Game Review: Varenje: Don't Touch The Berries

By Al

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch

The hidden object genre is not really one I've played much, but that changes with Varenje: Don't Touch The Berries. This quirky little title features impressive art, and a story that has to be seen to be believed. It recently released on the Switch after debuting on Steam, and it joins many other similar titles on Nintendo hybrid console. Does Varenje have what it takes to stand out? Will it draw in players who typically wouldn't try out a title like this? Will I gain a new appreciation for hidden object games in general? Exactly WHAT happens if one touches the berries? We'll hopefully answer all those questions and more in this review!

This damn caterpillar starts everything.

Make friends with this minigame.

You'd think a game like this wouldn't have a story, but you'd be wrong. According to the game's description the protagonist was hanging out at his summer cottage and decided to sample some mysterious berries he came across by a local stream. The next thing he knows he's entered a tiny bug-filled world that is slightly reminiscent to something found in Alice In Wonderland. He then sets off on an adventure to find a potion that will hopefully return him to his normal state. Now none of that is in the game itself, what you get in the game is far crazier. In-game we learn that our hero is a mass murderer. Not only that, but he's killed several people after being inspired to do so by playing violent video games like Grand Theft Auto and Mortal Kombat. He's currently in what I can only assume is a psychiatric hospital and various people try to suss out why he did what he did, but he's busy talking about the huge bugs he's encountered, and all the objects he's had to find. Each cutscene is more preposterous than the one that came before, but I'd be lying if I said that I didn't find this story interesting. I'm sure you will too, if for no other reason than for how off the wall it is. One can only assume that each time the game shifts back to the core gameplay, that's him recounting his adventures. It obviously clashes greatly with the chill look and feel of the game, but it gets a big plus from me. That said if you're not a fan of talk of violence, or you were expecting a cozy, casual experience, you might want to look elsewhere.

What are these cutscenes?

It's also self-referential.

Varenje is a hidden object game so that means just about all the gameplay revolves around scanning the screen for items that you're currently tasked with collecting. Think something akin to "Where's Waldo" (or "Where's Wally" for non-US readers), but with more complex item hunting. Not all the items are readily visible on screen though. In order to fully explore each stage you have to interact with objects and machines, open up drawers and trash cans, and even open up and explore adjacent areas. After you collect a certain amount of a particular item you can use them to open up new areas of the stage, move obstacles that blocked access to yet more collectibles, and maybe even finish the stage itself. If you're ever stuck you can complete a small minigame to have the game directly point out a single item you're currently looking for. You can actually cheese the game by only doing this until you "find" everything, but it's definitely a lot faster to only use it as a last resort. Hints also don't show you the next action you have to do to unlock more items to look for, so you'll be doing a lot of random clicking until you eventually stumble on the next thing you're supposed to click on. Each stage only ends when you've found everything, and clicked on all the level-changing objects, so you don't have to worry about missing anything or completing areas out of order. I must also point out that my explanation of how the game works is far more than the game gives you, as you're dropped in with no tutorial or explanation of the game's mechanics whatsoever.

A minigame I never figured out.

A minigame I actually enjoyed.

The minigame you play for hints is pretty fun and involves moving a background to light up the squares that have berries in them. You'll be playing this minigame a lot, but there are even more minigames scattered throughout each stage. Just like the main game itself, all these games take place with no tutorial of any kind. It can take a while to even figure out what is expected of you, and there were several games that I never properly figured out the goal(s) at all. You might be wondering how I got through the game if I never figured these out. Well, each of these minigames has a timer that fills up at different rates depending on the game, and when it hits its peak you can click on it to complete the current minigame successfully no matter where you're at within the game itself. This got me through a lot of the game, and I'm sure it's a system that all players will take advantage of at least a few times. The problem with this timer is that it makes the minigames feel almost pointless, though I do appreciate its inclusion for the sake of accessibility. Confusing gameplay and timer stuff aside, I did enjoy most of the minigames as they were a nice break from the core gameplay, and some made me wish that this was a simply a collection of minigames as opposed to a hidden object game. At the very least I wish that there was a way to replay some of them, but you're not able to return to them once they are completed.

