The Painting

About

"The Painting" is a poignant visual novel centering around a man grappling with grief, as he revisits memories from his past. With hand-drawn visuals, this kinetic story delivers a hard-hitting narrative in under 1,000 words, providing a profound emotional experience in just 10-15 minutes. Created for the O2A2 VN Jam 2022, this game offers a single Steam achievement for players to unlock.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

100%

Audience ScoreBased on 48 reviews

story12 positive mentions

gameplay1 negative mentions

The game delivers a powerful and emotional narrative about grief, leaving a lasting impression despite its short playtime.
The hand-drawn art style and piano music enhance the overall atmosphere, creating a beautiful and immersive experience.
It's a quick play that is easy to complete, making it accessible for those with limited time while still providing a meaningful story.

The character development and narrative feel somewhat shallow due to the 1,000-word limit, which may leave some players wanting more depth.
The game is very short, taking only about 5-10 minutes to complete, which raises questions about its completeness as a game.
Some players felt that the absence of voice acting could have further enriched the emotional experience of the story.

story
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
38%
13%
The story is a self-contained, cohesive narrative that explores themes of longing and grief, delivering a heartbreaking yet cathartic experience. Enhanced by beautiful visuals, it resonates deeply with players, often described as a personal gut punch that leaves a lasting emotional impact. Overall, the combination of a poignant plot and lovely art contributes to its acclaim.
- “A beautifully sad story enhanced by lovely art.”
- “A short visual novel type story about longing and grief.”
- “The story is definitely a stab in the heart, but leaves a cathartic end.”
- “☐ no story”
emotional
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The Painting is a poignant visual novel that explores a father's grief over his daughter's loss, delivering a deeply emotional experience in a brief playtime. Players consistently highlight its heartbreaking narrative and beautiful artwork, often expressing that it evokes strong feelings and tears upon replay. Overall, it is praised for its significant emotional impact.
- “The painting is a short, emotional visual novel game about the grief of a father who lost his daughter.”
- “It packs an incredible emotional load in a very short runtime.”
- “I cried, and I cry every time I replay it.”
gameplay
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
83%
17%
The gameplay is notably brief, lasting only around 5 minutes, which may leave players wanting more content and depth.
- “Only around 5 minutes of gameplay.”
graphics
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The graphics have received positive feedback, with users highlighting their quality and effectiveness in enhancing the emotional impact of the story.
- “This was a really sad story and the visuals were great.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be somewhat excessive, often describing it as "a bit grindy" and suggesting that it may require a significant time investment, likening it to needing a "second life" to fully engage with the content.
- “It can be a bit grindy sometimes, but the rewards make it worth it.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding, but the sense of achievement is incredible.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “A bit grindy sometimes.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The atmosphere is significantly enhanced by the combination of piano music and a hand-drawn painting style, creating an immersive and evocative experience for players.
- “The piano music and hand-drawn painting style helps enhance the overall atmosphere.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The piano music, combined with the hand-drawn painting style, significantly enhances the game's overall atmosphere, creating an immersive experience for players.
- “The piano music and hand-drawn painting style helps further the overall atmosphere.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Character development in the game is perceived as somewhat shallow, which reviewers attribute to constraints such as a limited word count.
- “The character development and narrative feels a bit shallow overall, but it's understandable considering the word limit.”