Xexyz

Viewfinder: petting the cat

Posted on 05/01/2026 Written by Xexyz

Viewfinder caught my eye when it was first demonstrated, with the ability to take photos and walk into them, and clever world manipulation. When it came out it was £20, and that seemed a little expensive for the technical sandbox I imagined it to be. Towards the end of last year it was free on PS+, and given away on the Epic Game Store, and now, having played it, I can see that I was wrong: it is not just a technical sandbox, it was not too expensive, and a lot of the game doesn’t have you wandering around with a camera taking photos.

Indeed, you don’t get a camera of your own until World 3 (of 5); initially you are reliant on picking up photos (or other pictures), and then later you can use photocopiers and cameras which are fixed in place. All have a limited number of uses; once you place a picture in the world it is no longer yours and instead becomes the level itself, and photocopiers and cameras have limited film or paper. In some ways I was disappointed that there wasn’t a more free mode, where you could experiment with multiple photos and building your own platforms without a set objective. Maybe that is yet to come, or maybe that just wouldn’t work – my PS4 has already crashed twice in levels where I’ve been dealing with many different photos.

I’ve completed World 3 now, and on to World 4. The game focuses on small, restricted puzzles, and there are times when I feel like I’ve brute forced my way through rather than settling on a clever obscure solution. Maybe that’s just my perception. There is a story, which is rather hard to follow, but it seems that the levels you explore have been built inside this simulation, which in turn has been built inside a laboratory that you visit a couple of times. And you’re searching for a weather manipulator? Not sure why that’s in the simulation. The most important thing is that the only inhabitant of the simulated world is an artificial cat, and, when it’s not talking to you, you can walk up to it and pet it. When you do, it purrs, and the controller vibrates.

That’s worth the £20 by itself.

The Crew Motorfest: on the horizon

Posted on 15/12/2025 Written by Xexyz

The new Crew game has joined Game Pass, so I thought I’d give it a go. At first it felt like I was playing Forza Horizon 2, but after a while it felt more like Forza Horizon 4. It’s just so familiar, but with a slightly worse driving model, and more unlikeable characters in longer cut scenes. I’ve still got a third of FH4 and most of FH5 to complete, but maybe I’ll get around to trying this some day – through probably they’ll turn the servers off before I do.

Radiant Silvergun: an abundance of weapons

Posted on 05/12/2025 Written by Xexyz

I’m not great at scrolling shooters, though I enjoy their spectacle and the panic they induce as the number of bullets increases. Radiant Silvergun not only has a great many bullets, it also has a great many weapons, all but one of which I forget to use. This makes things very tricky indeed, especially when you’re supposed to be firing around corners using a homing missile and I’m stuck firing upwards like a lemon.

Comix Zone: comically hard

Posted on 05/12/2025 Written by Xexyz

I love the concept, of being pulled into a comic and having to battle through the panels. Having the world shaped by your own hand, and then having enemies drawn in by your enemy is a work of genius. Choosing paths, having to jump across or down past the borders of the picture, is a really engaging mechanic. It looks stunning too, with large sprites which have been drawn full of character and incredibly colourful. This is paired with a fighting game engine which is very competent and fun to play with – punches and kicks carry weight, and enemies can be avoided by a millimetre.

But it’s very very hard. You have a single life, and recharges to your energy are few and far between. I haven’t worked out how to consistently kill enemies without them taking some of my health off. As such, I’ve never got very far in, and short of quick saving after every hit I’m not sure I ever will.

But it does look lovely.

A Building Full of Cats: up on the roof

Posted on 27/11/2025 Written by Xexyz

I like cats. I like Little Kitty Big City, I like Pix the Cat, I even liked Blinx. If I like games with a few cats in, then I am almost certain to love games with hundreds of cats in, right?

In this case, yes. A Building Full of Cats is a hidden object game where the objects are cats. Lots of cats. Each floor of the building has fifty cats in plain sight, and some (I think ten) hidden in cupboards, behind curtains, and so on. There are two rooms per floor, including a bathroom, meaning that you can’t see everything at once, and there’s one cat who moves when you click on them, until you find their final hiding place. When you start a level, there are a great many cats who are easily visible, but by the time you get to the last few you’re searching for a couple of ears sticking out of a vase or similar.

The monochrome art style makes the cats pop out once you click on them.

I’ve completed floors 1 and 2, and also the roof off the top of floor 5. I find it a very relaxing game, so am saving other floors when I need to destress.

I’ve actually played and completed another game by the same people, Hidden Cats in London. I mainly started that because I needed the trophies for one of the TrueTrophies events a while ago, but it was just as charming as A Building Full. I see there are others set in Paris and other cities, so I may need to investigate those in future.