Viewfinder

I absolutely loved this game. The story was compelling, the creativity needed to complete the game, everything. I also appreciated that the game kept adding new mechanics to keep it from getting stale. One thing I would like to note though, is that if you get motion sick you might want to take the game a little slower. I had to stop the first time I played because I was getting dizzy, it's akin to your first time in a VR headset. Otherwise great game, 5/5 stars.

Viewfinder is a game with a REALLY cool concept, but not the greatest execution of said concept. Viewfinder is all about slicing and generating world geometry in real time dressed up with taking pictures. Essentially, you're able to take a picture of any piece of geometry in each level, then place that geometry back in to the world anywhere you want. The execution of this specific aspect of the game is nothing short of amazing. It feels like magic to be doing this, and the studio behind it made some very clever choices to make this function flawlessly, fast, and still managed to make the world interesting. However, pretty much everything else about the game falls a bit short, and not just because the core concept is so good. Viewfinder is a puzzle game at its heart, but the puzzles just aren't that difficult. I beat the game and only every struggled to solve 2 short puzzles out of the 72 levels on offer (including the optional levels) and even those took me less than a minute to finally figure out. Bottom line, the majority of puzzles available in this game just aren't going to require too much brain power, and that's because there's only so much you can do with the core idea of cutting and pasting level pieces. The puzzles themselves often have really cool ideas, but they never really increase the difficulty of the level, and you also rarely see multiple puzzle ideas being used together in an interesting way. Bottom line, the puzzles are enjoyable, but they feel WAY too easy and end up making this a pretty darn short game. As for the game's story, I can't say I found it particularly compelling. Sometimes, simple is better with puzzles games. This game tries to introduce several characters post mortem, and introduce you as a hero attempting to save the world using ancient technology, but it really feels like a weird story to accompany this type of puzzle game, and since you, your partner, and the world you're trying to save are never expanded upon meaningfully, I don't know why you would care about any of this. Putting everything together, you've got a really concept in an otherwise slightly lack luster game. It isn't bad by any means, but it fails to reach the heights that other fantastic puzzles games have reached.

Very good game and very pretty too, but horrendous voice acting and a nonsensical story (oh a 3d puzzle game and it's a simulation? have I seen that somewhere) about climate change that doesn't have any connection to the 3d copypasting mechanic. Play it, just do yourself a favour and disable subtitles + mute voices.

This game epitomizes what is means to "play" - to delight in experimentation and laugh in delight at inventiveness and creativity. I haven't beat this yet but I'm having so much fun just messing around, seeing what I can do in the different levels, duplicating things, breaking things, pasting and repasting pictures over top of each other with various art styles, trying different camera filters. In terms of game play, this is like Portal Lite - some of the perception mechanics will stretch your brain a bit the first few times but once you get the hang of it, finding the solutions becomes second nature. And then it becomes much more fun to mess around, to see what you can do with the camera for example. I like trying to macguyver my way up to the top of every level - there's not really much on top of them, but it's fun to just see what I can do and where I can get to. I would heartily recommend this to anyone who likes lite puzzle games and I'm not even all the way through what the game has to offer. The achievements in this are especially well done if you like hunting for them because they nudge you towards experimentation. I try to do contactless with all the batteries now. Not because I have to, just because I CAN. Thanks devs! This is a great game!

I was feeling kind of meh about the game, but the final time-limited puzzle pushed the game into negative territory. Viewfinder around taking pictures and laying them as a part of the environment. The game looks decent and didn't need finangling with the settings. The puzzles ranged from easy to relatively tricky but mostly satisfying, but some puzzles required near-perfect shot taking with the camera and picture placement into the environment. Timing also became an element at one point, but nothing too complicated until the last level. The story is told through recorded gramophones and writing sprinkled around the levels, but those can be bypassed. However there are some lines that will play when you start the level where you listen to an operator helping you, or a virtual cat observing your progress. The story itself started out kind of simple and OK, but towards the end the player's face is smushed with themes spelled out and cringe-inducing forced lines like "How do you heal the world?" As a pure puzzle game Viewfinder would have been a careful recommendation by about a hair's width, but the final level just tried to force tension with it's tight 5 minute time-limit.

I thought that the puzzles were not challenging enough though. Definitely needs a sequel. get this on sale. took me around 4 hours to complete. Nice small game

So, I was liking the game because, even though the story is a pain, the mechanics are really interesting. Now, who was the genius that thought that changing a slow paced puzzler into a time limited platformer was a good idea? That was one of the most stupid ideas I have ever seen in a video game, and I've seem a lot of them! In the end I found a toggle to disable timed stages, but by the time the damage was done. Too little, too late.

