Hide and Dance (Nintendo Switch) Review

Do not be fooled by the simple design and game play method. Hide and Dance will take a lots of practice to last on the toughest difficulty setting. Starting off as a daughter, the aim is to keep up with the music and be sure to hide whenever a family member opens the door and checks in on her. The instructions are clear, and, depending on the difficulty chosen, the songs themselves are easy to follow. If the buttons to avoid detection are not pressed in time it is instant game over for that song.

The - mostly pop-themed - 20 tracks are catchy, making it too easy for players to get so involved in the song that they forget to keep an eye out for the scrutinising family member. When a song is successfully completed coins are earned which can be used in a gacha-style shop that will unlock new characters to play as, new songs, and even an option to control the speed of the notes, as well as stop the family from interrupting songs.

Family members have their own style of dancing, which provides plenty of laughs, and individual methods of pretending not to be dancing. There are also non-human characters to unlock, which are just as funny to watch. The cat has an unusual friend who also longs to dance, providing a great surprise when first unlocked.

This makes failure very clear with a multitude of text phrases on the scene, providing humour to ease the disappointment from losing. There are a surprising number of fun ways that characters hide from their family, from ordinary activities like doing homework, or sleeping, to more unusual activities such as hiding in a bookcase or grandfather clock. The poses taken vary on which character is used: initially only the daughter is available, with her mother, grandfather, brother, and cat all trying to catch her out. Quite why dancing is so forbidden is a mystery - perhaps it is seen as frivolous, taking up precious time for studying or helping with chores.