Hidden Around the World is a charming addition to the genre that immediately draws you in with its very cutesy art style. There is plenty of variety in terms of the objects you are tasked with finding which makes exploring the absolutely massive levels feel like a grand scavenger hunt. These stages are truly packed with detail and provide a genuine sense of scale. I particularly liked the unique mechanic of searching for fairies hidden inside other objects and the ability to use filters to customize the visual presentation. Recreating the snapshots was another highlight as the game is thankfully quite generous with how accurately you need to place items. The inclusion of a gacha system to spend your in game currency on level creator items is a fun incentive and the music is so catchy that I often found myself humming along as I played.
There are however several areas where the game feels a bit unpolished. A major immersion breaker is that almost none of the objects you find seem relevant to their specific locations such as finding Statues of Liberty in New York City which felt like an odd choice. Many of the objects are also frequently reused from previous levels which can make the discovery process feel a bit repetitive over time. The controls are somewhat finicky because the ability to move so many items often led to me accidentally shifting the floor when I was just trying to grab a small object. Additionally the cursor meant to let you see inside buildings is quite limited as it only reveals a very small circle around the pointer. It would also have been helpful to have a hint system that provides clues for items instead of the current system that just points them out immediately and removes the challenge.
Overall Hidden Around the World is a visually adorable and content rich puzzle game that offers hours of relaxation through its massive maps and catchy soundtrack. While the finicky controls and lack of location specific items can be a bit distracting the creative snapshot mechanics and rewarding progression system make it a solid pick for fans of hidden object adventures.