Solo developer Matt Newell's Lushfoil Photography Sim is literally a plein air photography simulator. You leisurely explore fantastically beautiful locations and take pictures with your digital camera. That's it.
| Game | Lushfoil Photography Sim |
| Genre | simulator |
| Platforms | Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S |
| Languages | English |
| Developer | Matt Newell |
| Publisher | Annapurna Interactive |
| Link | lushfoil.itch.io |
The first thing that attracts Lushfoil Photography Sim is, of course, the graphics. The game uses the Unreal Engine and the Quixel Megascans library with hundreds of thousands of real objects scanned and modeled with incredible quality. So yes, every pebble, every tree in this game can be viewed up close with maximum zoom. You will not be disappointed. Moss on stones and wood, the texture of bark, rocks, earth, pebbles, all objects… I don't think I've looked so carefully at what the game world is made of since Senua's Saga: Hellblade II. Fantastic quality.
The locations chosen include a temple in Japan; the Italian and French Alps; an ocean beach in Australia; a wet and cold volcanic terrain somewhere in Iceland; a mountain commune in Nepal; a forest in the UK, Japan, and China. Nine picturesque locations that you can explore for hours.
The second strong point of Lushfoil Photography Sim is an honest simulation of a digital SLR camera. With the ability to set shutter speed or aperture priority, change ISO, apply exposure compensation, change the lens. There are several "fixes" with different focal lengths, a zoom lens and a fisheye lens to choose from. There are also some post-processing effects, but this is of course pop. At some levels you can find additional simple cameras such as a digital "soap box" or a camera with double exposure. The game has basic camera lessons, where you will be taught to take pictures not only in automatic mode.
To open additional locations, you need to find a certain number of collectibles (it's easy) and take the appropriate number of successful photos given by the author. At the initial levels, you can find hints about what kind of photos are expected of you, then it will be more difficult, so you will have to look for interesting angles and frames yourself. But no one forbids you to take photos just for your own pleasure. The game renders photos in high resolution, higher than the screen resolution (you can set the size) and with maximum quality. For some reason, I'm sure that many will decide to put these photos instead of wallpapers.
Lushfoil Photography Sim is a very melancholic and very calming game. There's not much gameplay here, so it's certainly not for everyone. But now, when many of us are deprived of the opportunity to travel to interesting locations, this type of leisure activity can be useful for (your) mental state. Especially since until April 29, 2025, Lushfoil Photography Sim can be purchased on Steam with a 20% discount for only 231 UAH, which is definitely cheaper than medical sedatives.