Love is in Small Things – Most Chinese beginner friendly game

Gaming is a popular hobby and one that many learners want to utilise in their language learning journey. With no pop-up dictionary feature or dual subtitle capabilities that are commonly available in other media forms, it’s no secret that gaming in another language is extremely difficult.

But I may have found the most beginner-friendly game for Chinese learners to play in Chinese!

It’s in the form of a free mobile hidden object game called “Love is in Small Things”. This hidden object game has beautiful aesthetics, soothing music and a heartwarming narration.

It’s available completely free on Android and iOS as well as Google Play for PC (allows you to play Android games without an emulator).

About the Creator

The creator behind this hidden gem is Puuung, a South Korean digital illustrator and animator with a passion for beautiful spaces, love stories, animations, and games.

As well as this game, Puuung has also created many calendars, posters and artworks from the world of “Love is in small things”. Puuung is also actively creating animated videos that are shared on social media platforms such as YouTube and Tiktok.

About the Game

In “Love is in Small Things”, you will discover the heartwarming tale of a young couple while searching for hidden objects in 200+ hand-drawn illustrations accompanied by soothing and relaxing music.

The illustrations are split up into sections of 6-9 pieces, with each section beginning with an illustrated video which will set the stage for the upcoming narrative.

The gameplay loop is extremely simple. It involves searching for hidden elements within the illustrations, such as hearts, numbers, letters, or objects.

Upon completion, a caption associated with the illustrations will be shown. These captions are famous quotes, descriptions of the event in the illustration or a thought from the characters involved.

Trailer

How is “Love is in Small Things” a good choice for learning Chinese?

With the simple gameplay loop in “Love is in Small Things”, it is very playable in Chinese, even for learners with limited vocabulary. It’s perfect for learners of all levels.

As a hidden object game, the difficulty doesn’t increase as you progress. However, the stages that involve looking for objects are much harder than those that require you to look for hearts.

There is also no energy system or penalty for clicking on the wrong object. You can play this continuously all day long.

The captions are where this game shines for Chinese learners. Each illustration encapsulates the small things we can appreciate in everyday life, and this is reflected in the captions. They are short and simple, with everyday vocabulary.

You can access these captions in the illustration archive at any time, so it’s perfect for you to review and revisit them.

While the English text in the animated videos isn’t changed, subtitles in the chosen language are provided.

Is spending money required?

There is a short advert every few stages, and some functionality requires watching an advert to unlock, such as activating a new song. It’s really not much compared to many other free mobile games.

There is an option to pay a small fee to activate the ad-free version.

With no energy or penalty system, there’s nothing else that requires an additional cost.

Final Thoughts

This is an absolute gem of a game. It encapsulates two of my favourite genres: hidden objects and cozy, while also being able to improve and solidify my Chinese vocabulary!

This is the perfect free game for those looking for something easy and relaxing to play after a long, stressful day!