Nippets

Nippets is a charming hidden object game in the vein of “Where’s Waldo?” but with a distinctive twist: rather than simply hunting for items in a crowded scene, the focus is entirely on the NPCs and the snippets of their backstories you uncover along the way.

The hand-drawn visuals are stunning. Levels feel quite airy rather than being packed with items and people, yet every corner is richly detailed. Some buildings can be entered, and there are lots of interactive elements that can be explored. Objects respond to more than just a click: you can slide windows, shake trees, peel back curtains, and much more. If you’ve ever looked at a crowded illustration and wished you could reach inside to poke its characters, Nippets is essentially that dream made real. It transforms the game world into a living, tactile dollhouse where every corner feels like a secret waiting to be discovered.

It has only four levels (each corresponding to a season), and the maps are less dense than you’d expect from the genre, but the objects are no easier to spot for it. Goals are listed at the bottom of the screen and often require completing multiple stages. Sometimes you need to gather several objects of the same type (all the letters or all the books you can find inside the level); other times you must use them in a specific sequence. One task, for instance, might have you finding planks, placing them on a workshop table, then tracking down paint buckets, and finally clicking to paint, essentially assembling a birdhouse step by step. Each stage comes with its own unique text, and together they form a small story, a snippet of that NPC’s life.

That said, the game’s approach to guidance is where it stumbles. There’s no hint system, and the text clues are frequently too vague to be fully useful. At best, they nudge you in a general direction. The stage progression could also be improved: while a circular orange bar around the item icon at the bottom of the screen tracks your overall progress towards that goal, there’s no visual distinction between stages that require gathering objects and those requiring you to use them. You’ll always need to read carefully to know what’s expected. It can even be unclear which character you’re meant to complete a task for.

Beyond the main objectives, Nippets hides a layer of secret goals, like tidying a room or arranging tools in their proper slots on a workshop wall. None of them are listed anywhere, but each is rewarded with an in-game badge upon completion (and usually a Steam achievement too). They’re a lovely bonus for the observant, but there could be a better way to inform the player that these exist so that they can actively pursue them as side tasks.

All-in-all, Nippets makes you feel like a curious giant interfering with a miniature world: shaking a tree to startle a pigeon or to make a stuck ball drop on the floor, spying on a neighbor through a window, or solving tiny environmental puzzles to uncover a secret. It’s a small game, but one full of charm.