Meccha Chameleon Review (PC)

I often wondered how Peta was able to paint himself as a mossy rock in The Hunger Games, despite having no real artistic experience outside of his native ability to decorate loaves of bread. I figured, if he could paint himself and somehow avoid unwanted confrontation with teenage hunters, then maybe I could do the same if push ever came to shove.

Meccha Chameleon, of all things, was able to grant me an opportunity to outshine Peta. Rather than having me decorate baked goods, however, it presented me with a different kind of artsy feat to conquer: to paint a white sack of gloop in the hopes of disguising it in a classic game of hide and seek. It didn’t tell me how to paint, or even how to interpret the world as a canvas with infinite creative possibilities. It just told me to find a hiding spot, grab a palette of paint, and blend. An hourglass would begin to loosen its grains of sand, and without giving me much time to contemplate the process, it would force me to lean into a Pablo Picasso persona that, to be honest, never really existed within the feeble mind of an idiotic individual who couldn’t so much as paint within the lines.

It didn’t come as too much of a surprise when the Seekers were able to sniff out my location without a brush to point them in the right direction. Frankly, I wasn’t an artist; I was a desperate man who easily folded under pressure. With time being of the essence, and with a handful of spots to choose from, I wasn’t able to produce a masterpiece in a short period of time. To my own amusement, though, it was never about making good art; it was about making art that was slightly better than the person adjacent to me. Like a sprint, I never had to be the fastest athlete on the track. I just had to be a little quicker than the guy behind me. The problem was, I couldn’t even run the whole nine yards, let alone paint.

The Seekers had a slightly easier job on their hands. In most cases, it would often fall to them to scan the environment, spot minor changes in the room, and to separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. Either way, the rules were simple across both sides of the fence: paint yourself well enough to pull the wool over your opponent’s eyes, or possess a third eye to help lift the veil on those who lack the artistic touch to blend in with their surroundings. It’s a simple concept, yet one that has its own distinct strengths, weirdly.

While the aim of the game isn’t much different from your typical hide and seek affair, it does come with its own unique twist. The hiding process, for example, allows you to both explore various settings and use a paintbrush to smother your entire body with all sorts of colors and patterns. If you spot a brick wall, then you can paint the bricks. If you find a painting, then you can complete the silhouette and make yourself a part of it. And honestly, the same rule applies to most of the experience. Simply, if you think you can paint a convincing image, then you might just stand a chance at fooling the Seeker long enough to claim the round.

The good news is that, contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to be Bob Ross to paint a compelling picture here. Given that Meccha Chameleon is, above all else, a comical PvP game that doesn’t ever take itself too seriously, you can quite literally stand still in a white room and pretend to be a sheet of paper. But, that isn’t the point of the experience. If there is a point to it, it’s to test whether or not you’re creative enough to conceal yourself in a world that harbors numerous ideas. It doesn’t have to be stupendous; it just needs to work. And even when it doesn’t go according to plan, it still provides a good opportunity to learn from your mistakes and laugh at your awful creations.

With a set amount of time to unleash your creative energy on a decently sized canvas, Meccha Chameleon grants you the chance to experiment with a lot of artsy ideas. Thanks to its in-game palette and intuitive UI, it’s also surprisingly easy to put pen to paper, too. With plenty of colors to adopt and handfuls of objects to interpret, you essentially have a solid choice of set pieces and creative designs to play with. Granted, the designs that you choose aren’t always the easiest to recreate, but that’s half the fun here. It’s the thought that counts, anyway.

There’s no denying the fact that Meccha Chameleon is a simple game with a gimmick. That said, it is a game that dares to step out of its comfort zone and embrace the easel from an entirely different perspective. Even with a lack of game modes and settings, it does manage to excel in its oddly creative form. It’s utterly ridiculous, for sure, but it’s also good for a quick giggle — and that counts for a lot here, truly.

Verdict

Meccha Chameleon illustrates the middle ground, somewhere between a classic renaissance painting and a toddler’s portrait, not with the intent to belittle the severe lack of artistic talent in certain individuals’ work, but to celebrate it in a way that makes the spectator giggle and grin from ear to ear. Oh, it still feels like a good old-fashioned game of hide and seek, but it also feels like a schoolyard game with a good enough twist to keep you entertained. And if there’s one thing that appeals to me more than anything in the PvP realm, it’s a well-needed lick of paint on an otherwise worn out canvas. Thankfully, Meccha Chameleon delivers that.

If you’re looking for a deduction game that opts to venture down the unconventional rabbit hole, then I’d suggest taking a chance on Meccha Chameleon the next time you’re itching for a canvas to splash a bit of paint on.