Uptasia is a free to play hidden objects game in which you are in charge of a 19th century realm. In Uptasia the objective of the game is to build the best area for your citizens. Players will partake in various tasks to develop their realm. Which range from such as earning a set amount of points, donating resources, building/upgrading your buildings, selling goods in the market stall and decorating your realm with a variety of different decor.
This game in comparison to other hidden object games gives you a small selection of levels with a predetermined set list of item(s) for you to find in a scene that is based upon a working building in your realm such as a flower shop or a bakery. However you are in a race against the clock. The game will penalise you if you misclick even slightly with less time in your current game. On top of this misclicking also will also stop any combos you currently have. As a result of losing a combo you will have a potential loss of experience points earned in the scene. Provided you started a combo but if you haven’t you only lose time.
To minimise the risk of a misclick or making a mistake you do have 4 different hints to help.
The first hint on offer is randomise. Randomise will show where a random object on your list is located. This Hint is good for the riddle mode as it will only show you one item at a time. I also use this hint when I have one item I can’t find. Secondly you have a hint that finds an item of your choice for you. This hint is handy if you have more than one item to find. This hint will also act as a randomiser if you only have one item to find.
The third hint is a magnifying glass which if hovered around the screen it will show items. This hint I think is ok but it is one of the less useful hints. Lastly you have the flash hint. This hint I think is the worst as it will flash the camera once and show where items are on screen for a few seconds. I found this hint useful on the find all modes.
Whilst the traditional hidden object style of finding specified item(s) is on offer. There is a variety of different modes to play with new game modes such as a spot the difference. The mode I liked the most is the riddle mode. In which the item you need to find is the answer to the riddle.
Whilst the hidden object scenes in Uptasia generally work well. There are some issues with hidden object scenes. Primarily because levels can be confusing at times, as some words don’t necessarily have the same word as what you’re meant to look for. One example of the wording issues is on the flower shop. On one level I needed to find where the lucky charm was located. I only figured it out that the lucky charm after various attempts of playing this level. Nevertheless, I might have used a hint to realise this earlier.
Whilst I think that Uptasia is a fun game to play on. Uptasia is a game that plays exactly like a facebook game. This is demonstrated on various aspects of the games design. I noticed this in the way you manage your realm as it is the same methodology as seen on Farmville style games. In the sense that your shops are factories that are run in realtime in regards to making produce you must manage yourself before selling onto customers. The customers you have also come in waves in real time. All these mechanics are unsurprisingly there to make you check in on the game every so often.
In the hidden object side to the game, gacebook game mechanics are noticable. Particularly in that you have energy points to use to play a scene that recharge after so long. There is also the necessity of adding friends. In Uptasia you are openly promoted then eventually obliged to add other players. The purpose of adding other players is to help each other in game. As a reward for doing so you get exclusive items that you cannot obtain by yourself. It is also used when completing missions amongst other benefits offered for interacting with others.
However, most players I did come across (that accepted my invite to add me in game) don’t help you. Even if to return a favour after I helped them in their realm. Although after helping them I did receive some exclusive items. I like this as you get a reward for helping others even if you don’t get much needed items from others helping you.
As was already mentioned, the game uses an energy point system to limit the speed of your progress. The game can also offer you a way to bypass this in various ways. The first way is to give supplies that are specified by the game (one you create one is from helping others. Doing this reduces your wait time down by 10 minutes. Â But this method is ineffective if you play for long periods of time as you will go through lots of resources. Alternatively you can buy the energy using gems. Gems are the premium currency in the game to buy premium items, hints or to instantly get energy. Although, gems are primarily obtained using real world money. It is possible for free players can grind for it.
Unlike many facebook style games you can get a premium membership. Doing this gives you a variety of extra privileges. Namely doubling the amount of energy points you have and a faster recharge time for your energy. Having increased room in your warehouse to store goods you have created. However it isn’t necessary to pay for membership. Although, it does really give you a better experience in game as it makes things easier for you.
Overall whilst I would recommend Uptasia for anyone that wants a quick and simple hidden object game to play in short bursts. However limited the time spent in game might be. This is a game you could easily be playing this game for years. Since Uptasia has a plethora of content to offer. But if you do play Uptasia, I wouldn’t recommend anyone to pay for premium items/subscription. Since you can obtain the premium items offered through grinding.
