I prefer photography games to photo modes because it’s easier to engage in that mode of interaction. I love the idea of photo modes and the shots they can create (at least the good ones, anyway), but it’s difficult to play with them because I have to actively shift between playing the game before me and playing photographer. When photography is the game, I can fully focus on setting up and taking shots.
Lushfoil Photography Sim is perfect then, a game built entirely around the process of shooting photos across a range of beautifully rendered facsimiles of real-world locations. You arrive in each locale with nothing but your camera and no direction given. You’re left to explore at your leisure, snapping pictures of whatever catches your eye. Lushfoil operates a very hands-off approach, letting you play and experiment to your heart’s content.
It’s truly a simulation in just how much control you have over your photos. As someone who’s never actually used a proper fully-featured camera before, the sheer breadth of tools was overwhelming. There’s tons of fine control you have. Lushfoil helpfully provide tutorials on specific functions that explain how each setting works and why you’d want to use it, slowly exploring the finer points and techniques over time as you move through each location. It’s an effective teacher. I started not knowing how different exposures worked or why I’d want to use them and came away with at least some knowledge of how to apply them and where.
Though the game is largely directionless, each area has a set of specific photos to take if you so choose. Doing so unlocks some extra functions per locale, such as access to boats to access new avenues for photos or changes to the time of day. I had to resist the urge to just chase down the photo op locations and move to the next level. The pressure to play and see as much of a game as possible to write about it is real and does a disservice to mellow wander games like this.
It’s a game best enjoyed in short bursts, luxuriating in the sights and beauty of the locales and snapping photos of whatever you like. The presence of objectives is bearable given the perceived need for videogames to carry a clear goal and structure to avoid the player feeling listless and Lushfoil‘s approach is perfectly fine. But I also found the game more enjoyable as an aimless experience. The presence of any sort of goal inherently shifts the mode of play toward those ends and distracts from the core appeal, however easy it may be to not engage too closely with the goal-oriented mindset.
Callum Rakestraw is the Reviews Editor at Entertainium. You can find him online on Bluesky, Mastodon, and his blog.
