7 Great Indie Games about Art

“It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done.” – Vincent Van Gogh

Introduction

We have compiled a list of indie games that are about art in one way or another. Some visually explore famous works of art, some make the player the artist and allow for creativity within the gameplay, and some feature meaningful narratives about art or artists. If you are a creative individual or enjoy this list, we also have a list of games about photography.

Games about Art

Mewseum Masterpieces

Mewseum Masterpieces offers over 10 hours worth of shikaku-style puzzles. The museum consists of a number of well-known pieces of art, including The Scream by Edvard Munch, Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh, and The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci. Each one is made up of a series of grids that need to be solved or ‘painted’ with squares and rectangles. Each grid has different numbers on it, indicating the exact size of the section that needs painting, and each section must only contain one number.

Overall, Mewseum Masterpieces is a very enjoyable game with satisfying and engaging puzzles. The premise is quite simple, but the individual puzzles vary in difficulty and are easy to get lost in. The works of art are depicted in a good amount of detail using pixel art with fun cat additions, and the classical soundtrack works well with the artistic theme. I have very much enjoyed this game and would definitely recommend it to puzzle fans, especially those who like a more traditional style of puzzle.

Full review available HERE.

Please, Touch the Artwork 2

Please, Touch the Artwork 2 is a casual hidden object game set in a world made up of pieces of art. The player must help a lonely skeleton traverse through the paintings and find his way home.

The game is both delightful and bizarre. It offers a look at the work of a prolific artist and his work that spanned the 19th and 20th centuries. The puzzles and hidden object tasks lack difficulty and are stress-free, but still very satisfying, and provide something a little different to other titles in the genre through the meaningful and historical aesthetic. It will take around one hour to play and is completely free, with no DLC or IAP, making it virtually without risk! I’d recommend this game for fans of hidden object games or anyone looking for something casual but cultured!

Full review available HERE.

Behind the Frame

Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery sees players take control of the paintbrush in order to solve a variety of puzzles and help an aspiring artist create their masterpiece. As the paintings start to come together, an emotional tale of chance and artistry is slowly revealed. It is certainly one fo the more moving games about art on this list.

Overall, it is a unique and relaxing game that mixes painting and puzzles to great effect. The styling and gameplay blend seamlessly, and the narrative is engaging with an unexpected twist. If you are looking for an immersive and emotive interactive fiction with a ton of artistic flair, I highly recommend this title.

Full review available HERE.

Layers of Fear

Layers of Fear is a first-person, psychedelic horror with point-and-click, walking-simulator-style mechanics. It does include a few puzzles but is, for the most part, an atmospheric, narrative experience. The game’s protagonist is a troubled, alcoholic painter struggling to create his magnum opus whilst navigating his way through memories, delusions and an ever-changing Victorian mansion.

Overall, the game is very enjoyable. The art-themed narrative made for an interesting take on the horror genre, and the writers and other developers did a great job of creating a sinister and confusing environment and building tension.

Full review available HERE.

Sticky Business

Sticky Business is a casual business management sim in which players run their own sticker company, taking care of everything from designing the stickers to shipping them out to customers. Whilst not strictly a game about art, it does allow the player to be creative and design their own stickers, with options such as different design elements, colours, and even types of paper, which is a lot of fun!

Overall, Sticky Business is a great game; it is simple and relaxing, but very engaging and hard to step away from. It offers fun, stress-free business management mechanics and allows players to exercise their creativity as well as enjoy narrative elements in a way that doesn’t dominate the experience. The audio and visual aspects are delightful and really suit the style of the game and add to the whimsical, upbeat feel of the gameplay. Sticky Business will easily entertain a player for several hours due to the combination of objective-based and sandbox-style gameplay. This is a charming and thoroughly enjoyable game, and I highly recommend it (and the DLC) to anyone looking for an upbeat game to chill out with and lose themselves in.

Full review available HERE.

The Search

The Search is a surreal walking simulator and puzzle game set in a mysterious world where art comes to life to create doorways to new places. Players must overcome obstacles to their creativity by searching for clues in an unfamiliar world, guided only by notes left by an ominous stranger. Players must explore a series of environments and must solve hidden-object puzzles in order to paint a canvas, create a door, and progress.

The Search will take around 1-2 hours to play and is certainly an interesting and relaxing little experience. There are some questionable lines of dialogue, but the overall experience is fun, engaging and thought-provoking. This won’t be a title that everyone will enjoy, but I’d absolutely recommend it to fans of walking simulators and narrative-focused puzzle games.

Full review available HERE.

Dordogne

Dordogne is a stunning narrative adventure in which players can explore beautiful landscapes and revisit childhood memories in order to uncover elusive family secrets! Since the game is set in the past and present, the player gets to take on the role of both the younger and older versions of Mimi. As younger Mimi, the player can take photographs and collect a range of items, namely stickers, sounds and words. These can all be chosen from and then assembled into a binder page at the end of each day, with the words being used to create poems.

Dordogne’s visuals are a stand-out feature of the game. The stunning loose watercolour art style creates gorgeous landscapes and scenes with a ton of personality and life. The paintings beautifully utilise the unpredictable nature of watercolour paint, and the player can see water blooms, granulation and other interesting effects within the different scenes. The watercolour pictures are layered to create depth and give a subtle collage-like appearance.

Not a game about art as such, but it does allow the player to engage in a creative outlet, and the traditional art of the game itself is stunning. Dordogne offers a top-quality gaming experience that will appeal to a wide range of players. It features varied gameplay with a good amount of interactivity, especially for a story-focused experience, with the two aspects blending together seamlessly. The narrative, while definitely a slow burner, is engaging and emotive, and sure to pull on the heartstrings! It goes without saying that the visuals are fantastic, with the beautiful watercolour artwork that really brings the story, world and characters to life, along with the immersive sound design. Overall, Dordogne is excellent, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys wholesome, meaningful games.

Full review available HERE.

Summary

There is a lot of variety in how art-themed games approach the subject, and all of them bring art to life for the player in different ways. It is wonderful to see famous artists and their works celebrated in games, and equally lovely when players are given a creative outlet within the context of a wider narrative or selection of gameplay mechanics. This list is just a small selection of available games that explore the art world; some others that might be worth looking at are Passpartout: The Starving Artist, Eastshade, and Chicory: A Colorful Tale.

If you like games about art, maybe you’ll enjoy some games about music too?
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