Lushfoil Photography Sim

Lushfoil Photography Sim is an adventure game developed by Matt Newell and published by Annapurna Interactive. The photography simulator, created with Unreal Engine, showcases various digitized real-life environments across the world through a hiker's perspective. It was released on April 15, 2025 for Windows, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

Lushfoil Photography Sim
Developer(s)	Matt Newell
Publisher(s)	Annapurna Interactive
Engine	Unreal Engine 5
Platform(s)	Windows PlayStation 5 Xbox Series X/S
Release	April 15, 2025
Genre(s)	Adventure, walking simulator, photography

Gameplay

Lushfoil Photography Sim is a walking simulator where players explore pre-built dynamic environments and take photographs. The player has to take into account various factors consistent with real life while doing so, such as exposure, contrast, white balance, and focus.^[1] After photographs are taken, players are able to use in game tools to enhance them.^[2]

Some notable environments include: South Tyrol from Italy, Castle Rock Beach from Western Australia, "Le Prarion" from the French Alps, and Yamadera, Yamagata from Japan. As players traverse these environments, they are given the ability to take photos with a configurable virtual camera, search for collectables, and unlock specific activities. The simulator features several ambient tracks unique to each environment to help create an atmosphere of immersion.^[3]

History

Some environments showcased in the Lushfoil Photography Sim have been built on previous standalone iterations of themselves that have since been delisted from Steam and itch.io, their two and only means of official distribution. These include the environments featuring three locations in Australia, Iceland, and Japan.^[4]

On June 29, 2023, Annapurna Interactive revealed the trailer for Lushfoil Photography Sim after it had agreed to the publish the game following months of development.^[5]

Reception

Reception

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	PC: 79/100[6] PS5: 76/100[7]

Lushfoil Photography Sim received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic.^[6][7] Rock Paper Shotgun praised the game's visuals and its approach to teaching photography, while criticizing some of the side content.^[8]