While browsing for new Android games to pass the time with, we stumbled upon this list from AwsmTips which caught our eye. On the top of the list is a game called Object Hunt which seems to be inspired by the all-famous Garry’s Mod spin-off titled Prop Hunt.
Prop Hunt was and still is an amazing let’s play game that can give you hours and hours of fun. When you play it with friends, the hilarity never seems to stop. You could be hiding right in front of them and they wouldn’t notice at all.
If you make one wrong move, they’d see a lifeless object moving and realize it’s you. BOOM! You’re dead.
So that’s the story of Prop Hunt. How well does Object Hunt stand up to it? That’s what we’re going to discuss today.
Gameplay
The first time we started the game, we were immediately put into a level and the game began in less than 5 seconds after loading up.
Every round starts off with 6 players (AI controlled) standing together in a circle. Then one person is chosen at random to become a ‘Hunter’. The rest become random props and have 15 seconds to choose a hiding spot.
Where you hide depends on what prop you become. An office chair hiding in a bathroom stall is a dead giveaway, but if you become a toilet, your natural hiding place becomes a bathroom.
Once you’ve chosen your hiding spot, you can spawn the Hunter immediately or let the time pass.
One thing that separates it from Prop Hunt is you can’t change your prop or move once you’ve confirmed your hiding place.
How the Hunter exactly functions is a bit of a mystery. We played around 10 levels and in each of them, we were not attacked once.
Some of our hiding places were good, sometimes they were ridiculous. In every round though, one person was attacked by the Hunter and killed.
The Hunter has about 20 seconds to find everyone and if anyone stays alive, the Hunter loses and we win.
At the end of the level, we’re awarded coins that can be used to speed our character up and increase the hiding time.
That’s basically what you have to do in each level. Let’s talk about level design now.
Level Design
The levels are pretty similar to each other and mostly resemble a small office with a bunch of different rooms. There’s a kitchen, a sitting area, a bathroom, etc. There are no interesting rooms and where you choose to hide largely depends on what prop you are.
Like we said above, a toilet prop WILL go to the bathroom. Just like that, a chair will either go to the sitting area or the work area.
There’s not much to experiment with as the levels are fairly small and quick. According to our calculations, each round will last a maximum of 45 seconds and a minimum of 30 seconds.
All the levels feel pretty similar and with such a short clock, you don’t get the time to appreciate any of the small details that might exist within the levels. You’re constantly hiding or killing props. That’s the only thing the game wants you to do.
The only thing that happens between finishing a level and starting a new one is ads.
Ads, ads, and more ads
While free Android games rarely have any other way to make money, we felt that Object Hunt has just too many of them. Where a normal level lasts around 35 seconds, a standard advertisement will take at least 30 seconds before you can skip it.
And the classical trick of placing the ‘cancel’ button extremely close to another advertisement makes you see more ads and play less of the game.
You’re essentially going to spend more time watching ads than actually playing the game.
In our opinion, that’s a huge turn-off.
Replayability
With each level you complete, you earn small bonuses like new Hunters and more props. While they don’t add anything to the gameplay, they might encourage some people to play more.
For us, replayability comes from unlocking new mechanics that change the way you play the game. Simply collecting mindless cosmetics doesn’t qualify as replayability and Object Hunt gets this wrong, again.
Verdict
Object Hunt is a forgettable game that you might never play more than once. It doesn’t offer anything exciting and is an extremely low-effort port of a successful PC game idea.
It might’ve been more enjoyable if you could play with friends, but that’s not possible.
The only time the game gets slightly interesting is when the Hunter walks past you and suddenly swings in your direction but hits a fake prop. Other than that, there’s no moment that makes you think about your hiding spot.
If you’re looking for a long-term game that offers you better stuff as you play more, skip this entirely.
Download Object Hunt from Google Play Store