Since this game is apparently only on the Nintendo Switch as far as consoles go, it's odd how un-optimized it seems to be for Handheld Mode and controllers in general. I played the game mostly in Handheld Mode, and I found it very hard to make out details in the game's very busy backgrounds. Items you're looking for can often be in colors different from the one displayed, and this means that they can be in a color that easily blends in with the background. There were several times I played the hint minigame only for it to point to an item that I still wasn't quite sure was there in the first place. Also the cursor control seems fairly imprecise, and this affects everything since this cursor control is pretty much all the gameplay consists of. Several times I'd see an item I was looking for and I'd find myself frustratingly clicking around it since I couldn't properly zero in on the pixels needed with the analog stick. This could've been a me thing, but I dealt with enough that I'm sure it's just how the game is. Add in the overly cheery music that plays in a weird loop that actually stops and starts again each time the song ends, and there were times I wanted to quit the game entirely. Only that wacky story, and the weirdness of the world itself, kept me from taking long extended breaks.

A ladybug building.

A very Earthworm Jim-looking cow.

The press releases surround Varenje go on about the artwork of the game, but I'm not exactly sure how I feel about the art style myself. On one hand everything has a hand-painted, children's book feel to it, but on the other it's full of trash and bugs. I still can't get over going to a window in the second or third chapter and seeing a giant roach answer my call. Bug stuff aside, I'm also not sure what the developers were going for in terms of art design between the game's two main sections. Simply put, the cutscenes are in a completely different style than the hidden object sections, and they feel like they belong to a very different game. It's almost like a split development team was working on cutscenes for a sequel to Sanitarium, and the other half was creating an all ages friendly hidden object title. I don't want to make the graphics sound bad per se though. Everything is full of detail, the animations look great, and there was obviously a lot of thought put into how the game's levels would evolve and change over the course of a chapter. It's just that it's not exactly the most appealing game to look at, and I also found myself wishing for a little more contrast in the backgrounds so it wasn't such a chore finding all the tens of an extremely small or drab-colored item.

I wouldn't say that Varenje has a lot of replayability, but you do get a lot of game for the low price of $9.99. I've never purposely bought a hidden object game before, but I've accidentally purchased a few on the 3DS way back that I wrongly assumed were point and click adventure games. Those games showed me that hidden object games can be very low effort titles that offer only the bare minimum for a full ten dollars. With this in mind I have to say that this one definitely breaks my past experience with the genre, and I imagine that it would be quite an entertaining title for those who are fans of the genre. Then again my longer time with the game might have been due to my lack of skill with this style of gameplay, but I'm going to assume that others will have similar issues to mine. Oh, and is there really a way to not touch the berries in this game?

Seriously hated this part.

Isn't this just a beautiful game?

Recommending Varenje isn't the easiest thing to do. There were parts I liked, parts I didn't, and I am still not sure how I feel about the hidden object genre in general. This is a very unique setting, with an even more unique story, so I think I'll give it a soft recommendation of sorts. Fans of hidden object should pick this one up 100% as I feel it's a strong take on the genre. If you like wacky games then you'll probably want to grab it too, as there is so much here that you're sure to have a good time. Casual gamers though might want to approach with caution as this is definitely not a game for everyone. Who knows, it might upset you so much that you find yourself starring in the sequel's cutscenes.

Check Out Varenje - Don't Touch The Berries on The Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/varenje-dont-touch-the-berries-switch/

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Story: B-
Gameplay: C
Graphics: B+
Music/Sound: B
Value: B

Overall: B-

Pros:
+ Great art and quirky locations make this a fairly unique hidden object game.
+ While it's a bit of a shock to see the first time, the actual overarching story is so off the wall that it comes off as funny.
+ Minigames break up the otherwise repetitive nature of the gameplay.
+ The hint system, and its minigame, help get you unstuck if you're having trouble.
+ Eight long chapters make this a decent value for the price.

Cons:
- Can be very frustrating to find some of the smaller objects in handheld mode as many blend into the colorful backgrounds.
- The cursor is not as responsive as it could be given the type of game this is.
- There is no tutorial for anything in-game. There are many timed minigames that I never actually figured out.
- The bigger story of a mentally disturbed patient, and the Alice In Wonderland inspired bug-filled main game, might be off-putting to some.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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"All we had to do was follow the damn train!"

#Varenje1