DO NOT BUY! It was a great relaxing puzzle game right up until the end when it turned into a stressful, timed, platform jumper. Absolutely @#$%! horrible. Talk about being catfished. Ruined the game.

The lives you cross with, moments in a viewfinder, reflecting your time.

Slightly overrated and a little repetitive. But still a very original and a very good game.

As a tech demo - it is a masterpiece. Graphics are awesome. Story is... well... just turn the volume off and ignore it. The story is obviously made in post-production and absolutely irrelevant. Don't expect there to be puzzles. It is as simple as walking sim. If you like puzzles - play something else.

a miracle for both artistic and technical aspect, every time i thought "maybe this is the game rules" there is always another surprising way to surpass my expectation. Maybe this is what "meta game" is about. Not just breaking the 4th wall outward in traditional means, but also creating countless new "4th walls" inside the scene and going into them, all under the theme of photography.

this game is marvelous. The aspects of every related possible puzzles are putting into it, crafting a magnificent field of maze for the players to explore the world, get to know each characters and the story within, while processing through each puzzle. A short 3 hours game play really worth the time playing it. Although the price seems to be slightly higher, but not an issue if you buy it through sales, its totally worth it.

Good game but way too short and too easy.

It's a great concept an original idea. but it falls short when it comes to variety in action vs puzzles. or feeling a little stressful or threatened by your actions vs just cozy and relaxing all the time. Also, everything and everyone feels nice and passive and... lonely and forgetful it's like floating through a dream that will be forgotten.

tldr; Fun enough first person puzzle platformer with an inoffensive story tacked on. Would recommend. Stick it out till chapter 5 when it finally stretches its legs and lets you play with all your toys. Everything prior to Chapter 5 is a tutorial with forgettable story beats. Something about scientists using a faux-Matrix with time dilation to develop a weather gun and they start to turn into divas. There's a not-Cheshire Cat to say supportive little praises periodically and give ominous warnings. No reason to listen to any of the audio logs or read the scribblings on various notebooks. They probably vaguely hint at how to solve the puzzles but frankly, they're not tough enough to be necessary. I did pet the cat most of the time though. The chapter where you encounter optical illusions is trippy at first since you get no warning and then the whole level warps and distorts as you move around. Roll with it since it's kind of a smoke break among the tutorial levels. Once you have a timer, an inventory, and the camera, the game actually feels like a game and less a hipster asset tour with a gimmick. Haven't finished Chapter 5 yet, but if there's half a dozen more twisty turny levels like it afterward, I'd be overjoyed. The story/environments from what I've gleaned feels similar to bonelabs+portal but not as engaging as either. You're playing for the fun reality distorting camera, not the overbearing disembodied voice telling you to find yourself in the matrix. Needs more camera. More music. More mood/vibe/ambiance. Less faceless dialogue. More cat. Don't know why there's any characters beyond the player and the cat, to be honest.

Viewfinder is what happens when someone takes a chill pill, mixes it with brain-teasers, and adds a sprinkle of existential vibes—and then lets you warp reality with a Polaroid. Played for 6 hours. Achieved: Inner peace Mild confusion Several "aha!" moments Petting a cat (yes, really) The puzzles are clever but kind. They whisper “you got this” instead of screaming “git gud.” Nothing took me more than an hour, which means the devs clearly respect my attention span and snack schedule. The narrator? 10/10 soothing wisdom dispenser. I’d let them narrate my grocery shopping. Overall: a cozy, mind-bending experience with just enough challenge to keep your brain awake and just enough cats to keep your soul happy.

I loved this game. you might have to look at some tutorials (especially for the final level) because some of the ideas needed to pass are insane but the last 1-2 hours of the game are the best storytelling ive seen

Amazing game with a really good story along the way. The game play feels magically and at times is trippy and plays eye tricks on you.

Clever puzzle game that was really chill. Only thing I didn't like to much was the ending. Hope you could do a V2 or DLC with an alternative ending.

I love this game and i love puzzle games with stories that make you want to find every little text and audio between the characters. Be it sticky notes, voice recordings or otherwise. The puzzles were well made, the environments are gorgeous bits of architecture for the amount of space allowed and the photo mechanic is a wonderful concept. Distance gauging can be a little wonky but the rewinds more than make up for that in my opinion. The story crept up on me and i wasn't expecting the heartache in a particular characters voice. Overall a great game I'd give it a 7.5/10 only due to length otherwise its a 9/10 everywhere else.

