I think this review is going to sound a bit negative, so the first thing I want to make clear is that I don’t think Viewfinder is a bad game, I just think its been massively overrated by some of the reviews and awards.

While the main gameplay mechanic of using photographs to rewrite parts of the environment is unique, the actual puzzle design is very basic. Most of the solutions are completely obvious, especially for an experienced puzzle gamer like myself.

Need to get from platform A to platform B, but they’re separated by a bottomless pit? Take a photo of a wall and use it to create a bridge. Button needs to be powered by 2 batteries but you’ve only got 1? Take a photo of the battery to create a copy. Exit teleporter is upside down on the ceiling? Take a photo, rotate it 180 degrees and place it on the floor.

Even though you have the freedom to place photos anywhere, the simplest option is usually correct. And there are a couple of ways that the puzzle design prevents the player from doing anything really creative.

Most puzzles give you a limited amount of film, which restricts how many photos you can take (usually 1 to 5 photos per puzzle). Meanwhile, the exit teleporters are usually powered by a switch which is connected by a long wire, and if you break the connection, it won’t work anymore. So you’ll either have to stand in a specific place to ensure that everything you need fits into the photo frame, or place a photo in a specific position to avoid breaking something important.

Later puzzles introduce a few new mechanics. Blue coloured objects are fixed in place, and can’t be copied or overwritten by photos. Cameras which operate on a timer allow the player to take a photo of themselves, which can then be used to place yourself past obstacles. And some cameras destroy what you take a photo of, effectively changing the “copy and paste” mechanic to “cut and paste”.

But because Viewfinder is really short, none of these mechanics are ever explored fully or combined together in really complex puzzles. It only took me 4 hours to complete the main story, and I’ve just got 3 more optional puzzles to solve. This feels like the first half of a really good game.

This is also a rare example of a game that would actually be better without the story. There’s no proper introduction, so I have no idea who the characters are or what they’re actually trying to achieve by solving the puzzles, while the dialogue and voice acting is kind of annoying.

I think this review is going to sound a bit negative, so the first thing I want to make clear is that I don’t think Viewfinder is a bad game, I just think its been massively overrated by some of the reviews and awards. While the main gameplay mechanic of using photographs to rewrite parts of the environment is unique, the actual puzzle design is very basic. Most of the solutions are completely obvious, especially for an experienced puzzle gamer like myself. Need to get from platform A to platform B, but they’re separated by a bottomless pit? Take a photo of a wall and use it to create a bridge. Button needs to be powered by 2 batteries but you’ve only got 1? Take a photo of the battery to create a copy. Exit teleporter is upside down on the ceiling? Take a photo, rotate it 180 degrees and place it on the floor. Even though you have the freedom to place photos anywhere, the simplest option is usually correct. And there are a couple of ways that the puzzle design prevents the player from doing anything really creative. Most puzzles give you a limited amount of film, which restricts how many photos you can take (usually 1 to 5 photos per puzzle). Meanwhile, the exit teleporters are usually powered by a switch which is connected by a long wire, and if you break the connection, it won’t work anymore. So you’ll either have to stand in a specific place to ensure that everything you need fits into the photo frame, or place a photo in a specific position to avoid breaking something important. Later puzzles introduce a few new mechanics. Blue coloured objects are fixed in place, and can’t be copied or overwritten by photos. Cameras which operate on a timer allow the player to take a photo of themselves, which can then be used to place yourself past obstacles. And some cameras destroy what you take a photo of, effectively changing the “copy and paste” mechanic to “cut and paste”. But because Viewfinder is really short, none of these mechanics are ever explored fully or combined together in really complex puzzles. It only took me 4 hours to complete the main story, and I’ve just got 3 more optional puzzles to solve. This feels like the first half of a really good game. This is also a rare example of a game that would actually be better without the story. There’s no proper introduction, so I have no idea who the characters are or what they’re actually trying to achieve by solving the puzzles, while the dialogue and voice acting is kind of annoying.