How close are you with your family? What if you received a letter from an uncle one night, asking for your help in investigating rumours of an ancient culture deep in the wilderness? Would you pack your bags and head out to help? You might. But the blood on the ground when you arrived might give you serious pause. But how bad could things be, right?
Hidden Chapter 1: Primitive Essence puts you in the position of Santiago Achotegui, a far more dedicated nephew than I would be. He's an intelligent fellow, well-read, as the books you'll see stacked in his room should tell you. His uncle has always had a fascination with old legends, and his letter suggests that, with the assistance of an old family friend, he's on the verge of a very big discovery indeed.
As horror games go these days, Hidden is unusual because it plays its fright so close to its chest for most of the game. So much effort is spent on building atmosphere, creating tension and a sense of wrongness, that when something does suddenly happen to frighten you, your reaction is probably going to be over the top. Thematically, it borrows heavily from not only Lovecraft's idea of ancient, fathomless evils, but primarily Native American lore, despite the setting. This first chapter focuses heavily on setting the stage for things to come, and there are tons of items to click on to learn more about the setting, from news clippings tacked to walls, to Santiago's own copious collection of books.
The point-and-click gameplay is about as simple as it gets. You play the game entirely with your mouse; the icon, usually a golden arrow, will change to point directions if you move your mouse to the edge of the screen, and clicking it will make you move in that direction. When the icon turns into a hand or eye, it means that you can either manipulate the object or move in for a closer look. You're given an inventory you can scroll through by tapping the arrows on either side of it, a magnifying glass that you can use to examine various things to pick up, and, maybe most importantly, your journal. Not only does your journal keep track of your objectives — written with decidedly old world flair — but it also enables you to save or load your game.
You'll progress through the game much quicker if you give into your inquisitive nature and click on everything. And I mean everything.
Analysis: One of the problems with Hidden is that hand-holding is virtually nonexistent, but some direction would have been nice. Some items won't activate for interaction unless you've looked at something else in the room and much of the puzzle work is done through trial and error. I spent a lot of time backtracking and rubbing each of the myriad of items you'll pick up against everything I could think of because I refused to look at a walkthrough. It's not that it's brain-bustingly difficult, but unless you got your doctorate in Ancient Rituals and Portents, you probably won't immediately know what to do once your arms are full of decidedly shady looking ingredients. The books you'll find do help a little, but they're maddeningly vague. Then again, they are ancient texts, after all, and they so rarely do "Reader's Digest" editions.
Unfortunately, some things in the game will be Hidden unintentionally because the game is so dark. Even with my monitor settings amped up to Staring-Into-The-Sun bright, a lot of sections of gameplay featured a palette of colours so dark I had to crawl my cursor slowly across the screen, watching to see if it would change to indicate a hotspot I couldn't see. Some of these "hot spots" are also frustratingly tiny or at odd areas of the item you want to interact with, so it can be easy to miss them. Navigation could have been handled better as well. There are multiple instances where you should just be able to turn in a complete circle to view the contents of a room, and are forced instead to click back through every screen to return to your original orientation. At one point, after I had clicked on a door to zoom in, I found I couldn't just click back out; I had to turn to the left, then again, which took me back to the entry point of the area, and then reorient myself on the door again. Not game breaking, no, but certainly annoying.
As befits the first chapter in a series of adventures, you're going to end this one with more questions than before, and maybe, just maybe, a prickling feeling of unease at the back of your neck. Go ahead. Give it a try. 'Tis the season, after all. Just don't forget to lock the door behind you.
Walkthrough Guide
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Here's a quick walkthrough. No story spoilers.
Turn right from bed, take yellow book from top of stack.
Put book in suitcase (drag from inventory), take suitcase.
Click on lower half of nightstand, read letter.
Open bottom drawer in nightstand, move clothes, take key. Leave room.
Open car door, open glove compartment, take pliers.
Turn to face forest, take stick from ground.
Turn to house, click on door, click again to zoom in on the lower half of door.
Take key from bucket. Use key on keyhole.
Use stick on keyhole. Click to zoom in on lower half of door. Use stick on crack beneath the door.
