• Price: $12.99 USD
• Developer: Silver Lining Studio
• Publisher: Akupara Games
• Release Date: June 2, 2022

A review code was kindly provided by Akupara Games on behalf of Silver Lining Studio. We thank them for being able to cover something they’ve worked so hard on.

I have a great appreciation for people who have dedicated themselves to improving their artistic abilities. They may make it look easy to create their works of art, but behind the frame each piece is years and years of practice and hard work. When I first saw the trailer for Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery, the passion and hard work put into the game was quite evident:

The main portion of the game has you play as a woman who is working to be accepted into a New York art exhibition. Her sketches are transferred to canvas, and you will add colors to the designated areas of that drawing according to her sketched design. You can use your Joy Cons or the touchscreen to play the game, and thankfully, when you paint, the game doesn’t let you paint outside of the lines. You paint one section of a painting at a time, and if you can’t remember what color a section needs, you can consult your sketchbook. If you use the wrong color, the game tells you it’s not right and wipes it off of the canvas for you. You start out with only one paint color, and need to find more around the apartment.

Gameplay involves solving different “puzzles” by painting something. Completing a painting with all of the the correct colors or adding something new to a finished painting may unlock another paint color for you, or a clue for the next part of the puzzle.

Initially, some of the things you see or do may seem confusing. Your character will say things that may seem…puzzling… 😉 Many tubes of paint are scattered around the room, hidden in different compartments that are unlocked by painting and solving the “puzzle.”

You spend each day painting for a little while, and you can explore the apartment as well. Although the game is mainly related to art and the story behind it, you also make a brief foray into the culinary arts by making eggs, toast, and coffee to keep your character going. It’s a nice reminder to make sure you eat something even when you’re super busy, and the way they designed the in-game food sure made my mouth water – they’re beautifully drawn! Put in the cassette tape and listen to some music to add to the ambience, and relax as you paint and experience the game. The soundtrack felt well suited for the setting – the music was calming and relaxing.

After exploring your apartment for a while, you can also look out the window, where you will see a cute kitty and his human in the apartment across from you. They animated some of the scenes for the game, including your character waving and saying hello to the old man. The small amount of dialogue is displayed the way they do it in silent films. Your neighbor may not respond, but interestingly enough, he also happens to be a painter!

I loved the mix of art styles used in the game, with the animated scenes clearly inspired by Studio Ghibli. I really liked the art included in the credits, which seemed to reference a painting called The Scream as well as a self portrait by van Gogh. I thought those drawings were quite clever.

Everything you do to the art in the apartment serves a purpose; as you add more details to paintings and solve each puzzle, you also add more detail to the story that unfolds. I wish the story was a little easier to understand, because I don’t tend to pick up on subtle details that are not explicitly explained. I also would have liked more character interactions. Although I don’t think I completely understood the entire story, the method of telling the story was interesting and unique. I was expecting the storyline to go in a different direction than it did, and I appreciated being surprised by the way it turned out even when I found something confusing.

Because the game is so beautiful and special, I wanted it to last longer; the main game took me about an hour to finish. The art in the game is breathtaking. I wish that there was more painting involved in the experience, and more detail to the story. But once you’ve completed the main story, you are then able to experience the new story content that has been added to complement the original version of Behind the Frame! The new content, which took me about half an hour to experience, is meant to show a different point of view for the main story! It was a neat addition to the game, and I loved the additional kitty content in the side story! 🐈🥰

Switch it ON or Switch it OFF? Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery is one of the prettiest games I’ve ever played. While I occasionally had trouble figuring out the solution to a puzzle, and did not completely understand the story’s conclusion, I enjoyed the overall experience. There were tiny details I did notice and appreciate, and the storytelling was relaxing, creative, and unique. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and the many lovely images in Behind the Frame tell an interesting and emotional story. 8/10