Under Leaves isn’t like many other games out there. Instead of being another high-paced action game, this one is all about finding hidden objects in water-colored worlds. There’s something mesmerizing and even relaxing about it, which instantly pulls you in.
A simple premise
Under Leaves isn’t a complex game at all so it doesn’t need any tutorial or text to get you going. When you start it for the first time, you’re welcomed by its soft water-colored environments filled with animals from all over the world. Once you click on the animal, the game starts. Each animal is looking for certain objects, hidden in the gorgeous landscapes. It’s your task to find them all and move over to the next animal. Nothing more, nothing less. It sounds easy and at first, it really is. But the more you advance, the more difficult it all gets. It’s not always that easy to find the hidden objects on the screen, especially when your playing field is divided into multiple screens. Searching from one screen to another makes you lose track of the objects rather quickly, forcing you to really focus on what you are seeing. In order to help you out a bit, the game comes with a zooming feature, which really makes it a lot easier to spot the right object. However, don’t be mistaken, this zooming feature isn’t an instant win button so you’ll still find yourself staring at the screen and searching for the hidden objects a lot longer than you would like to admit.
Strangely relaxing
The game’s best quality is without a doubt its relaxing nature. Guided by soft but mesmerizing music, you’ll find yourself slipping away in its gorgeous world almost instantly. From the moment you start playing, you’ll want to push forward and move from one animal to the other, until you find all objects. Since the Switch version is a port of a mobile game it’s also worth pointing out that the controls really work well, both in television mode as in handheld mode. It’s easy to point out the objects with your Joy-Con and even easier to touch them in handheld mode. It really doesn’t matter how you play this game as the result is always the same: a challenging yet relaxing quest to find all objects.
The only major downfall of the game isn’t its gameplay mechanics but its lengths. Although the later levels prove themselves as rather challenging, you’ll still be able to beat the game in under three hours, which of course, isn’t that long. Not a big deal if the game would have launched at a lower price, but for the price it is now (9 bucks), it’s a bit underwhelming. If it was available for half of its price right now, this would certainly be a perfect game for a lot of gamers.
Conclusion:
Under Leaves is a fun and relaxing hidden objects game that sadly ends way too soon. I would highly recommend it if it came at a lower price, but for now, the price is a bit too high compared to the actual gameplay hours you’ll spend with it. A fun and relaxing game that’s certainly worth getting at a discount!