Use key half with teeth on keyhole. Use pliers on keyhole.
Pick up rifle from the floor. Click on the fireplace mantle to get key.
Turn to the right. Go through the right-most door.
Take candles, knife from beneath window.
Click on cabinet. Take blue, grey, green powder.
Click on the door you were facing when you entered the room to go outside. Pick up bones. Go back in.
Go to main room, go in second door. Click on bookshelf. Click on blue books.
Use candle on darkness between books. Write down the image.
Go back to the main room. Open chest next to right-most door.
Move clothes to find hidden compartment. Turn handles to match image behind books. Take treasure.
In the main room, click on animal heads. Use knife on bear head.
Go through right-most door. Click on board leaning against the wall to board the door. Click on window.
Go back to main room. Click left three times to face the main door. Use rifle on door.
Go back to library, click on left to face the locked door. Use silver key on door.
Place bones, bear hair, coloured powders in urn. Use matches on urn.
Click underneath bed. Use candle underneath bed.
Go down stairs. Pick up blue disc.
Click on altar. Place blue disc on altar.
Put idol on altar next to disc.
Click three times on altar.
The end!
Posted by: Dora
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December 16, 2008 5:59 PM
Hidden Walkthrough
The Beginning
Look at the piece of paper in front of the burning lantern on the nightstand. Look at the pile of books next to the piece of paper. Look at the drawers of the nightstand. Now you can read the piece of paper. So... do it!
Open the upper drawer of the nightstand to find nothing but useless clothes. Close the drawer. Open the bottom drawer. Move the piece of paper inside the drawer aside. Take the car keys. Close the drawer. If you want you can examine the car keys with the magnifying glass in your inventory. Remember you can do this with any new item you pick up during the game.
Click at the left or at the right side of the nightstand to zoom out. Look through the window above the bed. Look at the painting above the nightstand to zoom in. Look at the painting once more. Click on the right bottom part of the painting to reveal a hidden safe. For now you can't do anything with this safe. So leave it alone but remember that you can find it here! Click on the bottom of the screen to zoom out.
Look at the opened trunk on the bed. Hmmm... you need to take some books! Click on the right side of the screen. Look at the pile of books on stashed on the floor in the corner. Take the upper book. Examine the book with your magnifying glass. Zoom out.
Click on the left side of the screen. Drop the book into the trunk. Close the lid of the trunk. Click on the left side of the screen. Look at the books on the desk. Look at the pile of books on the floor. Click on the left side of the screen. Open the door to go outside.
Chapter 1 - Primitive Essence
When you arrive in front of the cabin in the forest click on the left side of the screen. Look at the hood of the car. Open the front door of the car. Open the glove compartment at the right side of the steering wheel. Take the claw out of the glove compartment. Click on the bottom of the screen to zoom out.
Click on the left side of the screen to enter the forest. Take the branch from the ground at the bottom right. Look at the forest at the back. Click on the right side of the screen twice to end up in front of the cabin.
Look at the little wooden car next to the door of the cabin. Click on the metal tube next to the little wooden car. Study the blood stain on the tube. Hmmm... that looks promising! Click on the bottom of the screen to zoom out. Look through the window of the cabin. Look at the roof of the cabin.
Walk towards the door of the cabin. Try to open the door. Darn... it's locked! Click on the bottom part of the door. Take the key out of the bucket. Click on the upper part of the door. Put the key into the keyhole. Darn... it breaks! Stick the branch into the keyhole to push the broken part of the key out of the keyhole. Click on the bottom part of the door. Look at the right side of the opening beneath the door. Use the branch to pick up the broken key from underneath the door. Click on the upper part of the door. Put the broken key into the keyhole. Use the claw on the keyhole. Open the door to go inside.
Pick up the rifle from the floor. Look at the mantelpiece at the back wall of the room. Take the key. Click on the mantelpiece to zoom out. Click on the right side of the screen. Walk one step forward towards the two closed doors. Click on the left side of the screen.
