PlayStation Plus Just Added The Most Mindbending Puzzle Game
View to a thrill.
For nearly two decades now, gaming has been in a perpetual puzzle game golden era. Starting with 2007’s Portal, there’s been no shortage of creative and utterly mind-boggling games that ask the player to wrap their heads around a conundrum. From Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker and Blue Prince, to The Witness and Superliminal, it’s not far-fetched to say a majority of the genre’s best games have been released in the last couple of generations.
Even among these all-timer releases, Sad Owl Studios’ trippy 2023 game Viewfinder is as memorable as they come. And this unique take on perspective-based brain teasers is free this month on PlayStation Plus and is well worth any puzzle lover’s time.
Viewfinder takes place in a not-too-far-off future where Earth has been completely stripped of plant life, leaving all remaining living things doomed. A group of researchers helps create a simulation through which they hope to find a solution. In this simulated space, the player discovers they can make physical images, such as photocopies and polaroids, interactable. Soon afterward, they find a working Polaroid camera that lets them take the images they record and flip and contort them into tangible objects they can navigate in (virtual) reality.
If a player comes across a gap in a bridge, for example, they can snap a photo of the flat ground below them and hold the Polaroid up to the gap to create a walkable surface. Have a gate blocking your way? Take a picture of the sky, hold it up to the gate, and remove it from existence altogether. The name of the game is visual trickery, and no other game before or since has executed this idea in such an innovative way.
It’s nearly impossible to explain all of Viewfinder’s ideas in a few sentences. Each series of levels introduces a new wrinkle to the core concept, amping up the difficulty and the player’s understanding of the world ever so slightly. To go into any further detail would spoil much of the game’s many surprises. The painterly aesthetics and meditative music create a sense of ease that makes Viewfinder the perfect weekend morning game to play over a cup of coffee.
It’s a mentally engaging game, but not in an frustrating way. Viewfinder doesn’t try to stump the player at every step. In fact, it’s as easy-going as its soothing soundtrack. These perspective puzzles are challenging, but not frustratingly so. As a nice bonus, the whole thing can be completed in just six to eight hours.
From magic photocopiers to perspective-altering cameras, Viewfinder finds interesting ways to evolve its core formula.
Viewfinder is unlike any other puzzle game. Its optical illusions, gorgeous, dream-like visuals, and smooth, lo-fi soundtrack will keep you engaged until the credits roll. It’s a fantastic month for PlayStation Plus subscribers. Of the three games available, Viewfinder might be the most underrated gem in the bunch. If you’re a fan of puzzle games and relaxing video games, run to this cleverly designed indie as soon as possible.
