Fun game, with some low points. The game's biggest selling point is that the main mechanic is inherently fun to mess around with. It is always at least a little delightful to apply a photo and see how the geometry of the level has changed to accommodate the new reality. It's not a long game (I got all the collectibles, all the camera filters and most of the achievements in ~6 hours), and it felt like very little of that time was spent actually being stumped by a puzzle. There were only two puzzles where I really had that "wait, I genuinely don't know what to do" feeling.

There are some low points as well. The game can be cloying at times, both towards itself, and towards you. It praises itself -- having a character being wildly impressed with the photo mechanic, and again when a monorail arrives, even though neither of these things are inherently impressive in the context of a simulated reality. It also offers you praise that feels exaggerated and unearned: saying things like, "witnessing your creativity is a marvel to behold" after executing what is clearly the intended solution for a basic puzzle. Most of the dialogue and supplementary worldbuilding grated on me, with pseudo-scientific nonsense strewn about. I didn't need four chapters of "the people who lived in this space previously were super super smart science genius smarty people." I didn't need to find six post-it notes per puzzle saying things like "account for variables??" and "try revising prototype!" I had to take a break from the game after finding a journal that insisted "sound travels faster than light," only for a character to repeat that a minute later. All to set up the game's worst puzzle mechanic, which had nothing to do with sound traveling faster than light. Despite each world being based on one of the game's main characters, supposedly showcasing their personality and interests, I never really felt like I got to know them on more than the most superficial of levels.

At least it ends on a high note: I really liked how the very final puzzle in the game broke away from tidy little solutions and instead simply gave you resources and then let you spend them across puzzles as you saw fit. And the ending did the best it could with the build-up it had.

All in all, I think if the mechanic looks like you'd enjoy just playing with it, and you don't mind a short game or putting up with "cringe" dialogue, I can reccommend this game to you. If you want hard puzzles, or something more mind-bending, or something with an engaging plot, or with likeable characters, you can do better elsewhere.

Fun game, with some low points. The game's biggest selling point is that the main mechanic is inherently fun to mess around with. It is always at least a little delightful to apply a photo and see how the geometry of the level has changed to accommodate the new reality. It's not a long game (I got all the collectibles, all the camera filters and most of the achievements in ~6 hours), and it felt like very little of that time was spent actually being stumped by a puzzle. There were only two puzzles where I really had that "wait, I genuinely don't know what to do" feeling. There are some low points as well. The game can be cloying at times, both towards itself, and towards you. It praises itself -- having a character being wildly impressed with the photo mechanic, and again when a monorail arrives, even though neither of these things are inherently impressive in the context of a simulated reality. It also offers you praise that feels exaggerated and unearned: saying things like, "witnessing your creativity is a marvel to behold" after executing what is clearly the intended solution for a basic puzzle. Most of the dialogue and supplementary worldbuilding grated on me, with pseudo-scientific nonsense strewn about. I didn't need four chapters of "the people who lived in this space previously were super super smart science genius smarty people." I didn't need to find six post-it notes per puzzle saying things like "account for variables??" and "try revising prototype!" I had to take a break from the game after finding a journal that insisted "sound travels faster than light," only for a character to repeat that a minute later. All to set up the game's worst puzzle mechanic, which had nothing to do with sound traveling faster than light. Despite each world being based on one of the game's main characters, supposedly showcasing their personality and interests, I never really felt like I got to know them on more than the most superficial of levels. At least it ends on a high note: I really liked how the very final puzzle in the game broke away from tidy little solutions and instead simply gave you resources and then let you spend them across puzzles as you saw fit. And the ending did the best it could with the build-up it had. All in all, I think if the mechanic looks like you'd enjoy just playing with it, and you don't mind a short game or putting up with "cringe" dialogue, I can reccommend this game to you. If you want hard puzzles, or something more mind-bending, or something with an engaging plot, or with likeable characters, you can do better elsewhere.