You can find this review in full at GBAtemp.net:
https://gbatemp.net/review/viewfinder.2343/

Viewfinder starts out with a simple concept and develops it as you play. Reminding me of Echochrome in a lot of ways, you’re tasked with picking up pictures and placing them in the world, with the picture becoming a part of your reality. At the start of the game it’s a simple case of looking through the environment, finding your stock of pictures, and figuring out where they need to go. There’s a gap you can’t cross and a picture of a bridge on hand? Line it up and walk across your new bridge. If there’s one thing the game handles well, it’s its escalation of difficulty, and the first few levels may well deceive you. This is a puzzle game to be reckoned with, and by the time you realise it, you’ll already be hooked.

Environments in the game are simple at a glance and do a good job in allowing you to take in your options quickly. It’s rare to run into a situation where you don’t know the problem you’re wanting to tackle, and from there it’s a fun challenge of working backwards to figure out which of your available tools you need to fall back onto. This kind of thinking is more obvious early on where you have a set selection of images to place, or find yourself with a stationary camera to take a picture with. You have this thing, now how are you going to use it? What needs to change to get to where you want to be? As the game progresses your options increase, and with that, so too does the puzzle complexity. As mentioned you start with pictures that are found around levels, as well as frames that are lined up with parts of a scene to build a full image. From there you’ll get stationary cameras that look at a fixed point with a limited number of pictures to print. It’s around this point you’ll start finding more interactable objects that you might need to manipulate and photograph. All of this culminates around halfway through the game with you getting your own camera to carry with you. And this freedom is something that had me concerned at first.

Giving the player too many options in a game like this can turn what is a fun puzzle into a laborious cycle of trial and error. Viewfinder circumvents this by keeping each level both compact and concise, while still allowing you to use your freedom to come up with interesting solutions. It does a great job of guiding without holding a sign towards the solution, and in doing so ends up with a gameplay loop that’ll leave you wanting more.

A particularly good decision was to make the most challenging and obscure puzzles optional. While the vast majority of levels do need to be finished, and come with a really pleasant narration (mostly from a talking cat that you can, in fact, pet), the real trials for me were the optional levels that open up after clearing the rest of an area. These puzzles aren’t entirely out of the blue either, often using mechanics you’ve recently seen in new and interesting ways. The first optional level as an example only has pictures in the level with no ability to take more, but tasks you with solving a maze where a wrong turn will give you another copy of the picture you just came through. You keep looping until you figure out which path to take, how the pictures should be oriented; it’s all just brilliantly creative. And the same can be said for the larger game.

Viewfinder is one of those games that really doesn’t crop up frequently, and it is truly a magical experience from start to end. It has an idea that’s incredibly simple on paper, but the seamless nature of its execution is a marvel to behold. This seamlessness goes beyond the game mechanics and into how the game feels through its controls. It’s intuitive with both a keyboard and controller, and I was surprised at how quickly I picked it up using even something as odd as the Ultimate Hacking Keyboard’s trackpoint module (not that I expect many people to play this way). The one thing I was disappointed to see missing was motion controls, and though it might be surprising to some, I really did miss them. On a PC game I can somewhat understand a lack of motion controls, with these not being an option in the dominant Xbox controller, but it does feel a missed opportunity for the PS5 release where the controller is a little more interesting. It does at least support the adaptive triggers, though to what extent I’m not certain having the PC version on hand to review.

I’d also be really interested to see this as a VR title. The surreal but somewhat simple environments Viewfinder offers are exactly the kind that would do well in a VR setting. I can imagine it being a fairly intensive VR experience, but the idea of walking through the ever-shifting landscapes and taking it in first-hand is something I haven’t been able to shake since first picking the game up.

Outside of the lack of motion controls, the only point I can find fault in is the game’s length. You’re looking at somewhere between three and five hours of gameplay from start to end, and for some people that just won’t be enough to justify the £20 price tag. This is a game ripe for additional levels in content updates and DLC, but there’s nothing to suggest either of these are in the works. Is it worth it as it is now? Yes. Absolutely so. I can’t deny I want more, but the experience from start to end was put together in a way where I can certainly say I’m satisfied with what I played. It’s a game that very much could have outstayed its welcome but, in part due to its short nature, managed to stay original and interesting. Put simply, it’s one worth checking out.

