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0 Please, Touch the Artwork 2 is a point-and-click puzzle game from Belgian solo game developer Thomas Waterzooi. He has been involved in past game projects such as Divinity Original Sin and Hitman. Made in only six months, the game follows on from its predecessor with graphical improvements throughout.
The game released on 19th February 2024 on PC and mobile.
Tactile Tactics and Painty Pointers
The game revolves around paintings, namely paintings of iconic Belgian painter James Ensor whose works featured expressionism and surrealism. It is a way for us to interact with his paintings, giving a more comprehensive look at them and discovering his creative works.
Gameplay
What better way to appreciate art than to be inside art. From the off, I noted the pointer has become a long skeleton’s hand. I enjoyed this touch, but the option to have it revert back to a normal one was there. Your guide and playable character through this unusual art gallery is a white-suited skeleton who rises from the grave of said pioneer painter James Ensor. I found myself left to navigate at my own discretion. So I set off in a random direction by using my mouse to click in the direction I wanted him to go.
It wasn’t apparent at first but you could move to other paintings by walking to the frame. The lack of interactive objects kind of means you have to go wandering. The tutorial gives you the basic premise for exploring these interesting paintings. Soon enough I found myself eager to explore more. From the start, I found items dotted about which wouldn’t become useful until later on.
Adventuring on
After wandering a bit, I came across my first person. Through the use of a thought bubble, they can convey to us what they need. They needed help finding these items throughout the nearby paintings. This is the bare-bones of the game – exploring, finding some items hidden in the various paintings, and progressing to the next area. The items, at first, were large and easy to find amongst simple uncluttered paint subjects.
The difficulty does increase somewhat as you progress. Soon enough the items you search for become smaller and easier to hide in the more detailed paintings that follow. The simple landscape paintings soon were replaced with more surreal complex paintings. Every type of painting subject has a world and altogether there are five consisting of several paintings. Handy hints were available for those struggling to find certain items.
Graphics & Audio
Each painting in this vibrant adventure is expertly animated. The effect produced was similar to Monty Python where they animated cut-outs from art. The characters and animals all move as if the paintings are alive. The brush strokes were animated to be waved in a manner to show that the paintings are not static. This did cause some eye strain as you looked closely at the paintings to find the elusive items. Each item you were to look for did stand out a bit from the painting itself making them easy to find sometimes.
The music throughout is tranquil piano music to accompany this calm modern art gallery tour. The tone and intensity of the piano music change in the many areas you find yourself in. The music did change at times to more atmospheric sounds such as crowds, room ambience, and effects. The sounds go some way to making you feel as if the paintings have come alive.
Longevity
I completed the game in two hours and that was with me taking my time exploring every corner of these interesting and surreal paintings. I could see no real reason to replay the game as I felt just the once was enough. Any future play of it would dilute its impact.
It’s still very much worth the two hours of playtime if you love art and painting.
Final Thoughts
For those who love art and are interested in new ways to showcase paintings this game is a must. It’s an interesting take on the hidden object genre of games too. As I said earlier the wavy animation featured in all of the paintings meant eye strain was a real issue. I have a little interest in art and found this game really interesting.
I award Please, Touch the Artwork 2 Thumb Cultures Silver Award!
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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