It should’ve been 2021 after I noticed a gameplay video from an aspiring developer go viral on social media. The clip reveals a Polaroid digital camera taking a snapshot of a 3D degree. Then the participant used the {photograph} to put a perspective shifting copy of the picture into the world. It captured my creativeness and I wasn’t the one one. After this prototype went viral, Matt Stark started working on making the sport a full expertise, now dubbed Viewfinder. Whereas Viewfinder has real moments of astonishment, the story feels extra like a hindrance than an extension of the spectacular gameplay. There’s some nice concepts at play right here, even when the ultimate supply left me feeling a bit blended on the entire.
Primarily based on the trailer or gameplay chances are you’ll be greatly surprised that Viewfinder has such an express story. Within the far future, you and your companion have stumbled upon a simulator, as soon as utilized by a bunch of famend scientific and artistic specialists. The objective is straightforward, discovering a machine that’s able to restoring the local weather and making the actual world hospitable once more. As you attempt to discover clues concerning the whereabouts of the machine, you’re assisted by an AI programmed by one of many scientists. There’s a number of audio logs, diaries and notes scattered across the ranges that will help you study extra concerning the creators of this world. However fairly frankly, all of them felt somewhat bit hole and compelled to me. Whereas it’s good that there’s an overarching cause and story for the participant to justify the exploration, the story simply isn’t advised that nicely. The twists could be seen coming a mile away and the characters themselves are by no means proven, making their journey really feel very distant. Not like a sport comparable to Portal, the place the truth that you’re being remoted is the purpose of worldbuilding and the story, right here you’re being bombarded with lore that didn’t intrigue or curiosity me.
Fortunately there’s the gameplay and that’s actually the place the sport shines. The thought of taking part in with perspective has been accomplished earlier than in video games, however Viewfinder makes this mechanic all its personal. Each time you discover or snap a photograph, the angle is retained. Platforms are constructed out of pillars, and you’ll rotate any image to make use of a column as a bridge, or make objects drop down on the bottom. It’s a mechanic that I discovered straightforward to know, however all the time difficult sufficient to implement. The sport may be very beneficiant with errors, permitting you to return in time to the purpose when the picture was taken or when it was positioned. This provides room for experimentation. Generally I’d drop myself from an edge into a photograph I’d simply taken to get my bearings and discover prospects for how you can use it to energy a teleporter and attain the exit. Every stage provides or combines new parts, typically feeling contemporary and difficult. Chances are you’ll discover a copier, permitting you to make copies of an already taken picture. Or needing to snap an image of your self in an effort to teleport to the place you used to face in relation to the digital camera. The sport is versatile in a means that lets you discover your individual options to issues, the very best quality of any puzzle sport for my part.
But, the Change model of Viewfinder feels a tad tough at instances. Even whereas taking part in on Change 2, quite a few glitches occurred comparable to photographs not loading in correctly, or audio dropping out. The sport solely runs at 30 FPS and might stutter or fall under that when a number of images are linked collectively. I additionally needed to regulate some settings in an effort to forestall some movement illness, which is uncommon for me. My largest gripe is that whereas the sport introduces a number of new parts to maintain issues contemporary, the repetition units in fairly rapidly. Generally nothing greater than taking pictures a single image could be sufficient to resolve a puzzle. Sometimes this occurred 5 instances in a row with a number of comparable puzzles. On this pacing and description I really feel that Viewfinder desires the story to hold the participant by, however that simply wasn’t compelling sufficient for me. At these factors I began to brute pressure my means by among the sport, which is a disgrace.
Viewfinder is a enjoyable puzzle sport slowed down by its ambitions. I beloved the best way during which the sport makes use of the gameplay to talk for itself. On the similar time, at any time when the characters began talking I used to be type of turned off by the expertise. The Nintendo Change model runs positive sufficient, however can have a little bit of a tough time with the framerate and loading of levels. For puzzle sport die-hards, particularly followers of Portal, The Talos Precept and Superliminal I’d advocate Viewfinder in a heartbeat. However should you’re hoping to search out one thing past that unbelievable viral video, I’m afraid that Viewfinder will be unable to alter that perspective.
