Viewfinder review: puzzle game heaven in the vein of Portal

Perhaps, like me, there are people around you who don’t know much about video games. Perhaps, after showing interest in what you’re playing, they may try to hand you the controller from time to time. Suddenly a problem arises. Mainly camera control. They don’t know how to see where they should see while moving where they should move. The camera shoots up into the sky, and then suddenly into the ground as well. They ask for help, but you try to explain by thinking of metaphors. Um, is the left stick the main body? And the right stick is the head? This doesn’t help. They give you the controller back. In your hands, the game looks cinematic again, not an arthouse movie meant to induce motion sickness.

After a while, the basics of controlling first-person games like shooters will feel as natural as riding a bike. It’s not something you actively think about. (Admittedly not something I mentioned in the Polygon.com introduction.) But while playing viewfinderthe first game from developer Sad Owl Studios, was all I could think about detailing first-person camera controls.

viewfinder is a first-person puzzle game where you place a photo over the existing terrain to change it and reach the exit of the stage.

Like all good puzzle games, this one starts out simple. You will be given a pre-made photo of a bridge and guided in the direction of potential bridge locations. I picked up the photo and roughly lined it up where I wanted it to go, and voila, I had a real bridge before I changed it. Exit the picture and enter a traversable world at the touch of a button. button.

Image: Sad Owl Studios/Thunderful via Polygon

Image: Sad Owl Studios/Thunderful via Polygon

Immediately, of course viewfinder Complications occur. You will need a battery for the exit. It’s very easy. Here is a photo of the battery. Place it in the landscape and it will be yours. Oh, you’ll need two batteries. easy. Conveniently located copiers make photocopies on an equally convenient single battery. Eventually you will get the camera and it will be unlocked. viewfinderTrue Possibilities: The game focuses on the act of observing, looking for what needs to be replicated in order to continue.

[Ed. note: Early game spoilers for Viewfinder follow.]

compared to Portal Especially when the game shows the narrative hand. Early on, you create errors in your simulation that inadvertently reveal your actual settings. Gone are the cozy places dotted with sofas and snacks. Extracted from the simulation, you find yourself wandering through a cold, brutal structure overlooking a city skyline drenched in red, dusty air. The game is set in a future where the Earth is suffering from the effects of climate change. For this East Coast writer, the choice of reddish skies was made even more daunting by the ongoing wildfires in Canada and their downstream effects on air quality across the East Coast.I remember the images from that time. The San Francisco sky in 2020 turned orange. Here’s what we can say about this: viewfinder It’s science fiction, but it’s closer to realism than you might think.

Image: Sad Owl Studios/Thunderful via Polygon

You quickly solve the problem that kicked you out of the simulation and return to the world of photography and bridges. However, I’m not doing VR for escapist reasons. Somewhere in this digital world, they say, there is a solution to the climate crisis.

It’s a pretty dramatic setting, augmented by tons of notes to read and audiologs to listen to, as is typical for games of this kind. There is also a Cheshire-like talking cat named Kate who will chat with you throughout your journey. (Yes, you can pet cats.) It’s a fascinating enough story shell, but it was the puzzles that kept me going all the way through.

Image: Sad Owl Studios/Thunderful via Polygon

If Portal to make an opening across the world viewfinder It’s about creating a world to pass through the opening. At the end of the game, the level goes far beyond the simple “use a picture of a bridge to build a bridge” level and reaches more complex and satisfying realms.

I stumbled on one puzzle involving a sphere, unphotographable terrain, and a slope. I stared at it for 10 minutes, utterly bewildered, until finally a light bulb went out in my head and I laughed. Without spoiling anything, this solution included fixing the problem that would normally be misplaced photos. This is a clever game that teaches you how to play not only from your successes, but also from your failures.

Image: Sad Owl Studios/Thunderful via Polygon

viewfinder It makes me want more. I had high hopes that an additional challenge level might be unlocked as the credits rolled, but alas, I’ve done all I could. Still, I suspect there’s something more hidden in the game. Other than the early necessary simulation break of discovering the red-sky world you call home, I found another opportunity to break through the intended boundaries of the game. What I encountered was strange, magical and physically impossible. It gave me a big silly laugh. Immediately it made me want to go back and play it all again. I’m sure there are other such geometries waiting to ask me. this? ”

viewfinder It’s puzzle game heaven. Once you’ve seen a Polaroid, you’ll never look at it the same way again.

viewfinder will release on PlayStation 5 and Windows PC on July 18th. This game was reviewed on PC using a pre-release download code provided by Thunderful. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not affect editorial content, but Vox Media may earn a commission on products purchased via affiliate links.discoverable Additional information on Polygon’s Ethics Policy can be found here.