The 10 Best Games With Painting Mechanics

Painting mechanics in video games offer a unique way to engage with virtual worlds, blending creativity with problem-solving. These systems range from encouraging artistic expression to serving as crucial gameplay elements, where players can shape environments, customize characters, and solve puzzles using virtual brushes and canvases.

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Whether it’s bringing forgotten realms back to life or crafting intricate solutions, painting mechanics elevate immersion, giving players a personal stake in the game world through their artistic choices and strategic designs.

10

Epic Mickey: Rebrushed

Released: September 24, 2024
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Genre: Platform, Action-Adventure

Epic Mickey: Rebrushed follows the adventures of Mickey Mouse as he explores the Wasteland, a world inhabited by Disney characters left behind by time. The Wasteland itself is a decaying realm, held together by paint and filled with remnants of Disney’s past. Mickey wields a magical paintbrush that allows him to either use paint to restore and create objects or thinner to dissolve them.

OsTown has two different soundtracks, depending on whether you primarily use paint or thinner.

One of the most engaging aspects of Epic Mickey is its choice system. You can solve puzzles by either using paint to create and repair or by using thinner to erase and destroy. These decisions not only shape how NPCs react to you but also directly impact the Wasteland itself, altering its appearance and soundtrack as well as the game’s final outcome.

9

Ōkami

Released: April 20, 2006
Platforms: PS2, Wii, PS3, Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Genre: Action-Adventure

Ōkami is a gorgeous RPG that immerses players in traditional Japanese art, with its graphics inspired by ink-wash painting (sumi-e) and woodblock prints (ukiyo-e). You take on the role of Amaterasu, a wolf god based on the Shinto sun goddess, Amaterasu, embarking on a journey filled with Japanese mythology and folklore.

A core mechanic of the game is the Celestial Brush, a divine tool that Amaterasu uses to interact with the world. By drawing brushstrokes with the Celestial Brush, you can perform various abilities, such as striking enemies, summoning plants, or conjuring winds, to solve puzzles and defeat foes. The game also encourages creativity, such as when you draw a simple mask to infiltrate the Moon Cave.

8

Concrete Genie

Released: October 8, 2019
Platforms: PS4
Genre: Action-Adventure

Concrete Genie follows the story of Ash, a teenage artist in the once-vibrant port town of Denska, now grim and abandoned due to an oil spill disaster. After a run-in with bullies, Ash stumbles upon a magical paintbrush that can bring his art to life. Ash uses this newfound power to create Genies, lively creatures based on his childhood drawings, who help him in his quest to bring color and life back to Denska.

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The game’s mood and environment are directly influenced by your artistic choices. The colors and designs you choose for your artwork not only impact the overall atmosphere of the town but also shape the personalities and abilities of your Genies. As you explore and tackle puzzles, there’s no single way to solve them; how you design your Genies and what powers they develop play a key role in how you interact with the world.

7

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Released: March 20, 2020
Platforms: Nintendo Switch
Genre: Social Simulation

Animal Crossing: New Horizons was the perfect game for its time, launched when the world was stuck at home. It offered a creative escape and a social lifeline, allowing players to build and manage their own island communities through crafting, exploration, and interaction with friends.

One of the game’s standout features is the unprecedented level of customization, far surpassing previous Animal Crossing games. Your house alone can be customized with over 220 options, from exterior facades, paint, and roof shapes to windows and doors. Inside, the possibilities expand even further with countless custom-made furniture pieces, wallpapers, and flooring options.

6

Crayon Physics Deluxe

Released: August 26, 2011
Platforms: Windows, iOS, OS X, Linux
Genre: Puzzle

Crayon Physics Deluxe is a 2D puzzle game that combines the simplicity of crayon drawings with the complexity of real-world physics. In each level, your goal is to guide a ball across a page to collect stars, using your crayon to draw objects that interact with the ball. These objects, whether bridges, ramps, or hinges, are subject to the laws of physics like gravity, momentum, and friction.

Crayon Physics Deluxe is used in some classrooms to teach about simple machines or basic physics.

As the game progresses, the puzzles become increasingly intricate, requiring more creative and strategic solutions. What makes Crayon Physics Deluxe particularly engaging is its open-ended nature; there are multiple ways to solve each puzzle, giving players the freedom to experiment. The game even offers a level editor, allowing players to design and share custom levels with an online community.

