Steam Puzzle Fest kicks off as we speak, providing tons of reductions on all your favorite puzzle video games. Actually, although, among the best experiences you’ll be able to have this Steam Puzzle Fest week is by downloading the free demo for upcoming puzzler Viewfinder. Developed by Unhappy Owl Studios, I had a sneaky peek at this at GDC final month and was correctly blown away by it. It would appear to be simply one other Witness-like, however do not be fooled. There are some actual good concepts in right here, and I dare you to not go ‘OooOOOooooOOOooooh’ while you see the in-game images you’re taking come to life in all their full, 3D explorable glory.
As you’ll be able to see within the trailer above, Viewfinder is all about perspective. For causes, you possess a neat little polaroid digital camera whose images allow you to rework the panorama round you wherever you plonk them down. You’ll be able to then go into these images as in the event that they’re a part of the extent, and you will be slapping ’em down in every single place to unravel puzzles, traverse its summary landscapes and extra over the course of the demo.
What I cherished finest about my time with Viewfinder, although, was how every picture’s particular person artwork fashion was translated into an explorable, 3D area. Making use of an image of a watercolour portray, for instance, will probably be rework the area into a stunning haze of fussy brushstrokes, letting you stroll round it as if it had been a correct location. There are additionally sketch drawings to oogle at, transporting you to scenes made up of lovely cross-hatching pencil work, and even the odd 8-bit online game panorama to admire as nicely.
You can too rotate images the other way up, inflicting any objects in them to fall to the bottom in entrance of you – a useful trick if it’s good to attain one thing that is in any other case out of your bounce vary. It is actual intelligent stuff, and better of all, there is a gray, fluffy cat that is seemingly made out of spaghetti that accompanies you in your journey as nicely. Take that, The Witness.
Viewfinder is at the moment set for launch at an unknown date later in 2023, however after enjoying the GDC demo, it is undoubtedly shot to the highest of my ‘regulate’ checklist (along with The Thaumaturge, in fact). So why not attempt the Viewfinder “Snapshot” demo to see for your self? It is free, in any case, and samples some early and later sport puzzles to place your viewfinding expertise to the take a look at.
You can too take a look at the remainder of Steam Puzzle Fest proper right here, which runs from April twenty fourth to Might 1st.