Really, REALLY wish I could I say I adored it. The art style, music, atmosphere and story are so up my alley that the extreme lack of content (I beat it in a hour with 20 minutes extra for achievements) and overly simple (If still effective and narratively fitting) gameplay hurts me and keep it from being something genuinely astounding like I wish it was.

Despite its simplicity and length it was otherwise a wonderful little title that was absolutely worth its small price. I pray for a longer spiritual sequel.

you guys need to cool it with saying everything looks like studio ghibli, if anything this game felt like watching a gobelins film (and stylistically looks like half of all gobelins films tbh), especially in its tone and its general theming and atmosphere and presentation, so basically all of it. This game really feels like a gobelins film.

But like gobelins, this game is quite short, which is good, and something so rare in this medium which is understanding how much time a game is worth. This game is simple and wants to tell you a short story and there's nothing wrong with that, that is infinitely more preferable to having it drag on longer than it should for sake of "content". Like there isn't enough content in the game already for it to be fully enjoyable and get across to you every emotion it wants to.

I just finished this game as of writing this, and I keep going back to everything in the game, stuff that I didn't get or otherwise stood out to me, and after putting them into the broader context of the rest of the game, not only do I understand them completely, but appreciate them greatly. Everything in this game is designed so expertly, the pacing the story the mechanics (besides the last puzzle that was really finicky), they all flow together perfectly and there's never a frame in this game that looks ugly, there's never a moment in it that goes wasted, and there's really nothing else I could seek to add to it, it is wholly and completely, well, complete.

I have an immense love for video games that take design seriously, the idea that you don't just need game design and stuff like replayability to make a good game. That games aren't just gameplay mechanics, they're stories, stories which are expressed cooperatively through an audiovisual medium. To ignore the design of how the camera can sit in every map in the game, or how the loading screen can sometimes separate the experience of playing a game into something akin to vignettes, actually taking into account the cooperate storytelling aspect of video games and designing the other aspects with it in mind and it with the other aspects in mind and the other aspects with the other other aspects in mind as well. It's something incredibly difficult for any piece of art, and especially hard for a video game to do, but it is always something to admire and love when a game even attempts to do it.

Коротко, красочно, картинно.

Я люблю инди игры, а особенно люблю короткие инди игры, Behind the Frame как раз относится ко второй категории. Игра является очень простеньким квестом, никаких изысков ждать не стоит. В основном мы будем дорисовывать картины и изредка решать другие небольшие загадки. Геймплей в игре не самый интересный, но вот все другие элементы выполнены очень хорошо.

История довольно простая, но очень милая. Мы играем за девушку, которая готовится к выставке и пытается нарисовать рисунок для неё. Напротив её окна живёт другой старый художник с милым котом, но с нашей главной героиней он не разговаривает. В целом это всё, что я могу рассказать, спойлерить такую игру мне не хочется.

Визуально игра выглядит очень красиво, особенно мне нравится как разработчики решили сделать самую простую вещь — осмотр вокруг. С первого взгляда я вспомнил игру Alternate Jake Hunter: DAEDALUS, только если там зачастую использовались фотографии (с эффектом, чтобы они напоминали рисунок), то тут всё нарисовано, но некоторые предметы явно выделяются и выполнены словно в 3D. Кроме этого картины и небольшие кат-сцены также выглядят очень красиво.

Саундтрек в игре приятный и атмосферный, я обожаю подобный спокойный инструментал. Я редко добавляю саундтрек из игр в свой плейлист, но в случае Behind the Frame я добавил весь альбом. А финальная песня... люблю когда для игры делают хорошую песню.

Наверное ещё стоит упомянут управление. Играл я на Switch с тачскрином, почему? Потому что играть с геймпада не особо удобно, особенно во время рисования. И ещё в игре есть настройка для управления камерой гироскопом, но у меня она почему-то не работала. Пора и про длительность поговорить — всего один час. Игра прям короткая, но её это скорее идёт на пользу, чем во вред.

