As a fan of hidden object/picture riddle games (both digital and physical) I know how hard they are to discuss. As a game, there's almost nothing to say about Treasure Hunt. It's part of genre made for very young kids with little to no gaming or computer experience.

But whats noticeable about Treasure Hunt, and the I Spy series as a whole is how beautiful each scene is. Created with physical objects and real lighting by Walter Wick, the detail and charm of each scene is unique to his work. As a child I spent a lot of time playing hidden objects games made entirely through stock digital images, and while there is a charm to those games I Spy sits so far above them.

And then, even amongst the rest of the I Spy series, Treasure Hunt manages to stick out. While other games in the series would sort of "elaborate" on scenes from the books, Treasure Hunt takes this idea further and better.

As a "story" about a Treasure Hunt, the scenes and locations of the book was already immensely charming. You start of with "Arrival", a view of the train station you just took here to this small town. You get a view from the Inn your staying in. Each scene has you moving through this small town, seeing it's sights and searching for the treasure. And what I love so so much above the video game Treasure Hunt is how it turns the small town into Smugglers Cove.

Though you did get to see the name Smugglers Cove in the book (if you looked for it), the game makes you much more aware of it. You get the feeling of actually being there, seeing the interior of the train station you only walked out of in the book. You see the interior of Duck Pond Inn, the ice cream shop, a museum of the towns history. The over world allows you to move from place to place, see where one place connects to another. You get to ride a boat to No-Man's-Island, get to look into the well that previously had treasure in the book.

It's such a beautiful way to expand on the book, to make you feel like you are truly present in a fictional town made up for children. It's an attention to detail I love. Smugglers Cove feels like a place that I want to go, a place I have fond memories of. I Spy Treasure Hunt sits as the peak of the series, in both games and books.

Games like this are usually really difficult to review because I can’t tell you what a Chile would like, but I can tell you how child me liked this game. The I Spy Series was one of my favorites, be it the books, games, and even TV Shows. Treasure Hunt was no exception, and when going through this game again I recalled so much locked up information from when I played the game as a child. It was obviously much easier to me nowadays, but that didn’t stop it from being a joy. I was enthralled from start to finish, then it introduced another fully unique set of puzzle to solve when I completed the first, which is always amazing. The puzzles are wonderful, the open world nature is a joy, the sound design is ridiculously catchy and satisfying, and the whole pack remains a treat to this day. Despite being 21 years old, the game sprang to life yet again right in front of my eyes, and I couldn’t have been happier to prove child me right.