Viewfinder - Switch Review

Virtual reality is a technology that, at one stage, felt like a far-distant possibility, but with VR now a modern realisation, just how far can we take it? Viewfinder is a first-person puzzle game where you, as the nameless protagonist, can place and step into photographs. As you progress through the worlds crafted by code and artistic creativity, you’ll learn more about the creators’ reasonings, the outside world which led to its creation, and the moral ethics of it all.

The Good

Viewfinder’s primary mechanic is absolutely ingenious. The use of depth perception and being able to jump into photos creates a plethora of puzzle variety – the possibilities seemed almost endless. And as soon as you feel as though you’ve seen all the game could do, it throws in more mechanics, creating fascinating ways of looking at the puzzles and the worlds within those puzzles.

The story and lore are revealed primarily through old voice recordings from the worlds’ creators, as well as an artificially created cat named Cair who is surprisingly intellectual and your best friend who communicates to you from outside the simulation. With yourself playing a faceless, mute protagonist with no prior knowledge of either the inside or outside world, the progression feels wonderfully organic and continues to add twists and turns at a natural and comfortable pace.

TL;DR

• Ingenious gameplay mechanic
• Well-crafted and executed narrative

The Bad

If you’re not prone to motion sickness in video games, you could likely skip this bad point. However, I am, and while I can usually tolerate first-person games by going into the settings and tweaking a slider or two (which Viewfinder does do nicely), the Nintendo Switch version is a bit grainy and runs at a max 30 frames per second. 

You progress from one hub world to the next via a cable car and these hub worlds feel somewhat lacklustre. There are some little tidbits here and there that make the environments a tad interesting, but you ultimately find yourself looking for the next teleporter without taking much else in.

TL;DR

• Switch sacrifices make for increased motion sickness
• Lacklustre hub worlds

Final Score: 9/10

If my primary criticisms are nothing but lacklustre hub worlds and potential motion sickness that comes from standard performance one can expect for a Nintendo Switch 1 port, it goes to show how wonderful Viewfinder truly is. The primary selling point is so clear and apparent from the get-go, making Viewfinder a wonderfully charming and ingenious puzzle game for the ages.

Thank you for checking out our Viewfinder Switch review, thank you to Thunderful (via Plan of Attack) for providing the review code and thank you to our Patreon Backers for their ongoing support:

• Andrew Caluzzi (Inca Studios / Camped Out)
• Bel Cubitt
• Bobby Jack
• Jack Caven
• Nintendo Maniacs
• RedHero