I love a bit of weirdness, and when I played the original Mom Hid My Game! on a whim last year, I was pleasantly surprised by the weird mini escape-room puzzles that make up the game’s story mode.

Can it succeed a second time with a new batch of puzzles?

MAMA!
As per the original game, the setup is as straightforward as you would expect. Little Timmy (not his actual name) has presumably been playing up, so his mother has hidden his games console, which curiously looks very much like a Nintendo DS. Over the course of 50 levels, you need to find out where it has been hidden without your mother finding out.

For those who have played the original game, this sequel is almost exactly the same in presentation and puzzle style. The visuals and music are identical, as are the family members you will encounter throughout. It’s all very simple, but it’s pleasing to look at, and the music is something that will bury into your subconscious for the rest of eternity.

The game starts out easy enough, with you navigating between rooms clicking on things to find your console, whilst keeping an eye out for your hidden mother. Typically you will find things that can be added to your inventory that you can use with other things in the scene to cause certain things to happen. Not all interactions are useful, and some may lead you to fail in spectacularly bizarre ways. One early puzzle contains a conspicuous Pelican and a fridge of goodies. Your first thought is to feed it fish, but your mother is hidden inside his mouth resulting in failure. Instead you need to place the fish on the floor at a distance to encourage the bird to move, revealing the console underneath. It’s silly, but extremely charming and every puzzle will leave you with a smile on your face.

Whilst some of the later puzzles can prove to be slightly tricky, most of them can be solved with relative ease (and there’s a hint system for those who are truly stuck, but you have to win a game of pelmanism before you are rewarded with a clue); the downside to this is that the game can be beaten easily within an hour. Those looking for a serious puzzle game probably won’t find it here, but that’s also ok. This is a game designed to lighten your mood with it’s Japanese brand of absurdity

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As per the original game, Mom Hid My Game! 2 is a daft Japanese escape room style puzzle game that won’t test your wits, but it will make you smile. Whilst still perhaps a little expensive for the time you’ll spend with it, every second of game-time will be an absolute joy. If this review has peaked your interest, grab both games for an absurdly fun time.