Puzzles that take me back to the era of Myst, but with a crazy take on physics. Such a simple idea, to use photos to change the environment, but so well executed. I'm close to finishing, so a medium length game with a convoluted storyline in terms of what the history is, again a reminder of the old Myst games. Yes, you can pet the cat, and usually I'm not a big fan of cats, I'd take this one home. I would recommend it at its regular price, on sale it's even better.

I love just existing in this world. It's a work of art. Great puzzles, and decent enough story. The characters add to warm vibes. Just the right amount of collectibles and secrets

Played it for 30 mins currently, when i entered in the whole atmosphere of this game i knew its gonna be different. I saw about this game on YT and everything when it released probably, but when i started playing... I can't tell anyone anything about this game, i just wanna say 1 thing Whenever in life you feel you're lost or something like that. Just play it and try to experience, what these passionate devs have done. MINDBLOWN P.S. You will get teary and feel all kind of emotions maybe

A qualified positive review. The mechanics are unique, interesting and fun. The story is good but very emotionally heavy, more so than I expected from a puzzle game.

Viewfinder is a first-person puzzle game based which bases its gameplay around perception, not too unlike how Superliminal introduced perspective puzzles. Where as Viewfinder is more about how taking photographs and bringing them to life again as objects and geometry to manipulate the various puzzles in the game. The game's unique mechanic is about using photography to transform its levels, the seamlessness of which you can manipulate the world, and how you can easily rewind time, to undo mistakes, is really well done from a technical standpoint. Where the earlier puzzles have an element of perspective, similar in vein to Superliminal, manipulating the world so that you can reach different parts of it, using photographs taken of existing geometry in the game, and adding it back again in to the world. It's a novel design and really interesting early on, but also feels somewhat abandoned in later levels, as puzzles becomes more about changing perception, even veering off course a bit beyond the mid way through the game, where it starts introducing puzzles centred around colours, but then quickly abandons them again. Or the parts where it abandons the camera you use to manipulate things with. Though a critique towards the end, where it all should culminate mechanically, is that the game slaps a 5 min timer in your face, along side not being able to rewind the timer or even go back to the previous segment during this 5 min segment, which is needed, because you'll realise you need to bring objects from the previous segments with you towards the later segments. This sees you replaying the 5 min stage possibly a few times, because you need to undo one mistake part way through. That was just a frustrating experience and almost soured the entire game experience. The puzzles are presented via a hub world, where by you can enter the different puzzle worlds each one by one, as each offers different set pieces for you to solve before returning to the hub again, so in that sense the game isn't one long contiguous experience as such. And the puzzles are what draws you in, not the somewhat esoteric nonsense story which is served piece meal with some science babble jargon added. It's also delivered in part via different devices throughout the puzzle levels, which distracts you and takes you out of the mindspace of solving the puzzles at hand. It also doesn't summarise all the various audio logs at the end, leaving it overall without impact.

Short but fun! Viewfinder is a wonderfully creative puzzle game — relaxing, emotional, stressful, and leaving you with a glimpse of hope even though a difficult choice might make you question whether to keep going or step back. I finished it in about 3.2 hours, so while it’s amazing, I’d recommend picking it up on sale, since the full price of 24.99€ feels a bit steep for the length. Still, if you enjoy mind-bending puzzles and unique mechanics, it’s absolutely worth experiencing! Game time: First playthrough, 20/46 achievements unlocked.

The amazing and mind bending gameplay mechanics make this game exceptional. The camera mechanic is more than a gimmick and is used in many interesting ways. Although the game isn't difficult, there are situations where you need to think outside the box. Solving puzzles, while not hard, is rewarding. The story and characters seem to be there to fill the void, the game could have wored well without either. Still, this is a short, excellent game for anyone who likes interesting mechanics.

Viewfinder brings an novel puzzle experience with the ability restructure environments using its Polaroid camera system. While the game has an interesting premise, it struggles to go the distance. The puzzles are shallow, and the story is derivative, and the voice acting can be a bit grating at times. Regardless, I still recommend this game on account of it bringing in something new.

Short and sweet perspective puzzle game. Puzzles are short and on the easier side, although some require thinking out of the box. Takes about 4 - 6 hours to complete all levels. Didn't feel too invested in the story though. If you're okay paying whatever price for a puzzler as short as this, go for it!

Incredibly fun game. The puzzles arent super deep but they are unique and the visuals an mechanics are super unique!