You can find this review in full at GBAtemp.net:
https://gbatemp.net/review/nobunagas-ambition-awakening.2327/

Nobunaga’s Ambition as a series has always been an interesting one for me. Set in the turbulent Warring States Period of Japanese history, it sees you pick a clan and see it through to the end, with the larger goal of achieving what Oda Nobunaga could not: unifying the country. Starting out on various Japanese PCs, it’s seen releases on everything from the SNES to mobile phones, and has even hosted the Pokemon series for a cross-over title in Pokemon Conquest. Now on the PS4, Switch, and PC, we check back in with the series to see if unification is as fun as it was when I last checked in with the series ten years ago.

While the larger goal of the game is clear, exactly how you’re going to achieve it is not. When first starting out, you’re pointed to The Battle of Okehazama if you’re unfamiliar with the game. I really like this type of tutorial that’s built into a larger scenario. One area where the last major release, Sphere of Influence, let me down was in how it introduced things with a completely separate scenario. While it was a nice idea, it felt like a few hours that were just thrown down the drain before you could pick a scenario to actually start playing. That isn’t the case here, though it’s not perfect either. Assuming you have tutorials enabled, you’ll find yourself with an incredibly text-heavy first 30 minutes as popup after popup will, well, pop up as new mechanics are introduced to you. The Battle of Okehazama in particular is a nice setting, giving you the Oda clan as they’re just finding their roots in a country that has little in the way of immediate major threats.

The game plays out in real time with you able to pause the action at any point to do one of a number of activities. When starting out, your focus will likely be on developing the provinces you currently have under your control. This can be done at a basic level by developing one of the farm or fair; the former of these increases your crop production, which in turn influences how many soldiers can be stationed there. The latter increases your income, which can then be used for buying treasures or funding policies and proposals. Counties within your provinces can also have their land developed in one of a limited number of slots to better specialise them to your needs. While slightly different to Sphere of Influence, much of this will be familiar to long-time fans of the series. Where it changes a little is in how this scales, and how much of your clan you actually have direct control over. The short answer here is very little, and that comes with its strengths and weaknesses.

Where in older titles you would be responsible for pretty much everything, which I do feel is fun for the control and precision you can have in your planning, here you basically just control a single province where the Daimyo resides. Beyond this, you’re required to appoint a trusted retainer to manage a province, and then assign further retainers to manage the smaller counties within the province. The end result is a game that feels more streamlined in where your attention is placed. Instead of you having to micromanage every small decision, much of these are set aside and you’re left pondering the grander strategy of your ascension. I like this on paper, and being somebody who has traditionally struggled with the late-game of previous titles, this shifted focus is something I can appreciate. You further delegate responsibility as you progress and conquer territory, which you then can break into provinces and again put under control of retainers. Provinces are slightly different to the normal delegation in that you can give them complete autonomy to build and, should the opportunity arise, attack their neighbours without first seeking consent. You can customise this if it’s not something you want, but I find it thrilling to see a notification one of my generals is marching, and just watching them succeed.

A lot of this feels like a real step forwards for the series, but I can’t help but feel that, like with the free will of the provincial leaders, much of this should have been optional. I feel much more able to progress than I did in older games, especially as time goes on and the game board gets more and more complex. Where I would appreciate that granularity in control is the start though. Where I don’t have many provinces under my control, I wish I were able to develop them exactly as wanted towards a specific goal. It’s something you soon adapt to, but I can understand how some might see this as a step backwards.

When you’re ready to go to war, you’ll quickly notice combat also isn’t quite what you’re used to, and again it’s here where it feels the game is streamlining itself for both better and worse. Sphere of Influence offered some surprisingly engaging battles, allowing you to directly control battalions on a 3D map and watch a battle unfold and develop in real time. Awakening by comparison feels quite dull, even if I can appreciate a lot of what’s gone on here to facilitate larger-scale fights. You now have a number of units spread across interconnected nodes on a map. These units can move from node to node and both fight enemy units, or tackle enemy equipment; you still do have a degree of control here in being able to dictate where they move or what they target, but much like the rest of the game they’ll also act alone in the absence of orders. You have two types of battle each with differing win conditions: standard battles and sieges.

Your standard battles are simple. It’s your army against theirs, and you win by either taking out all their units, or by completely reducing their morale. Morale is impacted by defeating enemy units or having your units be defeated, or by capturing or destroying key infrastructure. Generally speaking you’ll win a standard battle if you have more forces than your opponent, though things like unit composition can play a key part. If you have one unit with 10,000 troops against an army of 20 500 troop units, the single unit could win out by continually reducing the enemy morale from defeating the smaller units. Equally, the smaller units could be used to surround the single larger unit and deal bonus damage from things like a pincer manoeuvre. The board you’re fighting on is simpler, but I do feel there’s ample strategy at play here to keep it interesting.

