Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery

I went in this game totally blind. I just saw few screenshots of the game and instantly fell in love with the artstyle, so I think that is the thing I should talk about first. This games artstyle is heavily, and when I say that I mean HEAVILY inspired by the works of Studio Ghibli. I personally love the artstyle, as I've grown up with movies like Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro and Laputa. Those movies have been a big part of my childhood, and seeing their artstyle being adapted into a game is wonderful. The art during the gameplay is beautiful, and the art in the cutscenes feel like something straight from a Ghibli movie. I am not sure if there is multiple endings available, as of right now I've only played the game once. The gameplay is typical Point & Click adventure, with quite interesting gameplay mechanics, which I haven't at least seen in a game before. The gameplay mechanics are interesting, even though they sometimes guide the hand of the player a bit too much. The story is surprisingly rich, I love how the developers managed to put in such a deep and interesting story into a fairly short game (just about the length of a short film). Then, let's talk about the music, which is absolutely beautiful. The OST is such a nice cherry on top of a beautiful story and a beautiful visual presentation. This game is less of a game, and more of a movie, with beautiful visuals, beautiful music and a nice story. And I feel like thinking of Behind the Frame as a movie/cinematic experience, instead of viewing it as a game, is the right way to view it. Overall, a beautifully crafted, beautifully written story. Even though the game is fairly short, it's still easily worth the price tag.

Gotta have opposites. Dark and light, light and dark continually in a painting. If you have light on light, you have nothing. If you have dark on dark, you basically have nothing. You know it's like in life. You've gotta have a little sadness once in a while so you know when the good times coming. I'm waiting on the good times now. — Bob Ross - Mountain Ridge Lake (S23E3)

[h3]Let's paint the finest scenery. [spoiler]Shall we, Amber?[/spoiler][/h3] This game has a story so good that even though I got it for free on epic games, I had to go buy it on steam to show my support. Also, it's a nice touch that it's free there on January 23rd, it's very fitting. If you are seeing this review before January 30th, 2025 go get it for free now!