Under Leaves

Genre: Puzzle

Players: 1

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Review:

(Note: This game is included in the Little Mouse’s Encyclopedia + Under Leaves bundle, along with Little Mouse’s Encyclopedia,)

Under Leaves is a family-friendly Puzzle game in the “find the hidden object” style, with players looking around in various natural environments trying to find a select number of one type of hidden object within the level. This game was released on PC in 2017 and ported to Xbox One and Nintendo Switch in 2021.

The presentation here is simple, but surprisingly compelling, featuring painted 2D levels constructed from simple, almost geometric shapes. However, the real star of the show here is the game’s magnificent sound, which fills the background of each location with soothing atmospheric noises and just a few notes of instrumental music from time to time.

When it comes to the gameplay, there’s not much to it – simply click on an animal to be told what you’re looking for (usually something that animal eats) and then scour the environment looking for it. There are often multiple screens to swap between, there’s a zoom function, and there’s even a hint button that appears if players get stuck, making players solve an extremely simple sliding puzzle before highlighting the location of the hidden item with a circle around it.

This game’s controls are okay, but the on-screen cursor is a bit sluggish. Players can alternately opt to use the touchscreen in handheld mode, but there don’t appear to be ay on-screen controls for changing the zoom level, meaning you’ll still be using buttons in this mode. All of this comes with a pretty shocking price tag of $13, which is quite a hefty sum for such a simple game. Thankfully, the game goes on sale regularly at a much more reasonable price.

Given the simplicity of the game, probably those who will get the most out of Under Leaves are young children. This isn’t an especially deep game, and players are even given hints if they really get stuck. However, older players looking for something simple and easy to sit down and relax with may find this game’s calming atmosphere to be very appealing too. Just be sure to get it on sale, as the normal price is simply unacceptable.

tl;dr – Under Leaves is a family-friendly “find the hidden object”-style game, and while its simplicity makes it a game best suited for young children, the wonderful presentation with soothing soundscapes is something I think people of any age can appreciate. Or at least, they can appreciate it as long as they don’t pay full price for this game – for a few bucks, this is a lovely, simple experience, but it’s not a game I’d say is worth the full $13.

Grade: C+

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