Viewfinder

 PC
Viewfinder Image
Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 31 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 33 Ratings

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  • Summary: Challenge perception, redefine reality, and reshape the world around you with an instant camera. Viewfinder is a new single player game offering gamers hours of interesting and fun experiences while uncovering the mysteries left behind.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 31
  3. Negative: 0 out of 31
  1. Gaming Age
    Aug 18, 2023
    100
    It really is a remarkable game, and in a year that’s been blessed with way more than its fair share of standout games, I’d put Viewfinder on the same level as any of them.
  2. Gamereactor UK
    Jul 17, 2023
    90
    This is a truly fantastic puzzle game, one that stands out in a saturated genre and leaves the player with a sense of wonder and amazement after every level.
  3. Gameblog.fr
    Jul 23, 2023
    90
    Viewfinder seems harmless, like a little game that you'd happily put on the pile of cool games you'd like to play some day. But that would be a mistake. It offers much more than a simple puzzle game experience. Viewfinder is innovative in more ways than one. It tries to get a number of messages across, it tries things, it leaves us free while keeping us captivated by its universe, and it offers a fascinating visual journey to anyone willing to look beyond what the main art direction suggests. Viewfinder isn't just a fun game, it's a real little nugget. No matter how you look at it.
  4. Oyungezer
    Jul 18, 2023
    85
    Viewfinder satisfied my recent puzzle curiosity and my search for new mechanics. Perfectly executed.
  5. Screen Rant
    Aug 2, 2023
    80
    Viewfinder is a unique puzzle game that both experienced problem solvers and fresh-faced novices will find enjoyment in. Filled with several hours of fun and plenty of hidden treasures to reveal, there is no doubt that Viewfinder is setting a new standard for creativity and innovation that should raise the bar of players' expectations out of games adjacent to it in the genre.
  6. Multiplayer.it
    Jul 17, 2023
    80
    At its debut, the small Scottish team Sad Owl Studios hit the mark by offering a puzzle game like rarely seen before, where the solution to each enigma is a point of view. The decision to focus the entire formula on photographs and perspective exposed Viewfinder to various risks, but the studio managed to create a puzzle-based adventure with very few flaws, all of which revolve around its short duration and the difficulty of the puzzles, which only in some cases truly put us to the test.
  7. Eurogamer Germany
    Jul 20, 2023
    60
    Unfortunately, the game itself is too simplistic and hardly challenging, but the concept is incredibly fascinating from start to finish.

See all 33 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. ChiIIaoi
    Jul 19, 2023
    10
    Review só pra lembrar a nota que eu dei pro jogo:
    Jogo mt bom, agora só escrever pra passar dos 75 caracteres.
  2. zorranco
    Aug 2, 2023
    10
    What to say...First, in the year of bad ports and bad optimized games, this one is technically PERFECT. Graphically minimalistic, yetWhat to say...First, in the year of bad ports and bad optimized games, this one is technically PERFECT. Graphically minimalistic, yet wonderful, and well optimized...And, for once, you can throw the obnoxious TAA and DLSS trhu the window and play in a GLORIOUS MSAA 4x (up to 8x if u want) for an exceptional image quality.
    About the gameplay, the game starts almost as a walking simulator but it builds up to a quite challenging puzzles. The idea is absolutely original and perfectly executed. This skyrockets the game to the olympus of the best puzzle games of the last decade, along with Portal, Thalos Principle, The Entropy center and Superliminal. Buy it.    … Expand
  4. Skepller
    Sep 8, 2023
    10
    Amazing game!

    A really refreshing take on visual puzzles, if you like puzzle games, there's honestly nothing like it!
  5. PhoneTheo
    Aug 8, 2023
    9
    Viewfinder is an original indie game that I really liked. Its photo mechanics are very successful and offer a rewarding experience. AlthoughViewfinder is an original indie game that I really liked. Its photo mechanics are very successful and offer a rewarding experience. Although its story does not stand out, I consider that for its price, it is a good option for those who enjoy indie experiences.

    I would choose 8.5 instead of 9 but i cannot.    … Expand
  6. Almartan
    Jul 19, 2023
    9
    Viewfinder is an original indie game that I really liked. Its photo mechanics are very successful and offer a rewarding experience. AlthoughViewfinder is an original indie game that I really liked. Its photo mechanics are very successful and offer a rewarding experience. Although its story does not stand out, I consider that for its price, it is a good option for those who enjoy indie experiences.

