Mewseum: Masterpieces

Mewseum Masterpieces is a very relaxing game with an interesting subject matter and a flawless approach to game play.

This game is very enjoyable and purrfect to unwind and relax to with its beautiful classical piano arrangements playing in the background. It gave me a new appreciation of classical music. Most of the tracks I have heard before, and you will probably recognize them too, but they fit in really well with the subject matter of art and masterpieces and it gave the experience a very cultural feel.

The game is based around creating famous pieces of artwork, like Da Vinci's Mona Lisa and Munch's The Scream and arguably less known pieces like American Gothic by Wood and Abaporu by Amaral. I might well be showing my lack of knowledge there though. There are six pieces of art to complete in total and one painting will take you around two hours to complete, giving a total play time of around twelve hours.

The game play is based on Shikaku rules and played on a rectangular grid. Some of the squares in the grid are numbered. The objective is to divide the grid into rectangular and square pieces such that each piece contains exactly one number, and that number represents the area of the rectangle. The puzzle is divided into many separate pieces so you only concentrate on a tiny bit of the painting at a time and don't see the whole area at once. This is a great way of tackling the painting because it would get very difficult if you tried to tackle the whole area at once because one mistake would have huge ramifications on the rest of the puzzle. It also makes the game feel much more bite sized and you can come and go as you please with your progress saved, which makes it ideal for dipping in and out of. The game naturally can feel a little repetitive so this is a great design choice.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3441408120

There is the option of zooming in and out of the painting and there is a hint button and an undo option. There are unlimited hints to use and a hint identifies a correct placement on the grid. There is no recharge counter either so it can be used as much or as little as you need. I found it was a great way of putting you back on track if you found yourself in a bit of a mess or it is a good way of starting off the puzzle and giving you a good start.

The user interface is so easy to work with and I really couldn't find any flaws in the game play at all. Everything you need to enjoy the puzzle is there at your fingertips, and even when I found myself in a muddle, it was so easy to correct my mistakes by moving areas to different locations or resetting them. The difficulty levels range from easy to moderate I would say, because the grids you work in are always quite small so that makes it easier to correct mistakes, but there were moments when I thought it was impossible, which makes it very satisfying when you do finally figure it out.

My only suggestion would be to have a little write up about the paintings themselves and a little description of the artist who painted them. I think that would be a nice addition.

🍳Conclusion🍳

Mewseum Masterpieces is a very relaxing puzzle game with the addition of cats replacing famous people in renowned pieces of artwork, which looks very cute.

The game play is exceptional and the user interface is easy to use and a joy to work with, and although the game can feel a little repetitive after a while, the bite sized grids and the ability to automatically save your progress, means you can come and go whenever you like. I'm sure I will keep this installed and return to it now and again to complete.

Curator Info:

Thank you for reading my review. If you enjoyed it, please follow IndieGems for more reviews like this one. We also have a YouTube channel if you would rather see game play footage with reviews.

A first look:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jwe3Vdcaiw
When I first played this, it still had a minor bug. Since the video was recorded, this has already been fixed, which is awesome!

It's a fun and relaxing game, and while I still have a few paintings to complete, I can say that I've been enjoying it so far.
But really enjoy, like just going in, relaxing, and unwinding—which we all need from time to time!

It's a little like paint by number, but you move in squares, rectangles, or straight lines instead of having free range. So, you can't go wild like in the more well-known versions. And I find it interesting that it's a little different for once.
You also get little segments of the paintings—that vary in shape and size—to puzzle out instead of them throwing everything at you at once, which is nice since that makes it so that it doesn't feel overwhelming. It's not too hard, not too easy, but just right.
The music is a friendly company, but as they suggest, you can turn it down, listen to anything you prefer, and sink away in the game; this is what I did and will do again in a bit after quickly writing up this little review to show my love and support.

I swear this has nothing to do with it being cat-themed and me being a cat mom. I promise I still would’ve loved it as much if it were dogs or another animal, which makes me think, wouldn’t that make a few great DLCs or sequels? A few other paintings with different animals? Because I sure wouldn’t mind at all!
The museum nerd in me is already screaming that it doesn’t even have to be the most famous paintings; lesser-known ones would be an excellent opportunity for people to discover them.


When progress starts to show VS one of the smaller sections I mentioned in my review ^_^
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3440030380
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3440030677

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I would be super grateful if you could consider giving a follow over at the following places for more first looks, reviews, recommendations, etc:

• | My first looks | ~My YouTube channel.
• | Tchii made ya look | ~My curator
• | IndieGems | ~Wonderful Indie curator
• | IndieGems Gameplay | ~IndieGem's YouTube channel.
• | Calm | ~Curator for the Dutch-speaking folks out here.
• | Calm's first looks | ~Calm's YouTube channel.

Thank you!

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In Mewseum: Masterpieces, you "paint" cats into classic artwork by solving logic puzzles. It's well-crafted, relaxing to play, satisfying to progress in, and I happen to think this is the cat's meow. (I'll see myself out.)

What Works For Me

✅ The quick tutorial expertly teaches you the ropes. Shikaku puzzles are played on a grid with a smattering of numbers, and solved by dividing the grid into rectangles containing one number and that quantity of squares. It's way less complicated in-game than it sounds on paper, I promise.

✅ The cursor is a paintbrush, and rectangles fill with color as you form them. Once you're in the zone, it feels like painting stroke by stroke. It's such a little detail but so so satisfying and immersive.

✅ Excellent quality of life features: Mewseum counts squares as you highlight them, doesn't paint miscounted rectangles, lets you remove mistakes with a single click, and includes a "help" button with no cooldown.

✅ Working section by section allows you to play for either two hours straight or in 15-minute sessions.

✅ The art. I cannot get over the artwork. I want to hang these on my walls.

✅ The classical piano music is lovely and unobtrusive, yet sophisticated enough to give museum vibes. It's not my style but two hours in, I've yet to turn the music down or switch to an audiobook.

✅ Plenty of achievements for achievement junkies.

What Doesn't Work For Me

❎ While many sections are tricky, others could be expanded or combined with another level to increase the difficulty. And… that's all I can complain about.

Final Thoughts + Recommendation

The dev was kind enough to provide a review key, but I do not receive compensation for writing reviews and my opinions are my own. With that out of the way: I am having so much fun with Mewseum. It's basically everything I look for in a wind-down game.

Some puzzles are simple, some are tricky, some stumped me so completely that I actually used the "help" button, but at no point have I felt bored or stressed. While there's only (6) puzzles, I anticipate spending ~8 hours completing the game.

I highly recommend this if you enjoy grid-based logic puzzles and cats.

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