Behind the Frame is a short, narrative-driven puzzle game where you guide an artist's brush strokes to complete paintings while uncovering an emotional story woven through mundane daily moments. The hand-drawn art style evokes Studio Ghibli's aesthetic, and the puzzles emerge naturally from the painting process itself. It appeals to players seeking artistic beauty and genuine emotional storytelling over mechanical challenge or length.
About this game
Guide brush strokes and solve a variety of puzzles to help an aspiring artist complete her masterpiece amid her brusque neighbor’s gaze and his pesky cat. As her painting starts to take shape, uncover an emotional tale of chance and artistry revealed behind unrelated yet familiar moments.
What players are saying
▲ Recommended1 hrs
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.
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!
Two stories by Silver Lining Studio in one package! Behind the Frame and The Star Named EOS, two adventure games by the critically acclaimed Taiwanese indie game studio Silver Lining Studio, will be released together as a set in a special physical edition for the Nintendo Switch. Both are games where you can interact with a gorgeous hand-drawn world with panorama technology to solve puzzles. Behind the Frame is themed around paintings, while The Star Named EOS is themed around photographs, but both are storytelling puzzle adventures that each feature a heartwarming story about the people you love. The special physical edition that contains both Behind the Frame and The Star Named EOS will be released in Japan on August 7, 2025. Preorders are now open! Please check the PLAYISM page for more information: https://playism.com/game/behindtheframe-thestarnamedeos/ {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40596675/66a86eea689df57bd8fd751d2de4f5d8cbee9b2a.png
Hey Akuparians! Guess what, it’s our birthday!, Akupara Games is turning 8 years old and to celebrate, we have put Behind the Frame on sale for 43% off! Be sure to grab those deals, check out our lovely event page, and check out the sales! Maybe the game you’ve been waiting for is waiting for you here, with a crisp sale to match. https://store.steampowered.com/sale/akuparagames8thanniversarysale {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40596675/1b810888a3baac10bb6e47830de98f6cfaa88b2c.png Also, to celebrate, we will be hosting a multi-hour stream with tons of activities, announcements, and more! Stream is starting at 11:45 PM PDT! We really hope to see you there - and here’s to another year of publishing your favorite indie games on the market https://www.twitch.tv/akuparagames - Riv Otter
The Star Named EOS Out Now! https://youtu.be/lefMBlKNJmo The Star Named EOS is a story-rich puzzle adventure built around photography. Recreate compositions of past photos to uncover the truth of a family mystery. Experience a harmonious mixture of beautiful hand-drawn art and engaging puzzles on a journey of reminiscence. Bundle with The Star Named EOS Now Available! A new Steam bundle of The Star Named EOS and Silver Lining Studio's Behind the Frame is now available. Now you can experience both Silver Lining Studio games at a discounted price! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1619230/The_Star_Named_EOS/
Posts come from Steam's official announcements feed.