    I would choose 8.5 instead of 9 but i cannot.    … Expand
  7. asdgasgea
    Sep 3, 2023
    9
    ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ
  8. infraRecon
    Jul 19, 2023
    8
    My mind is blown, being a beginner indi-developer and noticing all the little tricks this game does to your mind is really fun, this game isMy mind is blown, being a beginner indi-developer and noticing all the little tricks this game does to your mind is really fun, this game is cool, Zen and if you carry on playing, about towards the middle you might be invested in the little story it offers. So far, ViewFinder for 2023 is my indie game of the year.
    While simple, it uses a mechanic that is executed in such a creative way, while yes there aren't really any action-packed scenes, this is a game that you play and unravel with your mind, solving and exploring perspective challenges.
    If you haven't played the demo first like me then it starts strong, for those that have, the rest of the game is good, with some challenging sections that required me to just sit in my chair and review what I can do.

    Other than that The graphics are, well, Zen-like, it looks great. The devs put those extra visual details which add to the believability of the game, each hub world has something to offer to bend and twist your mind and perspective of reality. I am satisfied with this game, maybe sometimes a bit frustrated because of the challenges, I mean they are challenges so that is forgiven.
    A game like this in an industry of RPG, microtransactions, and laziness, View Find is definitely a breath of fresh air.
    Sometimes you just need to chill out and explore a world that messes around with your mind on each encounter.

    As for the length, it's really up to you how fast you finish and process puzzles, this isn't a game for everyone, especially for those that don't understand puzzle-based exploration, I mean if I gave this to my Cousin to play he will probably not be interested or let alone be able to finish a puzzle because there is simply no action involving killing, guns etc.
    What is it with gaming these days, not everything has to be RPG, Looter Shooter.

    Ratings:
    Graphics & Visuals: 10/10, Very Nice, Zen-like.
    Gameplay: 8/10, A bit lacking but enough for it to be interesting.
    Puzzles: 9/10, Good USe of Puzzles, A sequel or expansion should blow this outta the water.
    Characters: 7/10, You don't really see any characters besides Alice in Wonderland Cat (CAIT, which yes you can pet (Kinda)). hmm, CAIT, I see the world Play here.
    Dialogue: 7/10, Interesting enough.
    Music: 7/10, Inner peace, Slight depression, but Peaceful, also the audio design is passable.

    Now performance,
    I am Running a PC Rig with a
    - AMD Ryzen 5 3600
    - Nvidia Geforce RTX 3060 12G
    - 16GB RAM
    I ran this on HDD

    It performed well at 1080p, and 1440p @ 60fps, with little to no FPs dips, But at 4K, the game can dip from 60fps to 30fps or worse, I would say that this game is not optimized for 4K 60fps gaming.
    I experienced 0 Crashes, 0 Bugs, and I'm impressed. This is a simple game, so I don't expect too much from it performance-wise.
    Oh, it also has gamepad support which many games today don't have, or utilized properly. I just connect my PS5 controller to Bluetooth and I was off. These days its opens Steam overlay because the devs didn't bother to set Gamepad support for different controllers.

    Anyway, this game is an 8/10 for me, I like this.
    But why 8/10? If it did everything it could, shouldn't it be higher, well...
    It mainly has to do with some gameplay features.
    let me name a few:
    - Map (Didn't notice one, there's a small amount of backtracking sometimes when solving a puzzle or moving around a hub area)
    - Some UI Icons (The hub area needed some Icons or something)
    - A Run Button (Let me run free)
    - How about some feet (In any FPS game I look for feet or something)
    - VR mode (I'm surprised this doesn't have a VR mode, then again I've developed with Unity in VR so It's Understandable)

    If I missed some Features or didn't see them, that's on me but don't worry these are not huge problems, the game ultimately is well packaged in its presentation. (I'll update this if I missed something).

    I am a picky gamer that requires those things for 10/10, The game just needed some extra bloat that's all. Besides things not being in the game, this is a welcome entry into Puzzle based gaming. Personally, I think that people should at least play the opening level right up to the levels with optical illusions, but the rest of the levels are well thought out and great too. It's really up to you whether you'll give this a shot like I did.

    So View Finder is a game that screws with your mind with some playful mechanics, walking around while listening to music and Sometimes skipping Dialogue.
    Yeah, it's slow, calm and mind-blowing in some parts. The beginning though is a good intro into the possibilities that this type of perspective of creativity can do.

    Alright, That's my review, Devs did a good job with this one.    … Expand

See all 9 User Reviews

Awards & Rankings

40
#40 Best PC Game of 2023
86
#86 Most Discussed PC Game of 2023

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