Sieges are a different ballgame entirely, though much of what I’ve said above still does apply. You have the same basic formula at play. The key difference is that one army is defending a central point, a castle, and the attackers are tasked with either defeating the castle’s lord or capturing the castle itself, on top of the usual win condition of wiping out the enemy entirely. What’s added to the mix here is that the attackers’ morale is constantly draining, with them being forced to retreat when fully reduced. You’re on a timer, which pressures you into wiping out enemy units, or attacking key infrastructure to maintain morale to, in turn, eventually make your way to the castle. To be quite honest, I still don’t fully understand the best way to play these out. I’ve lost sieges with 30,000 troops against a defence of only 8,000. Unit composition plays a more significant role here though, with any unit being forced to retreat having a significant impact on your ability to continue the siege. While you’re finding your footing, you are at least able to reload your save and try out other strategies should things not go your way. It’s not an ideal solution, but it did allow me to grasp the basics without suffering consecutive losses. The game has the ability to auto-save monthly, and it’s something I’d really encourage you leaving on. After you have 20 saves, they just write over themselves, meaning you’re never completely overrun.

Through a carefully-crafted mixture of war and diplomacy, your larger win condition varies from scenario to scenario. Some will allow you to claim victory through uniting the part of the map your clan starts on. This might be having 20 or so specific regions under your control, culminating in the regional unity ending. If at this point though you’re happy with your progress and want to carry on, you’re free to do so in pursuit of unifying the entire nation. There’s also the Three Offered positions ending, which tasks you with conquering more than half of the nation’s castles, including those surrounding the capital. I do like the variety on offer, with it allowing you to dictate your own game length to a degree while giving you both a meaningful goal and stopping point.

With the Nobunaga’s Ambition games falling under Koei Tecmo’s historical simulation series, Awakening does well in blending true events into each of your sessions. These come in two forms, with some events forced to play out along with voiced cutscenes, and others being optional. These optional events are presented as hearsay, and clearly lay out what will happen if you choose to bring them into your game. If you decide you want it to happen, you’ll get a short stint of dialogue from the affected parties giving context to what’s happening, and you’ll carry on your merry way. There’s generally no downside to just ignoring these if they don’t suit your taste with a lot of them being minor name changes to match what was happening at the time along with a bit of history. Some of them do have a larger impact though, with clans splitting up and conflicts rising. These can sometimes suit your needs, so are worth paying some attention to in my mind. The optional nature of them means you can replay the same scenarios as the same clan and still have a decent amount of variety. I like them a lot.

Having played the game on Steam, I’ve found very few issues with the PC controls. Sphere of Influence was well-optimised for mouse and keyboard inputs, and it’s no surprise Awakening follows suit. The menus feel streamlined, matching the larger feel of the game. Where I am a little disappointed is in the lack of controller support available to PC players though; in 2013 this might not have been such a major deal, but with the advent of the Steam Deck and other PC handhelds, there’s a larger market than ever wanting a clean way to play this on the go. Sure you can say those people should just buy the Switch version, but when the thought has already been put into making the game controller-friendly for the Switch and PS4, I don’t understand why Koei Tecmo couldn’t go the extra mile to have it as an option in the PC release. It’s not a deal-breaker, and I’ve found myself able to get by using the ROG Ally’s touch screen in a pinch, but it’s an area where it could certainly be better. A more minor note, the game will just refuse to open if for whatever reason your Documents folder doesn’t exist. I ran into this issue with me having my Documents folder redirected to a Micro SD card that was at the time missing, and there was annoyingly no error message to say what’s wrong. It’s not something many people are likely to run into, but it’s worth mentioning all the same. It’s another area that likely wouldn’t take much to improve on, with other games having an alternate save location in the event Documents isn’t present.

Nobunaga’s Ambition Awakening isn’t an upgrade in every way from its predecessor, but it does do a good job of breathing new life into the series for fans who’ve been devoutly playing Sphere of Influence for the past ten years. With a focus on streamlining smaller activities, the end result is a game that tasks you with focusing on the bigger picture and larger conquest of the nation. I like it a lot, and with it being the first western release to find itself on the Switch, I hope more people will give the series a shot. It’s a fun game that really can hook you for tens of hours to complete just one scenario; there’s a world of content here for those willing to engage.