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If you’ve always wanted to see the world, or just love to discover new places without having to leave your home, AVI Games has got you covered with their latest game. The seventh entry in AVI’s Big Adventure: Trip to Europe series has just been released on Steam.

In this game, you’ll follow a lovable family of four on their European vacation. This newest expedition will take you on a tour of several beautiful countries and landmarks around Europe. There’s so much to see! In Switzerland, you’ll visit the breathtaking Staubbach Waterfall, and from there you’ll see the fantastic Mykonos island in Greece, a Maltese fishing village, the sophisticated streets of Paris, the marvellous Trevi fountain in Rome and so much more.

Big Adventure: Trip to Europe 7 is a classic hidden object game. Each HOG scene brings us to a different European location. You are first introduced to the city in which the scene takes place via a short synopsis. I really enjoyed reading these little blurbs - some of the information was new to me and quite interesting. It made me feel like I was truly part of the adventure. Afterwards you’ll see a list of items to find at this stage. There are mini-games consisting of light puzzles with varying degrees of difficulty that take place between the levels. The puzzles are quite diverse, so there’s not much repetition; there are match-2 with mahjong type tiles, variations on a labyrinth kind of puzzle, swap tiles, find the way, and others.

Every scene hides a friendly raccoon and a stamp, in addition to the list of items to hunt for. Each stamp you collect is added to your stamp book, which you can consult at any point during the game. Furthermore, there are souvenirs that you can buy to add to your display. To gather these keepsakes, all you have to do is play the game. The more points you collect, the more money you get to spend on these collectibles. You’ll end up with a souvenir for each country you visit. Additionally, this collector’s edition is packed with extras. It has 10 extra levels, lots of bonus puzzles, wallpapers and even a music player to listen to the 20 music tracks that are included.

Given the fact that the basic mechanics of hidden object games are fairly simple, you might think that a game like this would get boring fast, but the developer has found some interesting ways to mix it up. They achieved this is by modifying the basic items list. Certain scenes have silhouettes instead of written words, some have images, rebus puzzles, and even patterns (instead of having the word cat, there’s an image of his fur’s pattern.) There are also times where there will be objects in a list, and you’ll need to place these in the right spot. It adds some challenge and variety to the game, all of which helped to keep me entertained throughout. Another great aspect of the game is that there’s no time limit, so you can do the scene as quickly or as slowly as you wish.

Big Adventure: Trip to Europe 7 is an interesting example of the hidden object genre, one that I would recommend. I’ve played so many HOGs that end up becoming extremely repetitive due the basic mechanics of the game, but this is not the case with the Big Adventure: Trip to Europe series. The developer has found some very clever methods to keep it fresh, with a fair amount of variety in the game itself as well as the extras. The scenes and puzzles were challenging enough for me. I played until the end!

Whether you’re new to the Big Adventure series or a returning player, you won’t regret picking up this seventh instalment. Big Adventure: Trip to Europe 7 was a fun and relaxing way for me to spend the five hours it took me to finish. If you like puzzles and brainteasers, you should definitely give this game a try. You’ll want to keep playing until the end to see where you go next!

• A lot of variety in the hidden objects scenes
  
• Challenging mini-games
  
• The Collector’s Edition has tons of perks

• No Achievements
  
• Expert players might find the hidden objects scene easy

Big Adventure is a fun and relaxing HOG for casual players featuring plenty of variety and bonus puzzles to keep you entertained for a cozy afternoon. Experienced players may find the challenge lacking.

Key provided by the developer/publisher for review purposes. Any opinions expressed are entirely my own!

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