This one is an old favourite of mine ever since I played it to platinum on the PS4. For fans of achievement hunting, it forces you to play on Expert, and boasts a few interesting points - you have to finish the game in one sitting, and the bonus chapter in one sitting.

But it's not as bad these days with the addition of people sharing saves, if you know where to look.


The story, as is so common with these types of hidden object games, has a female protagonist off to unravel a mystery. In this game (and its sequel) the plot centres around family - you start off searching for your sister but it quickly develops far and away beyond that.

It's hard to critique properly without resorting to spoilers, so I'll try to choose my words carefully here.

As difficult as expert mode is, it actually isn't that bad. I had no problem finding all the missable collectables by the end, and I think the main reason for this is the lack of a mis-click penalty. Often you'll see that randomly clicking all over the screen will 'make you dizzy' in other games, and you have to wait a while before you can click again. Not so here. So while I still value my mouse's longevity before the left click button is completely worn away, you don't have to be perfect with your searching for things to do or items to find.

In terms of puzzles, 'hidden object' can be seen as a bit of a misnomer, as it doesn't have the traditional mess scenes with a little list at the bottom of everything you have to find. Instead, the fuzzy grey zones you'll see (yes, even on Expert these are obvious) follow a domino effect - you'll probably only be able to find one thing, but it will lead to another, and then what you find will help with the next one, and so forth.

I had one item that held me up for ages in the main story - a train track section for a model train set. For anyone else that runs into the same problem, (I don't think this is a huge spoiler) it's in the fuse box.

In the bonus chapter, the keycode for the final room will likely cause problems too. The journal will list the clue as a photo of the lock with the door code already lit on the display... but you have to ignore the text in the display screen. It says something like 0135 but it is just flat out wrong. Instead, you are supposed to go by the bloody fingerprints on the number pad... but sadly even this has issues. Allow me to elucidate. Normally the bloody-mess-on-a-keycode method is supposed to work by reducing the smear with each key pressed. If you think about it (and feel free to test it at home, just, maybe not with blood, but dirt yeah?), when you have a finger loaded with gunk, and you start tapping buttons, the gunk is going to transfer to the keys more at the start, and your finger will be slightly cleaner with each press.

The problem with how they've worked this puzzle is that they don't do it this way. Instead, they assume the finger is really dirty, and each tap leaves the same mark each time. Also, they kind of cheat this as well, by making one button pressed twice, although this is hard to tell. So the code actually has a 1, a 3, and two 5's. It would have been a whole lot simpler if the photo in the journal was correct. I won't say the correct order for the presses - I think you've got enough hints aye ;)



True Fear has a decent story. It's broken up into chapters, with locations changing after the first chapter to give some new scenery. Cutscene acting is very simple - you just cannot expect A+++ Final Fantasy cutscenes from these types of games. They are kind of stagnant and never get any better as time marches on - I've come to accept it and not think about it too much. As it dabbles with a bit of scariness the palette tends to suffer too, with lots of darkness, greys and poor lighting.

The set location for chapter 2 and 3 surprised me, but only after reading some of the in-game lore. Little nags that have you looking like a Jackie Chan meme, that sort of thing. I guess the most obvious one is the state of her parents' home. It is so dilapidated the wallpaper is peeling off walls, the floor has turned to rubble and most everything inside is rusted or moth-eaten. BUT! She didn't want the detective to come in and destroy the place. WELL. Bad luck friend! I'm pretty sure 'destroyed' has already happened!


But really though. I wouldn't mind these games so much if they put a bit of effort into characterisation. Even X-Files is more believable than some of these characters and how their minds work with respect to family.

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When it all boils down, none of these HOGs are ever perfect. Follow the rainbow for long enough and you soon find the treasure isn't quite what you expect. But if you learn to gloss over the flaws, it is a very good exercise in just plain old fun, which is often all we are here for anyway.

a beautiful point and click horror hidden object game , wait for a discount and get the 2 parts , you won't be disappointed !