captivating compositions that will surely appeal to the vast majority of gamers with a stern eye for rich details and cutesy subjects.

At this point in time, there’s no telling where AGE Zero’s kitten-centric puzzler series will sink its teeth next. Nevertheless, if Cats Visiting Fairy Tales is a small window into what’s to come in future chapters, then I think it’s safe to say that we’ve got plenty to look forward to. Here’s hoping, then, that whatever setting its developers decide to slump their paws on next will retain that familiar energy and wholesome aesthetic. Either way, we’ve nothing but high hopes for the next handful of pages in this ever-growing scrapbook of whiskers and wondrous wooded trails.