Art Mogul Review

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be an art dealer? The painstaking process of uncovering fakes and masterpieces, acquiring priceless collections, and driving up the values of classic paintings? Do you have the artistic eye required to be a world-renowned mogul of the arts? Wonder no longer! Brand new studio Funzai! takes on the challenge with a creative new simulation title called Art Mogul.

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Art Mogul is a unique HOG with an eye for the original.

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be an art dealer? The painstaking process of uncovering fakes and masterpieces, acquiring priceless collections, and driving up the values of classic paintings? Do you have the artistic eye required to be a world-renowned mogul of the arts? Wonder no longer! Brand new studio Funzai! takes on the challenge with a creative new simulation title called Art Mogul.

Right off the bat, Funzai! establishes itself as an innovative newcomer with an eye for the original. Art Mogul will start you off small but with the potential to take you around the world – all of which is dependent on your success as an art dealer. You’ll visit galleries guaranteed to produce original artworks, cafes with the potential to find masterpieces hidden among the imitations, and auction houses as they acquire rare classics. Even starting off small at the beginning, there’s plenty for you to do and manage from the get-go.

Art Mogul

One of the more interesting points of Art Mogul is that the game is very open and each play-through is unique. As you visit galleries, for example, you will find famous artworks that are guaranteed originals. In order to acquire the best purchase price, you can find various elements (or hidden objects) within the paintings. These elements are largely randomized, so you won’t be looking for the same things all the time. If you find all the objects, you can get a large discount on the painting. When you visit another gallery and decide to sell the painting, that gallery will specify whether or not it’s desirable. If it’s desirable, you can find more objects to boost the value, enticing that gallery into purchasing the painting for a higher price, and thus gaining maximum profit.

Dealings are not limited to galleries, however. Cafes and auction houses provide even more options. Cafes usually host skilled counterfeit artworks, which you can check against photos to see whether or not it’s authentic. If you can prove it’s a fake, you can both lower the price of the artwork and gain more renown as a dealer. If you discover it’s an original, you can purchase it for a much lower price than you could at a gallery or auction. The game doesn’t limit you here however: you can even choose to purchase counterfeit artworks and sell them to other cafes and galleries. It’s cheaper, but can also put your career at risk.

Auction houses are also unique in that they often acquire rare artworks. You can bid on these artworks, and as other dealers bid, you can quickly find objects shown at the bottom of the screen to “stun” them, preventing them from bidding further and thus acquiring the artwork for a much lower price. Do this unsuccessfully however, and you may end up paying more for the painting than it’s worth! Auction houses also host requests, asking for paintings with particular elements or objects. If you can find these paintings and bring them back, you can get outstanding financial rewards.

Art Mogul

Eventually you can also take out loans from banks or start a savings account to more easily manage your empire of art dealings. Gain more fame, and you’ll have the opportunity to start traveling to different parts of the world and expand your business. You can even start your own galleries and collections according to your personal taste!

Overall, Art Mogul is very innovative and gives you a lot to do. There are even further goals you can attempt to achieve as you rise in rank, and each of these goals can be upgraded further as you unlock them. Rank is measured in stars, and you can acquire them through your art dealings, but you can also lose them if you’re not careful!

Aside from some minor text issues with the game, the only real issue is that as you progress further in the game, no real new elements present themselves, and paintings will eventually start to repeat every so often which can start to seem a bit repetitive. It also lacks the real “bang” at the end, or any type of climax for that matter. Essentially, what you see from the start is exactly what you’ll get for the entire game. Yet, that being said, if you’re looking for something new in the world of hidden object simulations, Art Mogul could be just what you’re looking for.

The good

    The bad

      80 out of 100