Some time ago, there was a surge in popularity of the idea of coloring books for adults as a way to destress. I’m sure there was science on point for the issue, but that’s not really the point of this column. What I am going to say is that Love Colors is a video game equivalent thereof, and I am here for it. Whether you only have a few minutes or an hour to complete a painting, the game allows you to move at your own speed to a very peaceful soundtrack. For me, I found watching the image come alive underneath my cursor to be a pleasant break from the hustle of daily life.
If you’re looking for a puzzle game or a game with challenge, you may want to skip Love Colors, but if you want a charming painting sim as a way to relax at the end of a crazy day, Love Colors is definitely the game for you.
Plot Ahoy!
I have to admit that it feels a touch ridiculous to have a plot section for a painting sim because that’s literally all there is to the game. It’s a painting sim. You drag your cursor over pixels numbered with the correct color to use and eventually come out with a fantastically 8-bit looking rendering of a cat. However, Love Colors does offer a co-op mode for up to four players, if you have some friends also in need of a good twenty or thirty minutes of chill time.
Review Notes
Love Colors offers the capability to play on a controller, via mouse, or by keyboard, which makes the gameplay fairly versatile. You can select from over a hundred different images sorted into assorted themes, and that’s before the DLC comes into play. Images range from very simple to more complex, but the game experience itself remains identical because the point of Love Colors is to enjoy filling in the pixels and creating the image. You will have the capability to change the number of blocks you fill in at a time, but honestly, I think you’ll cheat yourself of an enjoyable experience by rushing to complete the image.
The point of Love Colors is to step back, slow down, and focus on creating something beautiful, and if you play the game, that’s exactly what you should do.
Don’t worry about any mistakes you might make because you can simply “paint” over incorrectly colored pixels. Love Colors is all about providing a worry-free gaming experience, and it succeeds beautifully. The music, a simple piano score, doesn’t detract from your focus but does provide a nice accompaniment for your artistic endeavor. Overall, Love Colors does exactly what it says on the tin and is very, very successful at it.
TLDR
If you tried meditation and found it wasn’t for you or don’t want to clutter your living space with piles of coloring books and art supplies, Love Colors is the perfect game for you. It’s completely family friendly, incredibly reasonably priced at $3.99 for the base game, and the sort of thing you can pick up and put down, even when your focus is disturbed by a really long day at work. Give it a try. I’ll certainly be coming back to this title.
Stray Thoughts from Behind the Keyboard
- I’m serious about not cheating yourself by using the shortcuts. Don’t do it. Let the meditative click and drag work for you.
- The images range from cute animals to fruit to more complex compositions, so there’s definitely something for everyone to color. Well, if you’re looking for horror, I don’t think you’ll find it. Love Colors isn’t that sort of game.
- I’m very much looking forward to finishing my cat tonight after work. It’s a great way to wind down and regain some of the tranquility you may have lost during the day.
- I’m not saying that it’s a good game to combat the stress of the holidays, but I’m not, not saying that either.