The Gray Painter

Hosted Games

Contains adsIn-app purchases

About this game

In this unsettling, mature story with a set main character, help average office worker Ash gain the confidence to make new friends in an exclusive nude painting group. "The Gray Painter" is a 145,000-word, 20-chapter interactive novel. It’s entirely text-based, fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.

You can select Ash’s sex, gender, and orientation. Ash begins the game in a relationship with Harper, a gender-selectable partner. The option to break up with Harper becomes available in Chapter 9.

"The Gray Painter" depicts drug and alcohol use, smoking, inferred suicide, explicit sexual content, horror, and high-impact violence and gore. The story also features themes of body insecurity and dysmorphia. This is a story for adults aged 18 and up.
* Play as straight, gay, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, or all of the above.
* Meet seven complex, flawed, human characters.
* Immerse yourself in the sprawl of New Jersey in 2012.
* Turn a mild-mannered accountant towards a life of sex, drugs, and rock & roll.
* There are no secrets in this game. And if there were any secrets, it's best not to look for them.

Ratings and reviews

Very unique experience. I really like all the characters, especially Harper. Also, definitely play it a second time. The second playthrough feels more like an extension of the first, and that's where it all really comes together. It's also fun reading the change in dialogue as Ash grows and understands more overtime.

I don't get what this game is trying to do or be. I've played it twice and while I understand the plot the execution just seems... Off. The whole thing is so jumbled and distorted and misleading I felt like I was getting a headache playing it. I get that's the point, but it wasn't for me. It was like watching a French arthouse film where seemingly nothing happens and you leave the theater feeling disgruntled and unsettled.

It was an amazing experience playing this. The first run was already a very nice read and out of the ordinary, but it's the first game that I played that has a second run with more options because it assumes you know more. It felt like time travel and enjoyed a lot pushing through and finding the true ending.

What’s new

You can now choose a font in the Settings menu. Switch to Helvetica for crisp sans-serif text, or try the OpenDyslexic font, designed against some common symptoms of dyslexia. If you enjoy "The Gray Painter", please leave us a written review. It really helps!