Hidden in Plain Sight
But Entirely Hidden in the eShop
Not every game needs to strive for greatness. Sometimes good is good enough. We all enjoy a triple-A title, but we don’t always want the engrossing experiences they offer. It takes energy to dive in and appreciate Xenoblade Chronicles, XCOM, and Breath of the Wild. Occasionally, we just want to vegetate with a mindlessly good game.
Hidden in Plain Sight sought to offer one fun idea and then called it a day. Its creator, Adam Spragg, published the game in 2011 and hasn’t produced another since. He ported it to the Switch, not for the riches but because his small fanbase requested it. Apart from a few new game modes, he has tinkered with base formula very little. It looks and plays like a basic Flash game, and it is one of the best “just good” party games on the Switch.
What is it?
Playing like a cross between Where’s Waldo and Hitman, Hidden in Plain Sight throws you and up to three friends into a crowd of identical NPCs to complete a mission, with finding and killing each other often being that mission. Aesthetically, nothing separates you from the NPCs, meaning you won’t know where you are in the room of copies, let alone where your friends are. Your first task each match will be finding yourself without moving too erratically. Then you must blend in with the crowd while completing your mission. Move too conspicuously, and your opponents will find you first.
Let’s use the “Ninja Party” mode as an example. You and your friends are identical ninjas, and your mission is to either be the last one standing or to get the most points by touching statues before the timer runs out. Hitting a statue triggers a ding, possibly alerting others to your location. You can punch with the A button to hit other ninjas, but this action also broadcasts your whereabouts. One hit will knock out your opponents, but NPC ninjas will get right back up. You have only one smoke bomb to cover your tracks. Move too quickly, and you may be assassinated. Move too slowly, and your opponents may earn more points.
The other modes experiment with this formula. “Ninja Party Classic” removes the timer from “Ninja Party” and tasks players with touching each of the five statues. “Catch a Thief” has at least one player acting as a sniper who must shoot down the thieves. These thieves, in turn, must nab as many coins before they’re taken out. “Death Race” is a race to the other side of the room, and each player has one bullet to shoot down a character. Move too quickly toward the goal, and you may expose yourself. “Knights vs. Ninjas” has the ninja characters attempt to kill the royal NPCs while the knight characters go after the ninjas. “Assassin” plays similarly to “Catch a Thief” by challenging assassins to kill as many NPCs before they’re shot by the snipers. Lastly, “Ninja Battle Royale” has you killing each other before a blue circle of death envelops you all.
What’s good?
- The simple game mechanics welcome players of all skill levels while still allowing room for some strategy. Aggressive players are more likely to accomplish the objective but rarely remain hidden. Stoic gamers will have a better understanding of everyone’s locations but may spend most of the game behind. Based on your friend group, the meta of the game can vary wildly.
- Each mode shines based on the number of players. “Catch a Thief” and “Assassin” thrive with three players, with two snipers working together to take out one thief/assassin. “Knights vs. Ninjas” works best with all four players, allowing two teams of two to strategize against each other. “Death Race” tests your patience and bluffing ability when you’re pitted against one other person, whereas it devolves into a tense scramble with four people. You can’t play any modes by yourself, and there is no online mode, but these are non-issues. Considering this game relies so heavily on banter and politics, you should be playing with others in close proximity, six-feet-apart be damned. That’s a COVID-19 joke. Its expiration date is 2021, hopefully.
- Hidden in Plain Sight offers some level of customization. You can tweak timers, NPC counts, the speed of your characters, and the number of bullets in your sniper, among other variables. Filling the screen with 100 ninjas moving at 15 times their speed is good for laughs, but in most cases, you’ll leave the options screen alone.
What’s bad?
- What you see is what you get. You won’t find any hidden secrets, modifiers, or other unlockables. Hidden in Plain Sight doesn’t have a save file, so it doesn’t keep track of anything, be it high-scores, player statistics, or game settings you’ve changed. Because you have no achievements or rewards to chase, the only reason to play the game is because you enjoy it, and that just seems wrong.
- Jokes aside, Hidden in Plain Sight would benefit from any additional content because its fantastic gimmick is ultimately shallow. Most matches will last around a minute, and my experience has been that players will tire of a mode after 3-5 rounds. Hidden in Plain Sight is best enjoyed 15 minutes at a time, maybe every few weeks.
- If we were to judge this book solely by its cover, Hidden in Plain Sight would blend in with the shovelware titles. Its simple aesthetic makes it easy to see everything, and the sprites are detailed enough, but that’s about as much as Hidden in Plain Sight has going for it. Music is largely nonexistent; freesound.org provided the sound effects; and you’ll be staring at a big brown floor in the same room every single match. The aforementioned options menu is so jumbled that it makes graphic designers and players alike cry tears of frustration.
What’s the verdict?
I like Hidden in Plain Sight. It’s not a guilty pleasure like a Gummy’s Life, and it’s far better than the likes of Think of the Children and Headsnatchers. It is also too simple for me to recommend to everyone. If it belonged to a minigame collection like Nintendoland or WarioWare, Hidden in Plain Sight would be the highlight. As it stands now, it’s a quirky side attraction to Smash or Mario Kart, like my beloved Rocket Fist. If you are looking for such a sideshow, then Hidden in Plain Sight will be a small hit at your next drunken escapade.
Arbitrary Statistics:
- Score: 6.5
- Time Played: Over two hours
- Number of Players: 2-4
- Games Like It on Switch: TowerFall, Treadnauts