Viewfinder

I finished this game and solved all the additional puzzles. This is not something I would say of a game that I didn't find interesting or entertaining. I don't want to recommend against this game in general. I'm leaving a negative review because I wouldn't recommend it to myself. Because it is not what I imagined when I saw the trailer. I thought the mechanics in the trailer were very promising, but I assumed the game would start building upon them. I imagined one could make some seriously reality shattering puzzles with that. But no, the game just keeps introducing new mechanics all the time, with the same narrow scope. I feel like I went to a restaurant and they just kept bringing me bread. It was really good bread, I enjoyed it. But I didn't have a meal.

So..... consider this a lukewarm recommendation, worth a look only at a 70% discount or higher. Viewfinder is the epitome of marketability. Anyone can watch a few seconds of a trailer and be impressed and intrigued. Beyond that "whooa!" first impression, the game is all sizzle and no steak. It's short. The worldbuilding is dead on arrival. As a silent protagonist, you quickly realize that you're in a simulated world and that the people who created it were working on some kind of problem. You seem to be here to try to piece together what they were doing. There's one 'voice' who talks to you from outside the simulation, and then notes and recordings of three people who used to spend time within the simulation and who built it, and then some sort of AI that lives in the simulation. All of this falls flat on its face. It's dull & uninspired & zombies along following well-worn videogame conventions. I began feeling sorry for the voiceactors who worked on this, which tells you a lot. Some OK puzzles, some cool tech. Over-delivers on possibility and under-delivers on cleveness and fun. In a way, you are buying the pitch for a game they didn't make.

Wow didn’t expect to get all emotional playing this, the ending really got me. It’s a very fun chill game with a deep plot. The game mechanics are so unique. Plus you can pet a cat what more could you ask for!?

If you like puzzle games at all I see no reason why you wouldn't enjoy this absolute gem. Gameplay never got old or stale and the atmosphere/music are so calming. Would recommend to anyone, but double recommend for puzzle fans!!

I wanted to love this. Weirdly falls short in the most important way. Like the core mechanic is so neat and it feels like there was so much to explore with its mechanics but ultimately never really fulfills that promise. It feels a little bit like they were holding back, like they didn't want to make it too challenging or didn't have enough confidence in their ability to design good puzzles. For all that, the game never stops feeling like a tech demo. A very very very cool tech demo though.

Playing this while it's 40°C definitely makes the whole "the real world is too hot to live in" aspect of the game real RELATABLE.

I really enjoyed my time with Viewfinder. Based on perspective illusions and the visual perception of our surroundings, the puzzles reminded me of Superliminal. I found them to be very diverse and creative, and I had a lot of fun reshaping the game world with the photographs I found or took with the in-game camera. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3752796128 There is also a lot of optional content, hidden areas to explore and tons of amusing artwork to look at or manipulate. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3763104755 The game ends with a timed level. But you can disable the timer directly from the main menu, or the game will offer you to disable the timer after you failed the level a few times. Plotwise, I admit that I didnt understand everything, especially the ending. The plot is actually quite complex and becomes emotional toward the end. The story is told through various audio recordings and documents scattered throughout the game, occasional phone calls from a colleague and comments from Cait, the virtual cat inhabiting the game world. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3763110821 [spoiler]From what I understood, due to global warming, Earth's ecosystem is failing and forests are gone. You, the player, are sent into a simulation that was previously built by 4 scientists. They used it as a testing ground to conduct various experiments while looking for a fix to restore the planet's failing climate. You get to explore the different testing areas that once belonged to each scientist. Each area introduces new mechanics and is filled with puzzles you must solve in order to progress the story.[/spoiler] While I greatly enjoyed solving the game puzzles, I found the plot somewhat disconnected from the purpose behind the puzzles. I think the link between the puzzles and the story was handled much better in other games, such as The Talos Principle. All in all, if you like puzzle games, you should definitely play this.

An ingenious concept for a puzzler: building and warping and slicing geometry, capturing structures in photos, turning things on their head, rewinding time, rewriting rules. Its just a shame that when the puzzles really start to cook, the game ends. So much more could be done with these brain-teasing mechanics. Bring on the sequel!

Геймплей и стилистика мне понравились, рекомендую.

This is a FANTASTIC game that you can play with your kids of almost any age They loved it and even tried themselves for hours its a simple game in the sense of the controls but it gets more and more intense on your eyes and your ability to understand what you're seeing. its a hoot