There has been a term used both with a negative and positive connotation when referring to games that focus on the core of exploring a small environment with no combat, some minimalist narrative, and specifically walking from interactable object to interactable object. That term is a Walking Sim. I understand some of the apprehension that some can feel towards playing these games, but when they hit their apex in 2012, they offered a shocking argument for video games as an artistic medium, and a radically different experience to that of the big developers at the time. This, for me, culminated in the release of What Remains of Edith Finch, which set a gold standard for the experience these games can offer and, at the time, one of the few games to genuinely break my heart and make me cry. Nothing came close to that, that is, until now in LushFoil Photography Sim.
Lushfoil Photography Sim, which was published by Annapurna Interactive, is, in its essence, something you can only get at the indie level, and an experimental experience that can easily go wrong. And yet, at no point does it. My time with this game was spent in sheer admiration for the well-crafted experience that managed to pay off at every single turn, every close-up, every landscape shot, and every short walk through nature. There is so much that the experience gets right, and yet I have no answer for how it broke me down in the way other experiences did. How it transported me to a time and a place I had long forgotten, but it did, which is an achievement I cannot overstate.
A Trip Around The World
Lushfoil Photography Sim does not have a story in a traditional sense, and yet forward progression felt both organic and meaningful in every sense of the word. You are dropped in a landscape from around the world with locations based in Italy, Japan, Iceland, and more, and asked to… Just explore… Which is simple enough. You are given a camera as you do so to take pictures of everything you see, and enough tools and training to at least feel comfortable in doing so. The tutorials are easy enough to find while exploring and even easier to follow, which is great, considering the main tools of mechanics are present in almost every other game through a photo mode, meaning this game could serve as a tutorial to bring your social media to the next level. Or it could just stay here as you enjoy to engrossing world around you.
Each stage of Lushfoil Photography Sim offers forward progression in the form of a photo board that you need to recreate with each successful snap, causing one of the photos to disappear till none are left. This might seem daunting, but the game understands without missing a beat that one-to-one recreations would be very hard and not at all fun, so you are allowed to take these photos, mostly matching the angle, with a lot of freedom to get the shot. This doesn’t end your fun in the level, as completion of the board often opens up a new area to explore and additional variants.
The screen fades to black, and suddenly the midday sun of Italy is replaced with a slowly setting sun. You reach the peak of a Tibetan mountain as the sun sets to fade out, and realize you are in a blizzard with the sky dark and angry. These shifts in dynamics often bring about a new photo board, more collectible to find, and honestly, a new sense of wonder in the level you might think you have reached the end of. These are just the simple shifts, but the game can get so much weirder and shocking if you keep going. I will not go into specifics, as they are things players should witness on their own to understand, but a moment in the dark of night on a Beach in Australia, blew my mind even after I thought Lushfoil Photography Sim had nothing left to show that I wouldn’t be prepared for. It didn’t stop there, twisting itself on its head either, which might be the biggest compliment I can give it.
All of this is accompanied by a zen soundtrack that encourages you to take your time and enjoy yourself. In parts, lo-fi, synthwave, and new-age with tranquility and vibrancy, it is both the perfect sound to explore with or just stop and try lining up the perfect shot with. It is also extremely nostalgic, throwing me back to places and times I had long since forgotten about, and honestly, thought I never would again until Lushfoil Photography Sim brought me back to them.
A Little Contrast
The biggest selling point for Lushfoil Photography Sim was the explorations that the trailers made clear, but before playing the game, I had no idea just how this would translate. The game has a multitude of stages, with the areas mentioned above only being a few, but the thing is, these stages are big, like really big! They are very easy to get lost in, but of all the games you could get lost in, this is the one that makes it a joy. For the most part, you traverse connecting some more open areas, but mainly identifiable places you learn to use as waypoints naturally, since the game doesn’t have a map. All these areas were lovingly created in Unreal Engine 5 by a solo developer, Matt Newell, adding to the majesty you will experience. There is some framerate dip, which has been an issue with Unreal Engine 5, but given the above statement of one developer, it is really hard to hold that against him, given how minimal it is.
In the first map, Lago di Braies in South Tyrol, Italy, you are dropped in the shadow of a snowcapped peak of a mountain along a lake, and just asked to explore. At first, these trails feel limited, most you walk keeps you on the path until you find a forest area you can cut between the trees. Soon, though, you realize that everything you’re seeing can be reached. The lake can be fully traversed around, from villas, to a church, to a forest along a river offshoot, to the base of that mountain. There is no right or wrong way to take in the world. The next is Fushimi Inari Taisha, Kyoto, Japan you start wandering stone stairways in the forest with Torii Gates leading the way. These seem simple enough till you reach the towering pagodas or city streets. There is so much packed into what should be simple that even returning to an area after time yielded new discoveries.
If that already seems like more than you would expect in a $15 game (yes, you read that right), the camera, which you will see the world through the lens of a lot, is fun as well. You start with a digital camera with aperture settings, contrast, and filters that allow you can photograph anything with settings that make these locations special to you. I would have liked to see a few more filters and options, it’s lacking a black & White option for instance (though you can get close through other settings), but there is enough there to not feel limited. I thought this was great since this would be my only tool, but nope, discovery of other tools like a double exposure camera, or even a drone, is part of the experience and adds new layers to exploring both the core level and its variations to expand just how you can experience this world.
One of the most interesting mechanics is the fast travel, which the game chooses to integrate into your photography. The pictures you take are saved in the digital library in the game, and then allow you to recall them. Using the specific settings of your photo as a fast travel location, you can recall it at any time to relocate with the exact view of that picture, it’s just that easy. This doesn’t need to be just the location you are in the world, as you can easily relocate to any of the places through this feature. This brings up the other issue I had in the whole of the game, with the SIM card holding a very limited amount of pictures in-game, meaning you will start deleting sooner rather than later.
Verdict
Lushfoil Photography Sim owns itself as an experience, but it has so much well-crafted gameplay as well. Whether you are simply walking the trails, getting lost in the beautifully crafted scenery, or capturing your own little slice of it to make your own, you can get lost in the moment here, in a way so few games let you. Even now, I am thinking about my little moments that captured me, like stumbling onto a small Japanese street, or watching the sunset on an Australian beach, knowing they are going to stay with me.
The game features a world that is always bigger than you expect it to be, that keeps adding depth long after you think you have it all figured out. It features more tools than you ever thought you are going to get to capture its many details. And, Lushfoil Photography Sim revels in your scrutinizing its every detail and every situation, having nothing to hide and so much to offer. This is a game you should be playing, and Matt Newell should feel Immense pride at what he created and the profound impact it can have on a person.
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Review For PlayStation 5, also available on Xbox Series, and PC
A code was provided by Annapurna Interactive for the purposes of this review.
Developer: Matt Newell
Publisher: Annapurna Interactive
Release Date: April 15th
PROS:
+Beautifully Crafter World
+Big areas with a lot to see
+Great Photography Mechanics
+A lot of depth as you unlock more
CONS:
-Sim card holds too few photos
