Please, Touch the Artwork 2

• DEVELOPER: Thomas Waterzooi
• PUBLISHER: Thomas Waterzooi
• PLATFORMS: PC, Google Play, Apple Appstore
• GENRE: Puzzle
• RELEASE DATE: February 19, 2024
• STARTING PRICE: Free-to-play
• REVIEWED VERSION: PC

This adventure/puzzle game transforms his iconic images into an unusual, enjoyable and interesting hidden object game. In it, we look for given items to solve the levels. Combining elements of a video game and a museum exhibit, Please, Touch the Artwork 2 is a remarkable achievement.

As an avid fan of puzzle titles, I expected a very similar approach to other hidden object games. You will explore a series of interconnected images spread over several chapters, each chapter being thematically symbolic and offering a variety of puzzles, including searching for pieces of wood, shells or even food. In addition, in the game you will have to repair pictures, connecting the lines of the canvas to fill the part that was cut off and thus solve the rest of the puzzles. Ingenuity is essential, but nothing proves overly challenging; the crucial aspect is to engage various facets of your mind.

If by chance you get stuck somewhere, a hint system is available that will automatically show you the location of the required puzzle. When you collect them all, you can automatically reach the character who gave you the task, to avoid walking up and down again. The characters are diverse, absurd and unique, and their simple immersion in the images is interesting as you explore the art of James Ensor during his creative period. At one point I asked myself a question - did this artist really create so many works that they could all be covered in one game?

Besides being visually impressive, the music also stands out. Classical music further immerses you in the game, from Frédéric Chopin to music composed by Ensor himself. When you combine all that, you get one masterpiece. Finding the puzzles isn't difficult; moreover, everything relies on color contrast, and sometimes it will take a little straining of your visual abilities to find something. Also, there are a few small issues mostly related to the hint system and potentially disturbing content in some chapters. For example, the sudden depiction of death, the chapter called "The Wedding" shows vomiting, etc. The hint system sometimes did not show the best location of a puzzle, this is best seen in the aforementioned chapter where I struggled a lot to finish it.

Some players may not like the excessive animation within the images themselves, where the images look very vivid. It could be useful to clearly state by text exactly what we are looking for, perhaps in the corner of the screen to make it easier to navigate. Overall, Please, Touch the Artwork 2 left a positive impression on me. I would not be surprised if this particular title appears as part of an exhibition. It is a relaxed puzzle game and if you like this genre, you should definitely not miss this experience.

Review copy provided by the publisher