Have you ever lost yourself in your thoughts while looking at a painting? To lose the notion of time by imagining the artist putting his brush on the canvas; to ask you about his state of mind when creating his work? Whatever the answer to this question, the aptly named Behind The Frame offers you exactly that.
Made in Taiwan by the small team of Silver Lining Studio, Behind The Frame is in line with these express sensory experiences which, from Gorogoa to Florence, quickly mark the spirits for lack of reinventing the wheel.
7
Read the conclusionBehind The Frame
- Animations reminiscent of Studio Ghibli
- A simple, dignified and well-delivered statement
- Its 4th chapter which breaks a certain monotony
- Catchy music to (re)listen to without moderation
- Puzzles that are a little too simplistic, even childish
- A gameplay reduced to its minimum which could displease
Behind The Frame has been tested on PC using a key provided by the publisher. It has been available since August 25 on PC (Steam, EGS, GOG) for €8,19 and on iOS / Android for €4,99.
The colour of feelings
Behind The Frame puts the player in the slippers of a young painter, at work on an important work that she will have to submit to an entrance examination for a prestigious art school in New York. Between two brushstrokes on a canvas just started, she takes the time to refine her CV, to make a good impression on D-Day. Absorbed by her work, she does not do much else with her days. A little music on his cassette player, a few cups of coffee, a fried egg for sustenance, and the time has already come to get horizontal to start again the next day.
A monotony to which the protagonist adapts, and we with… Up to a certain point. Very short, Behind The Frame (count 1 hour watch in hand) does not really give you time to get bored. Divided into 6 chapters, the story already takes a turn when, during a well-deserved coffee break by the window, she sees the mysterious neighbor opposite painting a sumptuous canvas. As if magnetically attracted by this old man who never seems to notice her, she will – like us, players – try to understand what is hidden, beyond the web.
Subway, work, brushes
Be warned: Behind The Frame does the minimum service on the gameplay side. If painting and drawing are central to the subject of the game, we are not in a Chicory. Here, it will simply be a question of coloring boxes using primary colors (we can't exceed, phew) and moving your mouse or your finger on the screen to make nice sketches appear when the game tells us to. request.
Punctuated by skits masterfully animated by hand (one immediately thinks of Studio Ghibli), the game from Silver Lining Studios is played in the first person. From our painter's apartment, you can rotate 360° to observe the surroundings and interact with the objects there, in an old-fashioned point n' click way. The whole objective of the game will also be to search this studio in order to get our hands on the tubes of paint that we are missing to finish our canvas.
Only, when we realize that the said tubes are actually stashed in hidden drawers behind certain paintings in the room, we begin to realize that something strange is going on. As if lost in a dream, the protagonist develops a kind of synesthetic capacity allowing her to immerse herself in the paintings. Paintings that oddly resemble those hung at the neighbor's across the way...
The valiant easel
Unfortunately, and even over such a short playing time, Behind The Frame sometimes has very irritating flaws. It is in particular its literally childish aspect that we disliked. Some puzzles don't look any further than asking us to put pieces of different colors and shapes back in order. A toddler's toy, whose simplicity is further supported by remarks from the protagonist, who does not hesitate to use the obvious things like “Hmmm, I really wonder what is missing in this painting? »
But do not take offense on this detail (it's really just that, a detail), because another turn is still made by the game in its midst. Suddenly more twilight, even disturbing, the game would almost take on the appearance of Rusty Lake with a succession of puzzles to solve to unravel the heart of the story, which is ultimately not so simplistic.
JVFR
And if the epilogue, like the rest of the game, is ultimately quite overflowing with good feelings, it manages in its very last moments to tear our tears away with a string of beautiful, simple, dignified and human images. A deeply benevolent game, which does not seek to outclass itself, and which just really wants to tell you its story.
Our opinion on Behind The Frame
Behind The Frame might only take you an hour, but chances are it'll stick in your mind for a while. Very accessible, not to say minimalist, the Silver Lining Studio game saves words to tell you a beautiful and simple story.
Very well animated and put in images, the title is also carried by a playful music whose contrasts perfectly accompany the few changes of tone of the scenario.
All that remains to pull it down is a little too childish in the presentation of its puzzles, although this means that it can be discovered without any problem with children to prove to them that, yes, it is also that's the video game.
JVFR
7
Hard to recommend to those who swear by the gameplay, Behind The Frame is a cuddly game that tells a beautiful and simple story thanks to animations inspired by Studio Ghibli and a touching talk about memory. A short, very accessible game that gave us a good time − and that's all we asked of it.Most
- Animations reminiscent of Studio Ghibli
- A simple, dignified and well-delivered statement
- Its 4th chapter which breaks a certain monotony
- Catchy music to (re)listen to without moderation
The lessers
- Puzzles that are a little too simplistic, even childish
- A gameplay reduced to its minimum which could displease
