The Master’s Pupil is a hand-painted game that took seven years to make

Developer Pat Naoum has just launched The Master’s Pupil, a game that’s the culmination of seven years of hand-painted work.

If there’s any doubt, Pat explains that he didn’t merely use his hands to pick up an electronic stylus to draw the game on some fancy art tablet. Naoum made every single aspect of The Master’s Pupil old-school style before using a high-resolution film negative scanner to bring his beautiful artwork into the game’s world.

@patnaoumgames

On the internet, and in person, people don’t seem to understand hand-painted means painted with paint. Out 28 July! Wishlist link in the bio #TheMastersPupil #indiedev #indieGame #gamedev #gamedevelopment

♬ original sound – Pat Naoum

But what’s the game even like?

The Master’s Pupil is a 12-level 2D sidescroller. It invites players to go on a puzzle-solving adventure that accompanies some of the most important moments in the life of Claude Monet, the 19th-century French impressionist painter whose works informed the game.

Don’t let yourself get fooled by all the beauty, though. Great sadness lives underneath. To avoid spoilers, let’s just say that players will have to suffer through the loss of someone very dear to Monet. They will also experience his fight against sight ailments that nearly took away his ability to create art in the way that he loved.

At certain points in the game, the entire level will transform to reveal a Monet painting. The way that the various layers come together to form paintings feels reminiscent of Braid, but the art on display here is on a whole other level. Even if it doesn’t seem like your kind of game, you should consider giving it a try. The Master’s Pupil feels like one of those one-of-a-kind experiences that you soon won’t forget.

The Master’s Pupil is available on PC and Mac via Steam. It’s also on the Nintendo Switch.