Arevoatl Seven Coins (PC)

In the past, I’ve mentioned my affinity for the hidden object genre, and I also believe puzzle elements can add an extra layer of interesting play to most video games, so a game that includes both like Arevoatl Seven Coins certainly seems like it could have been my cup of tea, especially with its own interesting angle of setting its search for hidden objects in first-person 3D environments. Usually, a preface like this might be used to help the reader understand certain biases before moving into high praise of the game, but unfortunately, that is not the case here. Despite having many elements that seemed set to make this an interesting time for me, there are just too many flaws in each of the reasons that drew me to it for it to be the kind of game that could have lead to excited praise.

The first issue to be looked at should be the game’s biggest focus, that being on the hidden object side of play. As in most hidden object games, the player is given a list of items they need to find to progress, each stage having a new area for its scavenger hunt to take place in. In the various chapters of Arevoatl Seven Coins though, you are usually looking for only a few types of items, usually needing to find ten objects of the three or so types of items hidden about, these usually being small Mesoamerican artifacts. The lack of variety is a little underwhelming, but it’s the hiding places that really make this design choice a problem, because, despite having large 3D environments you can walk around freely in search of these objects, most of the items are incredibly easy and boring to find. Many of them are just laying out in the open for you to scoop up, and most of the rest of them are going to be hidden inside the many boxes, barrels, cabinets, and crates that are plopped down all around the game’s environments. There are a few clever hiding spots for the rare item or two, but the majority of your search will be scooping up items that weren’t even a challenge to find or popping open every container you find to see if something is inside. Levels are well populated with these boxes and barrels as well, so way too much of the game is just popping open something, seeing if an object you need is inside, and then moving onto the object next to it to repeat the process. There’s not much enjoyable in finding something supposedly hidden when it’s either laying out for all to see or just involves opening boxes that are also out in the open for easy finding. The game also tries to make its environments realistic looking, meaning that since most things have to be placed on the floor logically, you’ll be doing a lot of searching of rooms cluttered with boxed up items. Thankfully Arevoatl Seven Coins does include a few items in its hunts that can reasonably be hung from the wall or other vertical surfaces to keep things from always being about scrounging through piles of boxes.

A lot of the excitement of finding something in Arevoatl Seven Coins is robbed by how few things really push you to be observant or meticulous, but the titular seven coins are at least hidden a bit better. To get the better ending to the game, you need to find the seven coins as well as four special statues that are hidden around the mansion you explore, the game not going out of its way to tell you where they are when it otherwise gives you a counter of how many items in the level need to be found. There are clues that will lead you to finding these coins though, and to uncover them often requires interacting with the environment in a way that isn’t spoiled by the admittedly helpful changes to your visual reticle. Usually, it will shift to a hand to indicate something can be picked up or to gears if it can be interacted with, and these cursor changes do happen when you find one of the statues, although they would likely be found without that visual hint anyway since they’re big and often sitting out in the open just like most items. Outside the possible presence of one of the coins though, a level probably only has a few items that really require you to look around, making for very few satisfying moments of uncovering these “hidden” objects. For the tough ones though, the game does include a feature where a press of a button can highlight the normal hidden objects in orange, and since the recharge time needed to use it again is so long, it is best used as an anti-frustration feature for the few objects that are squirreled away quite well.

The reason for finding hidden objects in Arevoatl Seven Coins relates to a letter the main character receives from their grandfather to pay a visit to his estate, but to open the doors to enter and explore it requires piecing together images of special contraptions or hiding places for things like keys or codes. Each object you find supposedly contains a piece of a bigger picture that comes together when you find them all, but sometimes, you will have to solve small puzzles along the way to proceed. Some are just about finding an object in the environment that can be used to activate a mechanism or unlock a door, and these are usually hidden a slight touch better than virtually every object in the game. When you do encounter a legitimate puzzle that requires you to figure something out though, there’s usually not much to them to engage with. Sometimes, a photo reveals a solution and you just need to execute it, but there are a couple that require actions in a proper order or identifying a pattern. A few could have been part of a greater collection of puzzles due to being just interesting enough, but just like the hidden objects that are in slightly clever spots, they aren’t frequent enough to salvage that side of the game and not really all that strong when viewed individually.

At least it can be said quite easily that the setting of Arevoatl Seven Coins is designed beautifully, even if that doesn’t come across in the gameplay all that much. Looking passed all the clutter of boxes and weak hiding places for ancient relics, there is a mansion that looks very nice, perhaps the more impressive feat being the internal consistency of the design. Despite entering unusual large rooms and secret passages, the mansion still connects to itself logically, and since sometimes your path will double back on old rooms, you may even see objects and areas that are reincorporated later. Although each chapter has you explore somewhere new, sometimes you can look back at the area from before if you so wish, something that’s more a nifty feature rather than something that impacts play. While technically impressive, the mansion doesn’t serve its expected function that well, its focus perhaps leaning too far towards looking good rather than facilitating some truly engaging scavenger hunts or puzzles. Despite being a grounded realistic place, it does at least make sure the areas you search look different, but if being more abstract would make things less about opening boxes, then the visuals should have been sacrificed, especially since there’s nothing really going on in the story that demands high visual fidelity or specific room structures. Besides a few journal updates, there’s not much of a plot to follow, and by the time Arevoatl Seven Coins has ended, it won’t really feel like much has been accomplished at all.

THE VERDICT: Arevoatl Seven Coins is a hidden object game that barely puts in the effort to hide its objects, more often cramming them into boxes that aren’t even hard to find themselves. It’s a game with light puzzle elements that are almost too light to really require the problem solving that makes completing a puzzle feel satisfying. The first person exploration of the game does take place in a visually detailed mansion, but this approach to play is likely responsible for the unimaginative design of the gameplay, and it’s certainly not pretty enough to just tour for fun with all the junk laying around to be opened in your bland search for items. Every now and then you may need to really scrounge around for a well hidden object or stop to think for a decently designed puzzle, but these moments can’t outweigh how so much of the game is spent with tasks about as challenging as a children’s Easter egg hunt.

And so, I give Arevoatl Seven Coins for PC…

A TERRIBLE rating. Had this game properly executed its ideas, I would have been one of the first in line to sing its praises, but I just can’t do that for Arevoatl Seven Coins. The idea of a 3D first-person environment being the home of hidden object play is interesting, but too much of the creativity in hiding objects is lost when an attempt is made at making it somewhat realistic. Popping open rows of containers isn’t a satisfying search method, and since the bulk of the game is spent with these weakly constructed hiding spots and puzzles, it’s hard to appreciate the few that do work alright. Had the game embraced surrealism, had a wider list of object types to find to make them easier to conceal in different ways, or focused more on puzzles and had hidden objects just be a component of some puzzles, perhaps it could have squeaked through and still been engaging, but instead, Arevoatl Seven Coins just doesn’t have much interesting to offer.

I would like to see Arevoatl Games succeed at the ideas attempted here because it does seem like it could be a fun subgenre of hidden object games, but Arevoatl Seven Coins would first need to get the basics right before attempting to break new ground with this interesting design direction.