You might think hidden object games aren't cool, but that's only because you haven't tried the Find My Frogs: Branches demo yet

Find My Frogs was one of my favorite games of 2025, a late-year discovery that absolutely charmed me with what I firmly believe is the most chill, hypnotically relaxing gaming experience I've ever had. The sequel, Find My Frogs: Branches, is basically more of the same—a "cozy hidden object game" with hundreds of frogs living their best lives in a hand-drawn woodland village—and that's perfect, because there is literally nothing I would change about the first game except add more.

"Cozy" is an overused term, I think, but I would also say it's not really applicable here, because it's just not adequate. Find My Frogs is more like a slow, deep brain-stem massage: You see the frogs, you feel the frogs, you become the frogs.

And I know, I know, hidden object games aren't especially hip with real gamers, but just like Find My Frogs: Branches transcends cozy—it is the ubercozy—it's also not really a hidden object game.

Most of the frogs in the game aren't really hidden at all, you see: There's a magical village in a great, magical tree, home to hundreds of frogs and other such creatures—toads, mice, bugs, ghosts, pastries (which are not really creatures, but hey, gotta eat), a big non-predatory owl—most of whom are just hanging out, doing whatever. So you expect everything to be cleverly stashed away, but instead, it's a wetland tableau: There's a couple frogs sitting at a bistro table waving at you, there's one parachuting in from somewhere, and there's a bunch of them having a swim: Some frogs are deviously hidden, but the majority are just hanging out and quite a few are literally waving at you.

The other creatures and objects tend to be better camouflaged: Bugs are often found in containers, for instance, and the pastries are quite small and thus tricky to pick out. So there's a bit of challenge to be had, but there are no time limits or penalties for misclicks, and you can use the hint feature as much as you like. Where a lot of hidden object stuff tries to present as more serious adventure games, Find My Frogs: Branches is more akin to the I Commissioned series: Relax, chill out, click on some little animals.

You can even do Find My Frogs ASMR if you like.

Find My Frogs: Branches does a great job with the little details. It's all so goddamn cute, yes, but the ambient soundtrack is utterly entrancing, and zooming in on certain areas of the village will bring gentle, spot-on sound effects to the fore: A ticking clock, splashing water, a quill scratching on paper. The village also passes through a day/night cycle, and the softly illuminated village at nighttime is a real dreamscape—the kind of place a child playing in the back yard on a summer night might imagine lies just beyond the treeline.

There is also more frog buttcrack than you might expect. Just something to be aware of, if you're sensitive to mature content.

I've played a lot of hidden object games over the years, some quite good, a few quite bad, and most a reliable, reasonably satisfying application of a formula aimed squarely at an older demographic that has a little bit of time for videogames, but would never consider themselves gamers. Find My Frogs is probably my all-time favorite, and I expect Find My Frogs: Branches to stand on equal footing.

If you enjoy the genre, it's a must-play—if you're not, but have even the slightest curiosity, I'd urge you to give it a go. It's a short demo, probably no more than 15 or 20 minutes to wrap everything up, but it delivers a clear sense of what the game is all about—and it's different enough from what you might expect that you might just end up a fan.