We’ve probably all wondered what it might be like to jump into a painting and experience the sights and sounds within. Please Touch The Artwork 2 encourages players to do just that.
Please Touch The Artwork 2 is a relaxing and casual hidden object game from developer Thomas Waterzooi. You take on the role of a skeleton artist who feels out of place among dozens of unique and intriguing paintings, all of which have been crafted from the works of real-life Belgian modern artist James Ensor. Your goal is to assist the denizens of these paintings and help the main character find his way back to his original painting.
Exploring the art of Please Touch The Artwork 2 is very similar to a traditional point-and-click game. Players are able to click and hold down the mouse to navigate around each painting. Interacting with characters and picking up objects is as simple as a click of the mouse, so players of any skill level won’t find any issue here.
The issue, instead, comes from a mischievous character who is moving in between paintings causing trouble by ripping into them. But not to worry: you are a resourceful skeleton that can repair them with your wits. Each ripped painting requires you to solve a mini-puzzle where you must create a certain shape without overlapping lines. As you progress through the game, the more difficult these puzzles will become — but none of them are so hard that you’ll spend more than a few minutes uncovering the solution.
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In terms of the seek-and-find elements of the game, at the start these are very simplistic. A painting-dweller may ask you to find buckets and, as there are only three or four paintings to move between, it won’t take you long to find them. Later on, things will get a bit more complicated as you are tasked with looking for multiple items for multiple different people across seven or eight paintings. You may also find that you can only reach certain areas of paintings once previous requests have been fulfilled. It makes for a very straightforward and linear experience that takes place over five different chapters.
While the majority of gameplay is made up of seek-and-find puzzles and the painting repair puzzles, there are a few other short puzzles that you’ll have to solve, including a quick game of spot-the-difference. For times when you may get stuck, Please Touch The Artwork 2 features a hint system that can be used at any time — there is no limit to the number of hints that can be used. If you’re the type of person that doesn’t like to use hints, the game does also show at the top of the screen if one of the items you’re looking for is located in the painting you’re standing in. It’s a clever way of giving you a little bit of a nudge without outright showing you where the missing item is.
What we love most about Please Touch The Artwork 2 is its accessibility to all types of players. Navigation isn’t convoluted or difficult, each puzzle is easily solved with a little bit of thinking and hints are provided for times when you’re really stuck. It’s the simplicity that makes it so enjoyable and easy to play from beginning to end in one sitting. Not to mention it’s silly and fun and easily replayable.
Please Touch The Artwork 2 is a short experience, but one that leaves a lasting impression. It’ll likely only take you an hour or so to complete the game, unless you’re determined to not utilise the hint system. Either way, it’s bite-sized creative fun — and best of all, it’s completely free. You simply can’t beat it.
Please Touch The Artwork 2 Review – GameSpew’s Score
This review of Please Touch the Artwork 2 has been facilitated by a free download of the game. It’s available on PC via Steam.
