A Hidden Cat Game That’s Fun In (Meow) Moments
One of the more prolific cat-finding games finds itself on Xbox again, this time in the un-topical form of Meow Moments: Celebrating Frost & Flora. ‘Frost’ is from a fantasy world where cold weather exists, while ‘Flora’ is more realistic, taking us to a sweltering cherry blossom park.
I will own up to being a bit of a Meow Moments naysayer. Out of all of the hidden-cat games on the Xbox, it tends to be the least favourite of me and my family. Part of that is down to the art style, with the wide, marrow-like heads it puts on its cats, and – most painfully – a lack of defining features on the characters. We just don’t find that Cat A looks all that different from Cat B – not in the way that the Hidden Cats in… series manages, for example. It’s all a bit lacking in charm, which is not meant as shade at the artist. When coloured in, the scenes look fairly attractive, but they just don’t lend themselves to fantastic hidden object games.
Finding Felines With A Decided Lack Of Freedom
The other criticism we tend to have is that the findable elements are held back. You can’t find every cat or character from the start. You have to wait for them to rotate into the slots at the top of the screen, and only then can you find them. Which means you’re canvassing the screen, over and over, hoping to find the newest addition to the shopping list. It’s more onerous than a hidden cat game should be.
Does Meow Moments: Celebrating Frost & Flora make any steps to resolving these issues? Well, no, not really. It’s more of the same, delivering to a fanbase who likely wouldn’t change a thing.
On a positive note, Meow Moments: Celebrating Frost & Flora does address a small underlying problem that has plagued some of the earlier entries in the series. Often, the one-armed bandit of cats at the top of the screen would show cats, humans, frogs etc and you would have zero idea where they could be. They could have been anywhere. There were no context clues whatsoever.
Taking A Zonal Approach To The Scenes
Now, Mens Sana Interactive seem to have made big strides to making it less of a problem. There are clear ‘zones’ in the scenes. In Frost, for example, there is a heated sauna, a ski slope, a decked eating area, and a forest walk. If you’re clever, you can pick up on clues like ‘they’re wearing skis’ or ‘only half of their bodies are showing in water’ and know where to start your search. It’s a decent compromise for a grumpy hunter like me who finds the ‘six at a time’ shopping list a bit of a pain.
And while I still don’t find the art to be my cup of tea, there is at least a bit more charm and personality creeping in. There are micro-stories throughout the scene, as people fall over each other, fall in love, or fall in rivers. While I don’t think there’s much distinguishing each of the cats – certainly not when black and white, anyway – the frolics and japes at least set them apart.
The shopping list of characters to find is still pretty annoying, however. It’s not a framework I love. Especially at the start of the scene, when you have so many blank characters, the cats could be anywhere. And once you’ve found a cat/human/animal, the reels spin and another generic creature appears. So, you’re systematically scanning for that one, until – eventually – the screen is so full of coloured-in beings that you can start using the power of elimination.
There are two scenes here, with 150 cats and people to find in total and 100 balloons. The balloons can be found whenever you fancy, while the humanoid characters need to be found in order, as we mentioned. When you find a balloon, they pop, while the characters get painted into the scene. There’s probably two hours’ worth of hunting here, although it’s entirely possible to get stuck on a chain of generically posed cats, or a row of quiffy ginger chaps, and be here for longer.
Is The Latest Hidden Cats In… Game Out Yet?
I haven’t really budged from my position on Meow Moments: Celebrating Frost & Flora. As a cat-hunting game, it’s perfectly fine: the art is pleasant enough, and the slow painting of the scene is undeniably satisfying. But it’s welded to a shopping list approach that I just don’t enjoy all that much. It’s too prescriptive, and loses the joy of scanning a scene and jabbing at a thing as you see them. It’s much more ponderous.
When there’s so much catty competition for Meow Moments, from opposition like the Cats & Seek and Hidden Cats in… series, I’m lukewarm whenever I see a new Meow Moments on the Xbox Store. For £2.49 I know I shouldn’t be so sniffy, but there’s only so much room in my life for hidden cat games, and that puts Meow Moments: Celebrating Frost & Flora in a pretty frosty position. There are better, similar games out there.
Important Links
Meow Moments: Celebrating Frost & Flora Is Another Cozy Hidden Object Adventure – https://www.thexboxhub.com/meow-moments-celebrating-frost-flora-is-another-cozy-hidden-object-adventure/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/meow-moments-celebrating-frost-flora/9P7J58WD9B1X/0010
