I love puzzles in games as much as the next guy, but even I have to acknowledge some lack of originality. Case in point: I think we’ve had enough “move mirrors around to direct a beam of light” puzzles in games by now. But Viewfinder, the 2023 debut from Sad Owl Studios, stands apart with challenges that bend the mind in original ways. Now, more players can enjoy the perspective-shifting game as Viewfinder makes its way to Xbox Series X today.
Viewfinder’s puzzles are all about modifying the world around you. Most of the game revolves around utilizing a camera to take pictures of its levels, and then bringing those pictures to life in the world and transforming them in perspective-bending ways. You’ll take a picture of the environment, or pick up a photo of something lying around, and then materialize that photo in the world in order to manipulate the level around you.
The puzzles begin easily enough before gradually ramping up in difficulty as you master Viewfinder’s mechanics. One of its early puzzles has you orienting a photograph of a side of a building to create a ramp for your character to walk across. Later on, you’ll have to take your own photographs of the levels to then place in the world and create pathways through them.
Layers get added over time, like having to collect batteries to power teleporters. Sometimes it’s as easy as taking a picture of a battery to clone it; other times you’ll have to figure out how to use your camera and knowledge of Viewfinder’s mechanics to free batteries from cages.
Some of my favorite late-game puzzles explore using soundwaves to power teleporters. I have to figure out how to leverage my camera’s film (different levels allow you to take different amounts of photographs) to get a sound from one area of the level to where the teleporter is located. Other levels feel more like mazes than puzzles to solve. An early optional level sends you through a series of labyrinthine areas to attempt to find a collectible (and an exit). There is great variety in the challenges that Viewfinder throws your way throughout its five-hour runtime, and the game lends itself both to short gaming sessions or one long binge, whichever you prefer.
While puzzle solving is the appeal of Viewfinder, and what it does best, there is a story present concerning climate change and the gradual destruction of our world. Your player character sifts through these shifting simulations in search of research that could potentially help bring plant life back to the real world. Notes and audio recordings litter the levels from past researchers, giving Viewfinder unexpected depth to its lore.
Viewfinder is puzzle game heaven. It’s out now on Xbox Series X as well as PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Windows PC. Nintendo Switch players will have to wait just a bit longer, though. Publisher Thunderful Publishing plans to port Viewfinder to Switch “this winter,” according to a news release. As I played the game entirely on my Steam Deck, Viewfinder works wonderfully as a handheld game and should be a great addition to the Switch’s library of indie games.
