When I was little I was obsessed with Where’s Wally (or Waldo, for our US readers). I had all the books, watched the cartoon and even dressed as him for World Book Day one year. I don’t recall there ever being a video game though, and if there are I can’t see myself wanting to play it now. Sniper Dan is a fun hidden object game that scratches a Where’s Wally itch I didn’t know I had, and is more compelling than I’d expected.
There’s not really much of a set up to talk about, however I think it’s worth focusing on Dan himself. This is a man that’s started a business to help out local people, presumably including friends and family, however instead of carrying a toolbox he instead fixes these problems using a high powered sniper rifle. This game is absolutely bonkers, in the best way, and it all starts with that initial concept. He does literally everything with that gun, whether it’s changing the decor in his office or selecting a spot on the map to travel to next.
Once out of the office, Dan arrives in a location and climbs up a tower overlooking it like a lifeguard with a gun, before proceeding to complete jobs and errands for the people. Each of the five locations is just like a Where’s Wally picture, with “stuff” happening everywhere you look. It’s, by design, overwhelming at first but the more you look at it, the more you can’t help but smile when you see the batshit crazy things happening out there. It might be a trio of racoons overlooking a park, clearly plotting something, or a pilot chasing a plane being driven by a duck. It might be a mayor who’s, inexplicably, got his arse stuck in the fence of a pig pen. Arse facing inwards, towards the pigs, by the way… Whatever you see through your scope, it’s probably going to be funny.
You get a list of jobs on the side of the screen, giving you a bit of direction on what you should be doing and where you should be looking, but some of these can be a little vague. There are three hint coupons to use but they don’t regenerate for each level, and you can’t always buy them if your reputation currency is low so I had more than a few instances where I was stuck scouring every inch of the level looking for a very specific scenario that required my help. It was either that or back out, which lost my progress on the level, so it was a bit annoying.
Generally speaking though these tasks are fun to locate and complete. They never require more than a couple of shots with your rifle, but just hunting them out is 90% of the enjoyment. You’ll be looking for one specific plane amid a chaotic airport scene, trying to find the one with wheels that are blocked. Someone will be sitting watching TV and you’ll need to change the channel for them by shooting the remote through the window. The vast majority of these jobs are as silly as Dan himself, and that’s no bad thing.
I played on the TV a few times, and both my wife and toddler soon found themselves helping out, pointing out things I’d gone blind to from looking at the scene so many times already. The humour is very family-friendly, with people falling off chairs or animals sticking out of trees. At one point I was tasked with clearing dog poo off a businessman’s shoe, and unsurprisingly, shooting it with a high-powered rifle just sprayed it all over the woman next to him, caking her from head to toe in it, which my son found hilarious.
There’s a handful of constant objectives too that appear on each level, so even if you’re struggling with the unique ones, you’ll still feel like you’re making progress, whether it’s shooting banana skins, fireworks or finding Willy in his suspiciously familiar striped hat and jumper. Just be careful not to shoot animals or people though – while they somehow won’t die, you will be docked a few coins for knocking them out.
Once a level is complete you can take your hard earned cash to the market where you can spend it on decorations for the office, cosmetics and sound effects, mini games and upgrades for your rifle that give it bigger ammo capacity, quicker reloading and enhanced zoom. It’s a fun loop and incentivises you to visit the market between each round. Back out in the field you’ll be visiting the city centre, the airport, the farm and more, and each location has 3 sets of tasks for you to complete, plus additional variants and mini games on offer, so there’s a surprising amount in the package for you to get on with.
How much you’ll enjoy Sniper Dan depends on how much you like the idea of a hidden item game. It’s not something I’ve ever really played before, and while it’s not going to be troubling GOTY lists in December, it’s hard to deny that it’s a good time that got my whole family yelling and pointing at the TV. Every scene is rammed with crazy details that make you question what on earth is happening, but it’s all part of the charm and so if you’re curious about the genre, or just miss Where’s Wally, then Sniper Dan is worth a shot.