Несмотря на не самый интересный геймплея игра мне вполне понравилась, всё же все другие элементы выполнены на уровне. После прохождения у меня осталось много положительных эмоций и даже некое вдохновение, рекомендую пройти каждому любителю коротких игр.

definition of cozy gaming. the visuals are absolutely stunning and the soundtrack is definitely going in a cafe playlist or two, and the gameplay although simple has fun puzzles and the sound design makes everything feel amazing to do. the only place where it drags is in the middle where the puzzles just kinda feel stupid and tedious. the camera within an 'animated' space is so genius i can't even begin to fathom how they went about the technicalities of that. there's only one area that i felt didn't feel 3D enough, and that was in the free dlc, which was pretty good though less engaging than the main chapters.
my only complaint would be that the story didn't wrap up neatly enough and that some things didn't really add up, since there just wasn't enough information by the end for any solid conclusion about the big twist to be drawn and when the credits started rolling i was just kinda like 'wait what', which is unfortunate. Everything else in this game is polished and charming to a fault, and definitely made a great two hours spent. Would absolutely love a spiritual sequel with better more cohesive writing.

This game has a sense of premium to it with its graphics and music. It feels very professional and beautiful. It makes sense that the game took me an hour and 25 minutes to complete. It’s short but what you get is high quality. The game is all about telling a story (through showing) and inviting you to its world. The gameplay is very simple and mostly there to make you live the story. Chapter 4 (out of 6) is the only exception where it suddenly turns into a point and click adventure with puzzles that ask more of you which was nice. I found the way it came together was very clever. You’re going to need to pay attention to the care that was put into the details. Although I tried the demo on PC, I ended up completing it on my iPad Pro 2020. The game is very decent on PC but the touch screen felt more suitable to the gameplay and its theme. Both versions are more than fine though. You know if the game is for you or not. It succeeds what it sets out to do but you’re obviously going to hate it if you bought it with the idea that you’re going to get a deep gameplay experience. Are you here for the short experience and story? Then please come through. You’re more than welcome.

This is a game I've wanted to play since buying the enamel pin, back when it released.

A story that first seems like two separate but intertwining lives develops into something much more in this deceptively simple looking game. The gameplay follows two primary mediums: painting, where you colour in portions of a painting based on a guide, and point and click, where you solve various puzzles to progress the story.

I found the gameplay and story complemented each other well. It never grew too monotonous, as there was enough variety in tasks to keep things fresh – especially as you got further into the game. I particularly enjoyed being able to paint/sketch using the touchscreen of my Steam Deck. It made the process very tactile and fun. I found the controls worked well, the only problem I encountered was occasionally I'd back out of a painting instead of the journal I was checking. This was never a massive issue in gameplay, though.

The story was intriguing and I am glad I went in blind. It let me experience the game to its fullest as I realised the foreshadowing hints that I'd previously missed as the game progressed. The game's mood is overall bittersweet, but left me feeling pleasantly fulfilled. There were some questions I wish I had answers for by the end of the game too. The bonus chapter was similarly a pleasant experience, and allowed me to embrace a lot more of the details in the main story as well.

This is certainly a game worth discovering for yourself.

This game not being good hurts me in the same way as when an animated movie isn't good.
Animated movies sometimes have badly written dialogues which just kills the movies, in this game it's the same thing with the interactions, there's something wrong with the way they feel and they don't manage to make you feel what the games want you to.
Now obviously the drawings, the animation, the music and the puzzles were great.
The game tries to make you feel the same thing as these days where you're alone, either sunny, rainy or during the late evening with warm moody lights in your flat and you're just listening to music, cooking, reading, cleaning... doing something tangible and carelessly enjoying it.

Trying to define what a 'Cozy' game is can be tricky but I feel it can fall under several main terms. Gameplay where you don't feel overly under pressure. No threats present, no timers, nothing to stress in any way shape or form. Another is through calming visuals, sounds and overall plotting.

