Hidden in Plain Sight Review

Developer and publisher of Hidden in Plain Sight, Adam Spragg, brought this quirky indie title to our Xbox 360’s back in 2011, but it wasn’t until this year that I actually discovered it, when YouTube gameplay videos began to give it the attention it deserves. Being the only title that has prompted me to pick up my Xbox controller once again in a very long time, I was soon hooked and dragging my friends into the addictive vortex that is Hidden in Plain Sight.

Therefore you can imagine my excitement when I was browsing Steam games to be released, and it appeared there before me. In fact, the conversation went a little like this: 

[01/07/2014 19:28:10] Harrie: KRRIIIIS
[01/07/2014 19:28:15] Harrie: HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT IS COMING TO PC
[01/07/2014 19:28:20] Kaostic: Oh awesome!!
[01/07/2014 19:28:26] Harrie: WOOWOO

Hidden in Plain Sight consists of five game modes, each of them boast a new way to enjoy the game. Ninja Party is the first game mode that most start off with, you sit down with one to three local co-op friends, and you’re all identical ninjas, in a room full of ninjas. The premise is to hit each of the five beams in the room to win the round, whilst also trying to discover which ninjas your friends are disguised as and kill them, but the tricky part is that your enemies (or friends) are also tasked with the same job. As you can imagine, the fun begins when one of you accidentally slips up, killing an NPC and instantly making yourself completely obvious to the other players. Adam Spragg has luckily put features in place such as smoke bomb cover-ups to add an extra element of challenge to what is an already intense game.

The four other game modes all follow the same theme, hiding in plain sight as the title suggests. Each mode involves either killing other hidden players or completing the task at hand to win the round, or both if that makes it easier. For example the game mode Death Race has each player equipped with an on-screen sniper target, and the point is to reach the finish line first without being caught. Death Race is one of the most entertaining game modes as with just one bullet, the pressure is on to make sure you kill the friend sitting next to you rather than an innocent NPC. 

The developer of Hidden in Plain Sight has found five creative and non-repetitive ways for you to play out the same idea for hours on end without getting bored. Switching between levels is incredibly simple as they all offer the same top-down view and simple instructions, however, each of them challenge you to try out new ways of playing, adjusting your style to something slightly more stealthy dependant on the mode you’ve chosen.

Hidden in Plain Sight is best played with two or more friends, although just one is satisfactory, matches tend to last a lot longer and provide a lot more humour the more players you have. However the biggest and quite important downfall to this game would be the fact that you’re restricted to playing it local co-op only, being able to invite my friends into games online would lead me to playing a lot more frequently, instead you have to gather round the PC and connect all controllers to one receiver, and it can become a bit of a slow process. It is for this reason that the game is a lot easier to play on the Xbox 360, I expected it to have been updated for the PC version, unfortunately I was left disappointed by the lack of such a common feature.

 The game has a very retro look, like something you might find on previous generation consoles, but doesn’t detract from the entertainment it provides. Besides, not being able to fully distinguish between characters is half of the fun. The soundtrack and sound effects complement the art style very well and are comparable to an old-school arcade machine.

If you’re looking for a simple pick-up-and-play to provide hours of entertainment for you and a few friends, Hidden in Plain Sight provides a range of game modes to suit everyone. You certainly won’t regret paying such a small price for the amount of game time you get, if you can look past the inconvenience of only being able to enjoy it all in one place.