There’s No Cake Review (PC)

True to their word, there was no cake. In fact, what they left behind wasn’t so much a trail of breadcrumbs and clotted toppers, but a slither of cookie dough and more “a-ha” moments than I’d dare to admit. It was one of those “oh I see” situations—the sort that you would often encounter after a long slog of critically combing over the same details on a scrapbook page before finally coming to the realization that the point of interest was beneath your nose the entire time. It wasn’t like witnessing nails on a chalkboard, or even like watching paint dry; on the contrary, There’s No Cake made the process of weaving its comfort foods and bitter treats into one edible tapestry surprisingly entertaining — not so much with its gripping plot points or mindless point-and-click exercises, but with its elegant design and subject matter.

There’s No Cake doesn’t break the mold with anything particularly extraordinary, nor does it steal the thunder from beneath its adversaries’ ironclad clouds with anything visually extravagant or technical, for that matter. In fact, if you were to remove the candy-coated confectionaries from the countertop, then you would essentially have a rather generic hidden object game with a few scribbled panels and little more. But that’s the thing with hidden object games: you don’t need anything utterly special to amass attention; rather, you just need a good-looking composition, a captivating subject, and enough secrets to warrant your presence for a short while. Does There’s No Cake provide these delicacies within its bite-sized layers? Absolutely — but such a short burst of praise wouldn’t make for a compelling review in this case. So, let’s dial it back a notch.

Clotted Creams & Cookie Dough

There’s No Cake doesn’t boast a tremendous amount of levels for you to chisel away at; in fact, the base game itself only provides nine stages to work with. That said, each of the panels that it does bring to the surface are as equally rife with homely comforts and treats as they are with pleasantly warm hand-drawn aesthetics and wholesome visual effects. Granted, it doesn’t put a candle to the likes of the 100 Hidden Cats series, as it doesn’t capture that same level of complexity in its composition. Having said that, it does make a commendable effort to appeal to a slightly younger demographic with fewer obstructions and merely a fraction of the same clutter that you would typically find in an otherwise overwhelming hidden object IP. And that’s great; it doesn’t make the process of finding the subject matter painfully taxing.

With all of the above said, There’s No Cake does foster some relatively tricky objects, several of which require a stern eye and a fine-tooth comb to identify. The objects in question, while not as elusive as a Where’s Waldo clone, can be awfully difficult to spot, too, with items like cookies and salted pretzels ensuring that you don’t shovel through the whole checklist in ten seconds flat. To that end, I’d say that there is a bit of a challenge to be found here. I’ll admit, it isn’t quite as unfairly overwhelming as a lot of hidden object games, what with the lack of intricate details and heavy line work, but it does frequently cough up a few curveballs for you to overcome. Not that this is a bad thing, mind you.

Chasing Breadcrumbs

Gameplay-wise, There’s No Cake doesn’t deviate much from the usual narrative. As such, it uses a similar built-in hint system that allows you to get a second opinion on tricky situations, as well as a replay option that gives you the opportunity to shake things up with new set pieces and locations. Aside from that, it also provides a useful scrubbing tool, and not to mention a collection of achievements that you can unlock through general play. As far as all of that malarkey goes, there isn’t a huge amount to touch base on. Simply put, if you’ve played one hidden object game in the past, then lo and behold, you’ve essentially played this one, too.

At the end of the day, the only thing that separates this entry in the hidden object saga from its peers is it objects. True to its title, it more or less features things like slices of cake (eh, sort of) and a whole bunch of random baked goods and other confectionaries that you might find at your local supermarket or candy store. All in all, you’re looking at a checklist of ten primary items, as well as a treasure trove of “special” items per level. With all of that in the basket, plus the option to alternate between backdrops and extra color schemes, you should have somewhere between an hour or two of material to comb through. Not a huge amount, but enough to tide you over whilst you wait for a fresh canvas to dab your brush and scrub your trusty magnifying glass over, for sure.

Verdict

While There’s No Cake isn’t as visually striking as its prolific hidden object cousins, much less filled to the brim with as many interesting subjects, the game itself does tout several fantastic features—a solid hand-drawn art style and a lot of interesting themes, being two of its standout elements in a surprisingly weighty bucket of standard tropes and familiar assets. It isn’t a long game, I’ll admit, but then, it’s not all that common to find a hidden object game that will take any more than an hour to sift through, anyway. Still, it’s worth noting here that, as far as longevity goes, it’s not quite as bulky as your typical thousand-piece puzzler.

Of course, if you’re looking to spend a short period of time nibbling at the breadcrumbs of a cute and oh-so-wholesome hidden object appetizer, then this palate cleanser will definitely help you whet your appetite for another meatier concoction that’ll no doubt be along at any given moment. Will you find cake? Maybe. We won’t give away any spoilers.