A nice short puzzle game in the vain of portal 2, with the main mechanic of taking pictures of the world, and placing them in the world elsewhere. The game starts heavy on the spectacle, of the camera gimmick, and transitions smoothly to more proper puzzles. If you are a puzzle game expert like I am, you might find the puzzles easy and a little predictable; however I will say that the last world of puzzles are extremely creative, with the final challenge topping portal 1 and 2's ending. The structure of the game is similar to portal's 2 co-op campaign, where you have a hub with each level being made up of a few puzzles. There are also bonus puzzles if you wish to push yourself further. All of this took me 4 hours, but expect it to take a good 6-10 hours depending on your familiarity. There is a narrative, though it wasn't anything too special, I did enjoy the audio logs of the people who created the place, with the cat being an amazing companion to have on the journey. I found the narrative objective the player has to be counter productive to how one would actually solve the issue, as you are basically looking for an easy solution to a complicated real world problem. Puzzles 7/10 Narrative 5/10 Creativity in presentation 9/10

Viewfinder is perfect for people who are looking for hard puzzles. The solution is always unexpected and there aren’t many objects to help you in solving the level. The gameplay becomes richer and richer the more you advance. However it can be a little bit repetitive. What is more the graphics are very realistic and the story is exciting and touching but I was personally more interested in the puzzles. I haven’t got much to say, but my favorite thing were definitely the mechanics. They were varied and fun and the foto-placing mechanic is so great because it is just so seamless

super fun, lots of little easter eggs to find (i enjoyed seeing the glitch museum).

Mind bending. Charming. Rewarding. If you love games like Portal or Superliminal -- this is right your alley.

This is a great game that plays with perspective, Three Dimensional Space, and cuteness to form a fantastic puzzle game. Highly recommend, it's not a looooooong game, as a very capable puzzle player I finished it in about 5 hours; more if I decided to get all achievements (which I'm not obsessed with, so didn't).

🥇 Absolutely Brilliant – 100% Completed in 7 Hours 🥇 Viewfinder is a perfect balance of calm, creativity, and mind-bending moments. The game isn’t too short or too long, just the right length to stay fully engaged and amazed throughout. Every level is thoughtfully crafted — some easy, some that really make you think and each chapter brings in a fresh mechanic that keeps the experience feeling new. It starts simple but ends in pure, adrenaline-filled brilliance. I’m genuinely in awe. If you’re looking for a game to unwind and be amazed, this is it. 🫶

Well this made me cry. I'll try hard not to spoil the game: There's a lot of questions that are presented in this game; Where are we heading with climate change? What are the solutions to fix it? Is there a magic wand fix? ect. However; Viewfinder's real question is at the end of the game. Humanity, as of this review date: 06-2025, is making rapid advancements in AI technology. It's so fast, that we ourselves will have to ask a very important question soon. Viewfinder explores this question at the end, which is why the game made me feel sad as I didn't have a choice. It's also why i recommend it.

Mind-bendy in the best of ways. I had a lot of head-scratchy moments but it was never frustrating or disheartening. I had a lot of fun figuring these puzzles out, and checking out every available little secret I could. If you liked Superliminal, you'll love this.

Viewfinder is a mind bending puzzle game, told through abstract spaces and photographs. Pretty visuals, complex puzzles that require you to really think outside the box and common perspective to solve. Decently challenging, with a thought provoking story line. I enjoyed it, but it didn't *hold* my attention, I put it down several times before finally finishing it.

This is a very unique puzzle game and the gimmicks are fun. If you like relaxed, not very hard logic games and like the artstyle then definitely pick this one up. As for the story and voice acting, I had to mute it and turn off subtitles because it really doesn't fit. Thankfully doing so doesn't really affect the game.

portal vibes, puzzles are a bit on the easier side and theres no such humor. cryptic story has the good feels ending

Really cool game, really fun mechanics too, would recommend to anybody

Fun twist to a pretty calm puzzle game. The voice acting of the protagonist and her colleague is somewhat grating, though you hear it less and less as the game goes on. Its also quite a short game. Going for the 100% achievement won't prolong the game time much either. If you enjoy puzzle games and find this on special, give it a go.

Good game, unexpected and surprising levels. No impossible puzzles, game offers help if needed

Excellent puzzles, super creative and with complementing visuals. There is a cat, you can pet it, thumbs up from me.

beautiful game amazing story graphics are beautiful i will say its a bit expensive but it was an experience 10/10 i love it

Mind-bending puzzles and a Deep and sad story. One of the best games I've ever player 10/10.

Atmosphere and the programming part of the game is that I'm shocked about, made this truly unique for the people who likes to play some puzzles and room around while doing them. Magnificent gameplay! 9/10

It's a very fun game, the graphics are still nice looking on the lowest settings. It's quite a detailed game and full of adventure. Honestly would recommend.