Viewfinder

Viewfinder is the type of game that can be tough to describe, but is easily understood in motion. The puzzle game by Sad Owl Studios has you hold photos in a 3D space, and use the image to create new paths forward. A photo of a bridge can be made into a bridge you can walk across to cross an empty chasm, or a drawing of a road in the desert can give you a path to walk over to reach the other side. It plays with perspective and encourages you to experiment with a seemingly single-minded tool to fascinating results.

When John Walker covered it for Kotaku, he remarked about how its complexities brought about frustration, but those same frustrations spoke to its mind-bending strengths.

“I really hope the constant seesawing of these impressions conveys just how I experienced the game, alternately astonished by its creativity, and disheartened by its rough edges,” Walker wrote. “Viewfinder intrigues me, and I want to keep playing, except I keep staring at a complex level and all its variables and wondering if I have the willpower.”

— Kenneth Shepard

Playable on: PC, PlayStation 5

Rough average playtime: 3.5 hours