Lushfoil Photography Sim PS5 Review. Reviewing Lushfoil Photography Sim as a “game” in the strictest sense is a tough one; in the hours that I spent wandering around the areas of Lushfoil Photography Sim, I never really got the sense that this was meant to be enjoyed as a traditional game. It was more of a relaxing way to wind down after a long day, rather than an objective-based experience.
Despite this, it does try to integrate some forms of standardised “progression” throughout the experience to try and string you along, which feels slightly at odds with what I thought the game was setting out to do.
There’s a dissonance at the core of Lushfoil Photography Sim that I can’t quite shake. For a simulator, it almost feels too ‘gamey’ ー which isn’t a phrase that I was ever expecting to write in a game review.
Lushfoil Photography Sim Review (PS5) — Taking it Slow
A Camera and the Wilderness
No time is wasted in getting you straight into the “action” of Lushfoil Photography Sim; you’re dropped directly in the idyllic mountains of South Tyrol, Italy and given free rein over where you want to go. Before you know it, you’ll have picked up your DSLR camera and started taking photographs everywhere.
This is the bread and butter of what Lushfoil Photography Sim is about, you’re exploring these areas and taking photos of things you think look pretty. It’s totally approachable and you’re encouraged to take your time in exploring and discovering the nooks and crannies of these visually spectacular places.
There aren’t many ways you can really interact with the world around you, but that just gives you all the more scope to take your time and frame the perfect shot.
It’s pretty hard to overstate how stunning this game is in terms of fidelity, especially for a primarily one-man effort. Each area is totally unique and brings something different to your creative vision. Where Castle Rock Beach is set in the broad daylight of Australia, you might also find yourself in the rainy East Maddon Park in the north of England (the joke of it being rainy wasn’t lost on me.)
This is arguably one of the most important things to get right in a game like this; a photography game with mixed visuals is a hard sell, and that isn’t the case here.
Looking through the Lens
Beyond just visuals, the depth on display in terms of the actual use of the camera is also impressive. It manages to appeal to total newcomers and seasoned photographers with an intuitive control scheme that meshes both auto-settings and the granular details you would expect out of a DSLR camera.
You can very easily just use the right trigger to auto-focus your lens onto your subject and take perfectly fine pictures like that, or you can dive into the intricacies of aperture lengths, exposure and others in order to fine-tune your shots.
With the majority of the world being pretty static and there not being any threats to speak of, you’re afforded plenty of time to really get up close and make sure you get everything you want out of a subject before you move onto the next.
In an ingenious use of the mechanic, each photo you take actually doubles as a fast-travel waypoint. If you go into your stored pictures, you eventually unlock the ability to jump to the precise spot where the photo was taken. This saves on walking back to some of your favourite places.
This is all stitched together with an ambient soundtrack that authentically draws on talent from the area you’re exploring. You could very easily just resort to generic ambience, but this extra step just solidifies each area as a love letter more than just another place to take pictures.
Trouble in Paradise
On paper, everything I’ve described so far sounds just about as perfect as you can get. Features are rich and the environments are lush. But there’s a strange conflict just below the surface of Lushfoil Photography Sim that left me feeling slightly confused as I spent time wandering around.
For a game with “Photography Sim” in the title, it oddly feels like it leans too much into a game rather than a simulator. There’s a slightly bizarre progression system that seems to stand at total odds with the mission statement of going out into the world and exploring at your own pace.
By the game’s own admission, these “objectives” aren’t entirely meant to be the focus, with it instead being a supplemental thing that you stumble on as you explore. With how linear the areas are, you’ll almost definitely encounter some of the “totems” that unlock later areas.
These totems have nothing to do with actual photography and just ask you to pick them up. You’ll also discover a set of photographs that you need to take in order to add to a counter to unlock later levels. Again, these aren’t really taxing or even much of a problem, but it felt a bit disruptive to a game that is otherwise all about exploring at your own pace.
It was friction in a game that I was being told was supposed to be without friction. I appreciate a degree of interaction, but this felt a bit too arbitrary to feel like it was actually contributing anything of worth other than artificially forcing you to explore every area exhaustively.
There are ways to do that without making me feel like I’m dragging my feet around and checking off a laundry list. And the game does have these moments of exploration that lead to new photography opportunities in the environment. But again, these feel almost a bit too “video-gamey” to really fit in with the vision of Lushfoil Photography Sim.
But when push comes to shove, I still enjoyed my time exploring the densely crafted vignettes that were on offer here. There’s a liminality that I couldn’t quite shake, and that’s something that I love. You never come across another living person, it’s totally silent. You wouldn’t ever be able to wander the streets of Kyoto like this, and yet I found myself basking in it and making the most of the silence.
It’s in this that Lushfoil Photography Sim shines. When all’s said and done, I love being able to wander around these places and soak in the atmosphere as I like. And that is what the game is all about at its core.
Lushfoil Photography Sim is available now on PS5.
Review code generously provided by the publisher.