Read the letter that is pinned down at the table with the knife. Look at the chessboard. Look at the fallen queen to find out that this was absolutely a checkmate. Zoom out. Click on the right side of the screen. Look at the bloodstain at the front of the table.
Look at the large brown case at the right side of the room. Open the lid. Remove the upper compartment of the case. Try to open the hidden compartment. Damned... locked of course! Notice the hinges in each and every corner on top of the compartment. Don't touch them yet! Zoom out.
Open the door to the right. Take the knife and the candle and matches from the table. Look at the spice racks beneath the window. Look through the window. Look at the small cupboard at the left side of the window. From the bottom shelve take the bowls with the grey, the green and the blue preparation. From the upper shelve take the bowls with the orange and the red preparation. Look at the orange bowls on the upper shelve. Zoom out.
Open the door at the back wall of the room to step outside. Pick up the bones from the ground next the wooden crate. Click on the right side of the screen twice. Examine the green stuff on the door. Open the door to go back inside.
Click on the left side of the screen to turn around. Pick up the wooden beam at the right side of the door to barricade it. Click on the right side of the screen. Open the door to re-enter the living room. Open the door to the left.
Read the three notes attached to the back wall. Look at the torn picture beneath the three notes. Read the journal on the table. Examine the upper shelve of the book case at the left side of the room. Look at the blue books. Remove the two black books. Study the upper part of the empty space between the books. Hmmm... it's pitch dark in there! Use your candle with matches to lighten things up.
Now you see a figure drawn in blood. Remember the four hinges you have seen earlier at the hidden compartment in that big brown case! This bloody figure exists of four signs. Notice that the left bottom sign is laying down. The left upper sign is standing up. The upper right sign is laying down and the bottom right sign is pointing down to the left. Make a note of these signs! Zoom out.
Click on the right side of the screen. Open the door to re-enter the living room. Look at the large brown case at the right side of the room. Open the lid once more. Remove the upper compartment. Now you have to change the position of the four hinges so that they are corresponding with the bloody figure you just discovered behind the books. You can do this by clicking on the bottom left hinge three times, the upper left hinge twice, the upper right hinge three times and the bottom right hinge twice. Click on the large handle to open the hidden compartment. Click twice on the golden statue to pick it up. Click on the left side of the screen to zoom out.
Click twice on the left side of the screen. Look at the animal on the floor. Look at the fallen chair. Look at the paintings at the back wall. Click on the bottom of the screen to zoom out. Click on the left side of the screen to end up in front of the door. No need to go outside. So click on the right side of the screen. Examine the animal trophies at the left side of the mantelpiece. Use your knife on the bottom right part of the bear's head to get some bear hair. Use your knife on the elk's head to get some elk hair. Look at the nose of the elk head. Look at the nose of the bear head. Zoom out.
Click on the right side of the screen and walk towards the two doors. Open the door to the right and look out of the window at the right wall. Wait a little to hear what happens. That sounds promising too! Click on the right side of the screen. Open the door to re-enter the living room.
Click three times on the left side of the screen to end up in front of the door once more. Try to open the door. Barricade the door with the rifle. Click on the right side of the screen twice and walk towards the two doors. Open the door to the left.
Click on the left side of the screen. Stick the key into the keyhole. Open the door to enter the bedroom. Look at the bed. Look at the bowl in between the candles on the floor. Put the blue, green and grey preparation into the bowl. Add the bones and the bear hair. Light the bowl with the candle and matches. Wait a little to see what happens.
Open your journal and look at the page Memories. Close the journal by clicking on the Back sign in the upper right corner. Look under the bed. Hmmm... it's pitch dark there too. So use your candle and matches to lighten up things again. Look at the ladder that is leading down.
Click on the bottom of the screen. Pick up the blue-grey symbol at the right side in front of the altar. Examine the symbol in your inventory. Zoom in on the altar. Look at the brown stone. Put the blue-grey symbol on the right spot on the brown stone. Put the golden statue on the left spot on the brown stone. Look at the blue-grey symbol four times until the chapter ends leaving you with more questions than answers!
Posted by: sarah
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July 22, 2009 9:37 AM