Behind the Frame excels at all of these, weaving a tale about artistic expression, relationships and memories, all packaged together with a charmingly serene soundtrack and a ghibli-esque sense of wonder and spirit. It all leads to an hour or so of soothing light puzzling and storytelling.

That said, I did mention 'An Hour'. If you want something more substantive, you may want to look elsewhere as while the game is indeed charming, it never quite manages to hit the big emotional notes, nor does it often manage to connect its puzzles and plot in a manner that feels fulfilling.

It is still a charming game and I dont regret my time with it one bit but I do feel it could have done a little bit more to really make the more emotional moments sing.

A lovely game about painting, love and loss. It looks beautiful and the music/sound effects are very nice and set a relaxing mood. The puzzles are fairly simple, but that suits the game just fine and keeps things going. The biggest disappointment here is the writing. I can forgive the sketchy grammar, but the storytelling is so incredibly obtuse that I simply had no idea what actually happened once the credits started rolling. It's not an open-ended thing where you can draw your own conclusions, I just had no clue what went on here. Such a shame because the journey truly is enjoyable.

I cannot recommend this game enough. At first, I was lulled in by the game's absolutely beautiful Ghibli-inspired art style and the lovely jazz music, and I was enjoying it. Then, at a certain point, the game suddenly got more interesting, and by the end, tears poured out of my eyes and I just can't help it.

This game is quite simple in premise and gameplay. It's a point and click adventure, with easy puzzles primarily revolving around adding missing colors to missing paintings. The game is more about the story and atmosphere, and the simplicity of it's gameplay helps you to appreciate the game's strength even more.

At less than 2 hours in length, there is simply not much to talk about without spoiling it, so I will end it with this: this game would have been a wonderful short film, but as a game, it becomes something that is truly special.

We as humans tend to dwell on death and what lies beyond. It's only natural as we simply don't know. Behind the Frame explores this concept with an emotional tug-of-war of a story, but you really need to pay attention, and a lot of the story is more between the lines and not what's really being shown in front of you. There's a lot of assumption that you know what's happening when the main character looks shockingly off in the distance based on the previous scene. It's done fairly well too.

Most of Behind the Frame is puzzle solving. It takes a dark twist halfway through and it surprised me. Your goal is to acquire all five missing colors on your paint palette to finish your painting. To do this each color is locked away behind a chapter puzzle. These got rather complex towards the end, but nothing you can't figure out without exploring and finding that key item that gives you that "AHA!" moment. Some puzzles are as simple as matching colors on a painting to memorization. Nothing is overly complex and it does eventually come together. The painting itself is a matter of scribbling enough in the empty space and it will auto-fill. Nothing extraordinary there. There are some other small tasks like making food which is as simple and dragging items around.

There isn't a lot of context on the main character's life itself through any reading of notes or anything. It's pretty much learning about her past and her connection with her neighbor. The game has gorgeous anime-Ghibli-inspired art with a few small cut scenes thrown in. I never got tired of looking at the game, but it is confined to mostly her apartment. Every so often you "dive" into a painting, but it's usually just for story context. There were a few panoramic scenes that were breathtaking. I actually felt like I stepped into a painting myself a few times.

In the end, the game is over in about 90 minutes or less depending on how long it takes you to solve the more complex puzzles in the final chapters. Without having to solve these this game is over in an hour. The story does unfold quite a bit towards the end and without voice acting it gets a lot of emotions across and I have to give the developers credit for that. Most of these short indie games don't have any meaning behind them. They have some clever gameplay ideas or neat visuals and nothing beyond that. Behind the Frame actually tugged at my heart strings a bit and got me thinking at the end which is more than I can say for 60-hour-long AAA titles. If you want a puzzle-filled emotional evening with great visuals and fun gameplay mechanics then look no further.

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It has everything I like: art, cats and puzzles in a compact and rounded game of just over an hour including its special chapter. It's truly a very warm game to feel good about.

Tiene todo lo que me gusta: arte, gatos y puzles en un juego compacto y redondo de poco más de una hora incluyendo su capítulo especial. Verdaderamente es un juego muy calentito con el que sentirse bien.