An Artistic Journey to Nowhere
Indie developers Cotton Game promised that The Son of Art, would be “an art exploration within an art sanctuary woven from colors, shapes, and puzzles…” and that it’ll be unprecedented. To an extent, that is the case. But that ‘extent’ is rather shallow.
Cotton Game’s puzzle game made me feel like I was walking through an interactive art gallery. But the gallery only opens the next sections if I solve intricately detailed interactive puzzles. Along with that I am also provided with very brief and undercooked lessons into one of the four major art movement of the 20th century.
And while the game is advertised as free, three of the four artists are locked behind a paywall. And said paywall only opens with a monetary hammer inside this “free” virtual art gallery.
Not fair, I say.
Too Big for the Canvas
The game allegedly provides a deep dive into four famous art forms of 20th century, mainly Picasso (Cubism), Malevich (Suprematism), Magritte (Surrealism) and Mondrian (Rhythmic Order/Neo Plasticism).
I would have delved further into what each of them had to offer, but the game truly doesn’t (despite making claims) and so, neither will I. Suffice it to say, the basic premise is that players can explore, interact and understand these four tangents of 20th century art by unlocking interactive visuals inspired by the four artists. And while doing so, you’ll be able to learn about relevant art history (supposedly).
How Do You Play?
The Son of Art features four sections with multiple layers of puzzles. Each section allows you to collect clues and try them out on puzzles to see if they fit. There’s a New Clues Found list of items that populates whenever you find a new one. There is also a notebook with lessons in it. Each one named after the concerned artist and discusses the artists and their finest works. However, it can only be opened after earning a silver coin and unlocking a new puzzle during each sections’ gameplay, however the chances to earn this coin are few.
Each scene has an object that can be collected and stored. This can be done by either clicking on the scene/puzzle or supplying the on-screen scene with an item you collected before.
Every Object you find is added to the New Clues Found section with a brief line about how that clue relates to the art movement. However, these brief lines are obtuse and vague and end up feeling like a like a missed chance. Had these objects and their associated clues been used more wisely and geared toward enlightening the layman rather than the art history scholar, The Son of Art would have been a much better game.
The Paintings Talk
Character interactions unfold via dialogue pop ups. The interactivity is determined by clicking on text within pop ups, while a garbled, unintelligible noise accompanies NPC dialogue. I don’t understand what the point of this creative decision is, but I’ll consider it as artistic liberty.
As far as the actual content within the dialogues are concerned, it’s well written, but doesn’t work as an art lesson. The dialogues exist to offer clues, not art history titbits. They are ambiguous and baffling within the game’s representation of them, without any solid narrative to hold onto. All the major art movement of the 20th century are presented more confusingly than they ought to be.
But this definitely creates an…
Accessibility Gap
A newcomer to art history or the visions and lives of these four artists’ works would ultimately learn nothing here. And the one-line exposition provided within the game are too shallow to solve that problem. A single line, alluding to a vague statement about why the puzzle was unlocked by its clue, with no clear relevance to the art or the artist.
The art-history framing is decorative here rather than functional. The homage to each artist is cosmetic. If you could strip out all art movements or artist references, The Son of Art would still work well as a good puzzle game. No doubts about that. The puzzles themselves are good and interesting. The clues are logical and deducible which makes them interesting. However, the art history isn’t well communicated. Here’s an example that stood out to me: One of Magritte’s most famous paintings is called Two Lovers. It shows a man and a woman with their faces covered their heads wrapped in white cloths. Upon fully viewing the painting, any art history student or even a casual observer could find some meaning. But the chance to understand or explore the painting is lost entirely within the gameplay.
And Why Is That?
There’s no reference to unlock. The players click on a white fabric in another scene of the puzzle and return to the initial depiction of the painting, after noticing that it must be something to do with the woman’s head wrapped in a white sheet. But it’s complete guesswork, no former or new knowledge of the painting involved. No deep dive needed.
I had to research outside the game to understand the references within the game.
Like the example, and almost throughout the whole game, the puzzles’ inherent logic is solid but they need no prior or acquired art knowledge. Additionally, you don’t gain much after solving any of The Son of Art’s puzzles.
The references are real and well researched. However, they are expressed via content that falls flat. You click on the objects, collect clues, apply them and the puzzle is solved. Then a very vague and superficial lesson via text opens up. That’s it. One reads a line and then moves onto the next puzzle.
Lost In the Puzzles Are… Well Hidden Paintings
But of course, credit where credit is due. The developers have done tremendous work and it shows. Though frankly, it really only serves art buffs, and those who came to the game with prior knowledge about the body of work of these famous artists.
The pacing works. It’s overall engaging and the visual element and art are lovely (of course) and I enjoyed the way the clues were arranged to be explored and the difficulty levels of the puzzles are doable. But I would again state that only one section (Magritte’s) is free to play and the rest need to be bought. And while the puzzles are decent, the puzzler wrapped in an art history lesson falls flat when those lessons are confusing and obtuse.
Is It Hardcore?
Almost
Interesting puzzles, but not so much on the whole deep dive into 20th century art. Additionally, it delivers less than it promises, on all fronts.
