Please, Watch the Artwork is a puzzle game with eerie paintings and a sad clown
Fusing light psychological horror with the quiet melancholy of American Realist painter Edward Hopper, developer Thomas Waterzooi is following up his puzzle games Please, Touch the Artwork and Please, Touch the Artwork 2 by having you just watch the artwork instead. Please, Watch the Artwork is an upcoming spot-the-difference game featured during Day of the Devs that tasks you with observing a museum of living paintings and tracking down a sad clown that may be harshing the other paintings’ vibe.
In the game, you’ll observe living versions of classic Edward Hopper paintings, like Nighthawks or Automat, and look for inconsistencies, like a character behaving strangely or objects being out of place — what one could describe as sad clown interference. You’ll then click on the offending area and it’ll be repainted, restoring the living painting to its normal gloomy self.
Please, Watch the Artwork riffs on popular horror titles like I’m On Observation Duty, Five Nights At Freddy’s and dozens of other similar games on Steam that make you look at fake CCTV footage of a garages and office buildings. Waterzooi’s game just takes a slightly classier approach. The combination of classic art and eclectic puzzle mechanics has paid off well in the past, too: Please, Touch the Artwork was nominated for numerous awards, including an Apple Design Award.
Please, Watch the Artwork will be available on iOS and Android for $4.99 and on Steam for macOS, Windows and Linux devices for $7.99. Waterzooi’s Day of the Dev’s presentation didn’t include an exact release date for the game, but he did suggest that it will be out around Halloween.