Go! Go! GOTY! 2021: Game 8: Tiny Lands

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Something the "casual" gaming arena excels at is finding new twists on old classics. To some extent that's true of most Indie gaming, but specifically I'm talking about revitalizing pen-and-pencil puzzle formats that have existed since the '80s and going even further back. That includes the likes of Picross 3D, which turned grid-based nonograms into a three-dimensional sculpting simulator; Hidden Folks, which transformed the Where's Waldo concept into a series of busy animated pictures that you could interact with, opening doors and digging up mounds, to find its checklist of targets; and "Zeldoku," a browser-based meta sudoku game inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time with specific rules for each of its puzzles. In each case, becoming a video game granted an extra layer of mechanical complexity that would've been impossible in their original static formats. Tiny Lands, from Spanish studio Hyper Three Studio (with an assist by QubicGames for its Switch port), is another example of this same upgrade process at work: a "spot the difference" puzzle game uniquely enhanced by its video game presentation.

In Tiny Lands, the goal is to find five differences between two otherwise identical tableaux. However, the tableaux in question are fully 3D dioramas: this means the player can spin the camera around or zoom it in and out to see the scene from various perspectives, which could be integral to finding all five contradictions. Certain scenes, especially later ones, might for example hide an object inside an open container that you'd only be able to see from a specific angle. Though five changes is a relatively small number, the scenes themselves can be quite large, adding to the game's challenge. However, at the same time, Tiny Lands is devised first and foremost as a relaxing, Zen type of unhurried casual game, and as such there are no time limits or misclick penalties to induce even the slightest wisp of stress. Players can take as long as they wish with every scene and can click away at any object that strikes them as suspicious with impunity. The game's calming ambient soundtrack also adds to this relaxation factor.

One of the medium-sized stages. From this angle, you can maybe see two differences. You'd need to move the camera around a bit to find more. (A presently hidden example is one of the curtains on the other side of the stagecoach.)
One of the medium-sized stages. From this angle, you can maybe see two differences. You'd need to move the camera around a bit to find more. (A presently hidden example is one of the curtains on the other side of the stagecoach.)

The stages are broken up by theme, with ten different scenes for each. These themes might range from the quotidian like various sports, living in Japan, snowy Winter wonderlands, or camping in the great outdoors to the more fantastical like haunted mansions and magical kingdoms in the clouds. Each scene can be relatively small with a handful of characters or props or they can include much larger crowds that'll require the zoom function to study more carefully, with each frozen in time to make it easier to find differences. Players, at least those playing with a keyboard, can rotate the scene with A and D, zoom in and out with W and S, and shift the scene left or right with Q and E respectively. Hitting Q and E at the same time causes the camera to automatically shift back to the diorama's center point, which can cause some interference if you're pressing a lot of keys in succession to quickly scan the playing field. Each scene is, of course, depicted twice: the two versions are placed side by side and have identical camera movement, so at any time you're getting two identical (well, almost identical) images. Achievements are based on little challenges - complete a stage quickly, complete it with no misclicks - as well as to spur on struggling players exhibiting less competent behavior, like getting stuck on the same stage for over 15 minutes (though calling this achievement "Are You Asleep?" probably wasn't all that encouraging...). The pace at which the player might get through Tiny Lands will depend entirely on their level of perception, but even the most eagle-eyed will get several hours out of the game due to its large number of stages to pore over.

One issue I had with the game was its variety when it came to the actual differences. Since you can click on either version of the scene (I favored the right half of the screen when it came to clicking objects, but I don't know if that's a standard behavior thing or just a me thing) you need "differences" that still include the same objects on both sides, just with changes. That means in almost every case the objects are either slightly different sizes, rotated several degrees, shifted slightly vertically or horizontally, switched out with an object of an equivalent size but a wholly different shape, or have different colors. The last of those might be an issue for colorblinded folks, and I don't think the game has any accessibility options beyond controller support (I preferred using the mouse and keyboard, for obvious reasons). It made hunting differences a little more predictable, if not necessarily always easy. Of course, there's only so many ways you can make two objects appear different, but there's little bursts of animation in the scenes that I felt could've been wrapped into that mechanic in some way. I've included a screenshot of one such an example below.

In this slightly spooky hitchhiker scene, the left headlight on the vehicle occasionally flickers. I thought for a moment that it was only happening on one side, which might've made for an interesting 'difference.' Generally, though, given the scenes are static there's very little animation to take advantage of in this way - I could see a sequel animating every scene instead on a short loop, making it that much trickier to find differences.
In this slightly spooky hitchhiker scene, the left headlight on the vehicle occasionally flickers. I thought for a moment that it was only happening on one side, which might've made for an interesting 'difference.' Generally, though, given the scenes are static there's very little animation to take advantage of in this way - I could see a sequel animating every scene instead on a short loop, making it that much trickier to find differences.

Considering how detailed many of these dioramas are it's surprising that the game has so many: after a recent free content patch, it's now up to 100 scenes with five hundred differences to find total, so if you played the game sometime last year you might want to check in again for the new puzzles. Obviously the game is a bit on the languid side by design and humble ol' "Spot the Difference" might not be the most exciting conceit for a video game, but I think when you have a novel twist on an old idea that's often when game design can shine brightest. After all, Wordle is kinda that for Mastermind, and going further back Among Us for Werewolf and the earliest battle royale modes for regular deathmatch multiplayer. Not exactly originals, but original enough in their execution to become successes.

That's going to do it for this fashionably late edition of Go! Go! GOTY! for 2021. I hope you were inspired to add a few extra games to your to-do list before the following week of Giant Bomb GOTY content, and thanks for reading. See you next year, perhaps?

Current 2021 GOTY Ranking:

  1. Ys IX: Monstrum Nox
  2. Scarlet Nexus
  3. Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Nights
  4. Loop Hero
  5. Deltarune (Chapter 2)
  6. Tiny Lands
  7. Luck Be a Landlord
  8. StarBoy
  9. No Longer Home
  10. Cloud Gardens

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skuski

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Tiny Lands is great! We need to get the game page updated on the site.