There’s nothing quite like being blown away by a game you’ve never even heard of before. Or at least one you think you’ve never heard of before. For me this week that game was QV – The Dimension Painter ($4.99), a game that launched on Nintendo Switch to some decent acclaim just about a month ago. Looking into the developer izzle a bit more and, as it turns out, this is something of a follow-up to a 2016 mobile game they released called simply Dimension Painter, a game that I actually posted the thread for in our forums back then. It seems that on some level I DID know of this game already, albeit in a different form and practically in a different lifetime.
Whatever the case, I wish I had paid a bit more attention to the original Dimension Painter several years ago because the mix of mechanics used there and in this newer QV – The Dimension Painter version are really great. One of the main elements is reminiscent of Sokoban. You’ll be pushing boxes around, often onto switches that will open gates to allow you to progress in a level. There’s also these special stones you can either turn into a regular doorway to walk through or turn into a portal, and coupled with another stone turned into a portal somewhere else on a level, you can instantly travel between the two. These are used in a way that’s very reminiscent of, well, the Portal games.
Your character also wields a gigantic paintbrush and there are inkwells strategically placed throughout each level. Using the ink you can create a walkable surface on top of water, but it is only temporary, so you’ll need to be swift and tactical with how you use this strange ability. Other mechanics surface the further you dig into the game, but everything in QV – The Dimension Painter pretty much revolves around activating and then reaching an exit door on every level. The level designs are incredibly clever and feature multiple difficulties to play through, with each difficulty actually significantly changing up the placement of objects and makeup of a level, making it feel like a whole new challenge.
The interesting blend of mechanics in QV – The Dimension Painter was equally interesting in the original 2016 Dimension Painter, but a big criticism of that game was its lack of polish, and that is not a problem in this new version at all. The game features some really lovely 3D visuals, characters that are full of personality, and an extremely strange but entertaining story tying everything together. This reminds me of a game that would have released on the Dreamcast back in the day, as there’s a quirkiness to it that I enjoy a lot. If you too enjoy puzzlers that will make you think on a variety of levels, and enjoy fully premium games with no IAP, I can recommend checking out QV – The Dimension Painter and dropping by the game’s thread in our forums to share your thoughts about it.