5

Moonbreaker

Released: February 2, 2024
Platforms: Windows
Genre: Turn-Based Strategy

Moonbreaker is a turn-based strategy game heavily inspired by miniature-based tabletop roleplaying games like Dungeons & Dragons and Warhammer. Each match revolves around developing a tactical plan to outmaneuver and defeat your opponents, using a variety of units, abilities, and strategic positioning. The gameplay focuses on careful planning and resource management, as well as anticipating your opponent’s moves.

Moonbreaker’s unique world was created by Brandon Sanderson, the award-winning fantasy author known for Mistborn and the Stormlight Archive.

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Moonbreaker is part tabletop RPG, part miniature painting sim, and as a result, there’s a lot to figure out when getting started.

One of the standout features of Moonbreaker is the ability to fully customize your paint job on your digital miniatures. You can paint them to your exact specifications, using a wide range of colors, materials, and tools, allowing for a personalized experience that reflects your unique style. While this customization doesn’t directly influence gameplay, it adds an extra layer of immersion and connection to the miniatures you control in battle.

4

KinitoPET

Released: January 9, 2024
Platforms: Windows
Genre: Psychological Horror, Simulation

KinitoPET is a psychological horror game that immerses you in a nostalgic 2000s digital landscape, complete with Minecraft and the screech of dial-up Internet. As the game begins, you’re casually browsing the web, but things take a sinister turn when a virus hijacks your computer, leading you to download Kinito, a virtual assistant. As you interact with Kinito and play various mini-games, the once-friendly assistant starts to display disturbing malfunctions, leaving you to investigate the unsettling mystery behind Kinito’s true intentions.

KinitoPET’s horror is magnified by the game accessing your computer’s files, similar to Doki Doki Literature Club and Luna Game.

One of the more nostalgic game mechanics in KinitoPET is its use of MS Paint. Throughout the game, you’re given prompts by Kinito to paint and decorate different pieces, adding an interactive, creative layer that becomes increasingly eerie as the game’s psychological elements intensify.

3

Passpartout: The Starving Artist

Released: June 6, 2017
Platforms: Windows, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch
Genre: Simulation

Passpartout is a quirky painting simulation game where you step into the shoes of a struggling artist in France who just can’t seem to shake his love for wine and baguettes. Throughout the game, you try to sell your masterpieces to rude customers who will give you their very honest opinions. Starting with just enough funds for your wine and bread habit, you’ll gradually build your reputation, expand your studio, and improve your lifestyle.

The painting mechanics are simple, akin to using MS Paint, which means creating detailed masterpieces takes patience and creativity, especially without a blend tool. But one of the more charming details in the game is that as you paint on the canvas, your character mirrors your brushstrokes, creating a seamlessly engaging experience.

2

Chicory: A Colorful Tale

Released: June 10, 2021
Platforms: macOS, Windows, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Genre: Adventure

Chicory: A Colorful Tale is a charming and creative game that stands out with its black-and-white map, resembling a giant coloring book. You play as a dog wielding a magical paintbrush, which you use to paint and bring color back to the world around you. The game’s open-ended nature lets you freely paint everything, from landscapes to objects and people, while interacting with NPCs who often request your artistic touch on specific items like houses, flowers, or clothing.

The only combat scenarios in the game are boss fights, where you use your paintbrush to both attack and defend against foes by dodging their attacks. However, Chicory lets you take a more peaceful route as well, allowing you to skip boss fights entirely if you prefer a more laid-back experience.

1

SuchArt

Released: July 14, 2021
Platforms: Windows, Nintendo Switch
Genre: Simulation, Adventure

SuchArt is a futuristic sandbox painting simulator that offers an impressive level of creative freedom and realism. Set in a world where AI art has dominated Earth’s art scene, you play as a human artist striving to build your reputation. The game features highly realistic painting mechanics, including tools like brushes, rollers, and spray cans, and allows for techniques like color mixing and layering. All of this is enhanced by the game’s physics engine, which affects how paint drips, splatters, and interacts with surfaces.

As you progress, you can sell your unique creations on the open market or complete commissions to earn money and unlock new tools, canvases, and features. What sets SuchArt apart is the sheer scope of what you can paint—beyond traditional canvases, you can apply your creativity to furniture, walls, and even sculptures, allowing you to explore different mediums and styles.