PAINTING VR: Let’s Get Fantastically Messy!
Welcome to the vibrant and wonderfully whimsical world of PAINTING VR, a delightfully chaotic painting game developed and published by OISOI Studio. Rated PEGI 3, it’s available for download on Meta Quest and Steam. Grab your VR headset and prepare to dive into this colourful adventure where creativity knows no bounds!
First Impressions and Expectations
To be completely honest, PAINTING VR is only my second VR art experience. My first was Tilt Brush, which has since brushed off into the sunset. So, I’ll be comparing PAINTING VR to the real-life messiness of brushes and canvas. Ready to see how it stacks up?
It’s a painting game..(or simulator?). There is no score, there’s no right and wrong way to do things.. This is art my darlings!
Now in my mind, before playing, this game should be a place to unwind, relax and be creative. The surroundings should be calm. It should be a place to express yourself visually. Personally, I prefer to express with audio being more the musical type, but that said, if done correctly this could be a work of art (I’m so sorry!)
Layout and Controls
Let’s set the scene: my first game took place in a gigantic warehouse/skatepark environment. Other whimsical worlds are available as DLC, but let’s start here. You can play in seated mode, and the controls are easy to master. Walk around in your physical space, move with the left thumb stick if you have VR legs of steel, or teleport with the right thumb stick if you’re prone to virtual queasiness.
Grabbing tools is a breeze. Walk up and grab them with the trigger or point your hand and use the Force to bring them to you. Simple, yet magical!
In front of you stands a mighty easel. You can lock it in place or move it around, making the game more accessible to everyone. To your left, a palette of paint pots await, with a veritable rainbow of colours below. Between the table and easel, there’s a colour-mixing board, and to the right, a rack of brushes, rollers, and spray cans.
Very basic stuff but hey let’s get the simple stuff out the way first, right?
Tooling Around
So in your surroundings you’re presented with an easel directly in front of you. You can adjust its height and angle. You can lock it in place or move it around. This is obviously a big deal as it makes the game more accessible.
The painting tools in PAINTING VR are a delight to use. Each brush behaves like its real-world counterpart. Light strokes produce delicate lines revealing every bristle stroke, while heavy strokes deliver bold, sweeping arcs. It’s like conducting an orchestra, but with paint! The bristles bend as they contact the canvas, creating an arc as you sweep in different directions. Its difficult to explain the realism of these paint wands, but I suggest trying it out.
Colour mixing is equally enchanting. I took to testing out mixing some colours using the mixing palette. You can pull up a variety of different reference colour palettes from the menu to assist you. Again, in terms of colour range and realism of mixing, they’ve really got this spot on. I used a large round brush and dabbed some red onto one side of the brush, then some yellow on the opposite side.
I Began to swirl the brush on the mixing pallet clockwise/anti clockwise, and the games ability to accurately mix the colours is outstanding.
The tools shelf is a playground of brushes, rollers, spray cans, and more. In the menu, you have tools to dry or wet the paint too! The drip brush is a particular delight—I had a blast flicking paint and watching it run. I felt my inner Bob Ross come alive, painting happy little trees and their cheerful companions. One thing I did miss was a palette knife, but here’s hoping it appears in a future update!
Painting Time!
Confession time: I’m no Picasso. The true artist in my family is my wife, but VR nausea sidelined her, so it’s up to me to wield the brush. And oh, what a magical experience it is! The physics are so detailed that each brush behaves like its real-world counterpart. Light strokes produce delicate lines, while heavy strokes deliver bold, sweeping arcs. You can undo or redo strokes which is helpful if you have an unsteady hand!
I got stuck right in. Grabbed hold of a brush and went to work. I was instantly both impressed and shocked at the level of detail they’ve gone into with all of it! Specifically, the physics of the tools. Let me explain:
Its difficult to explain but the physical sensation using these virtual brushes, and the result on canvas, but both very closely replicate the real thing! It’s very impressive. I may not have a master’s in art, but I’ve done my fair share of decorating and cutting in, and the feeling recreated in PAINTING VR is as close as it gets.
In the menu you’ll find various thing you can do including painting by numbers, and upon completing your masterpiece, you can save them in your portfolio, hang them around your play place in any size you like.
Graphics and Audio
The graphics in PAINTING VR strike a delightful balance between realism and simplicity. The environments provide a cozy backdrop, focusing your attention where it matters most: the canvas. The painting tools and pots have a semi-realistic feel, just detailed enough to immerse you in the creative process, but have no deep realism in their textures.
My paintings were less than average in detail, but the tools available are more than capable. I have looked online what others have created, and there’s no doubt that if you have an ounce of art skill you’ll likely get lost in the detail.
The audio is a gentle companion to your artistic journey, with soothing background tracks and whimsical sound effects that enhance the experience. They might not match every brushstroke perfectly, but they did not manage to break the immersion or spoil the experience.
Accessibility Options
I have lightly outlined some of the accessibility options in the gameplay above, but PAINTING VR has really made painting in VR accessible to everyone. With its ability to move the canvas, mixing pallets and easel and position them exactly where required, this is perfectly setup for anyone to take part.
If you have difficulty standing, or you struggle to hold your arm up high, twist your wrist a certain way etc. It just opens this up to everyone which is great. When a feature like this is included, it makes you think “well why wouldn’t they include that”, but there are so many titles that miss these basics, so nice touch OISOI!
It would be a real treat for those who are no longer able to stand in front of a canvas to reignite their passion of painting!
Conclusion
PAINTING VR is a whimsical and wonderfully realistic painting simulator that brings the joy of art to the virtual world. Despite the modest graphics, the detailed physics and intuitive mechanics make it a truly enchanting experience. There’s room for additional tools and environments, but even now, it’s a delightful journey into the world of virtual artistry.
As I’d hoped, I found the whole experience relaxing, and it really took me away to another place for a while. I did have a few issues with dropping brushes, but Im sure that was purely my fault and no issue with the game.
At £18.99 on Steam and £14.99 on the Quest store, PAINTING VR is a ticket to a magical world of creativity. Whether you’re an experienced artist or a curious novice, this game offers a relaxing and immersive escape into the realm of virtual painting.
Grab your virtual brush and let the colours fly!
GAMERHUB RATING: 4 (out of 5) JOYSTICKS
Thanks to OISOI and Press Engine for proving the game to review.
