Lost Lands: A Hidden Object Adventure

Hidden object games are usually designed to be relaxing and relatively simple, even if they can prove to be quite challenging every now and again. The main idea behind the genre is to let the players ponder on the answer for as long as they want. However, one can easily make things more difficult with a few simple additions, such as time limits.

Lost Lands: A Hidden Object Adventure is not your usual hidden object game, although it features all the characteristics of one. In essence, you still have to scour complex images for a variety of items, but there’s more to it than just that. Time limits are quite tight, and the hint system is not as permissive as it is in other games. Micro-transactions also have a thing or two to say on the matter, given the fact that this is not totally free-to-play.

To begin with, the story talks about a devastated elven kingdom, which needs the help of a hero to return its former glory. In fact, you task is to find the materials needed to rebuild villages and structures all over the realm. To gather the said objects, you have to participate in hidden object rounds, all of which are timed and quite tricky, in some regards. As long as you do not mind the rush, you can still have a bit of fun with it.

When you are exploring places for materials and solving quests, you use up your energy, which recharges very slowly. However, you can replenish it instantly by purchasing items from the store. Naturally, this is done with actual money, so it may seem like the game makes you wait a long time to play if you are not in the position to get out the cash to play a few more levels.

There are problems with the actual gameplay as well, because it gets repetitive in a rush. Each location must be visited multiple times in order to gather the required materials, but the hidden object sequences stay more or less the same. Hence, you quickly learn where everything is, which makes the rounds annoying and joyless after a few minutes.

All things being equal, Lost Lands: A Hidden Object Adventure could have been a nice hidden object game, as long as the levels weren’t so repetitive. To make matters worse, the free-to-play model makes it difficult to enjoy the game for too long without actually paying.