Remember Spot The Difference?

Remember those puzzle books you got as a kid? Printed on some of the cheapest paper you can imagine, there was usually some colouring, a crossword, a wordsearch and a maze to do. There was also a spot the difference or two in there, and these visual puzzles were never too taxing. 

Tiny Lands – Deluxe Edition is much the same, but there is now some sweet Gamerscore to be had alongside these easy puzzles.

Tiny Lands is a spot-the-difference game but with 3D dioramas. In a split screen view, you are given two dioramas to rotate and investigate that are nearly identical. In each level, there are five differences to be found between the two.

Each difference you find awards you a star, and these are used to unlock new areas. The first area you unlock can come quite cheaply, but after that you will need 40 stars to unlock a new theme, meaning you can ill afford too many differences to remain undiscovered.

Tiny Lands, Tiny Variations

These differences can be as simple as a change in colour to an object – though not arguably the best design choice considering the lack of colour-blind accessibility features on offer – to various items moved, shrunk or rotated.

It is the actual differences that are arguably the most frustrating thing about Tiny Lands, in that there is a real lack of variation in them. There are at least 200 dioramas altogether to investigate, but only a little variation in the types of differences. The first level took me the longest as I searched for an object that was slightly larger on one view over the other, but once I had seen this, many of the rest of the puzzles became a doddle. Tiny Lands is a bit like trying to figure out exactly what you are looking for, but once you’ve done that, things can get tedious.

All Style, Little Substance

Which is a shame, because some of the dioramas are beautiful to look at. They can be beach scenes, a day at the theme park, seasonally themed, sports, fantastical or even just homely. You can rotate around them, zoom in and out and strafe if you want a better position to look at things. Zooming in only allows you to get so far in however; a free-cam that allows you unlimited manoeuvrability would have been a preferable option.

And whilst these dioramas are good to look at, they are very static. Even when finding a difference, the only thing that happens is the object in question turns gold. It is missing some sort of interactivity to make things more exciting; like opening a treasure chest to reveal different items inside, or seeing if there is anything behind a door worth investigating. There is plenty that could be done with these dioramas, but unfortunately nothing is.

Tiny Lands is a chill game, but is missing a crucial element to really relax to: a soundtrack. Each diorama has ambient noises depending on who or what is in the particular scene, but these loop around very quickly. The main menu has a theme of sorts, but other menus and the levels themselves are somewhat omitted from that.

But hey, at least you can toggle between a light and dark mode in the menu screen. Again, not in the levels themselves though.

More Dioramas In The Deluxe Edition

This being the Tiny Lands – Deluxe Edition means there are a few extras included. Or rather, another 100 dioramas with five differences each. These extra levels are arguably more exciting than the base game ones, containing much ‘busier’ dioramas. And if you want more of a challenge, there is one set of levels you should make a beeline for.

You’ll know the one from the main screen, as it has red effects over it. On the PC version, this is referred to as The Final Challenge, and it can be. Expect levels based on traffic jams, an orchestra and the Shibuya crossing. They don’t sound like the most interesting of dioramas, but when you see them, you will see why they have been listed in The Final Challenge.

For such a simple premise, you would expect an easy set of achievements to be attached to Tiny Lands – Deluxe Edition. Yes, they are, to an extent. You will be required to find every difference across every diorama ultimately. There are some achievements for not making mistakes and completing levels in less than 15 seconds. An easy list, but one that will take more time than you would expect.

For a relaxing, chilled out game you can probably stick a podcast on to play, Tiny Lands – Deluxe Edition is worth a look. And if you want a modern take on a spot the difference puzzle, this will just about sort you out. Just don’t expect too many frills or anything special.

Important Links

This Low Poly Gem is Perfect for Spotting Differences! Tiny Lands – Deluxe Edition Launches on Xbox and PlayStation – https://www.thexboxhub.com/this-low-poly-gem-is-perfect-for-spotting-differences-tiny-lands-deluxe-edition-launches-on-xbox-and-playstation/

Buy Tiny Lands – Deluxe Edition from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/tiny-lands-deluxe-edition/9plmkcgg4tk2