The maps in Lushfoil Photography Sim are based on real locations, such as Lake Braies in Trentino-Alto Adige. Some are places Newell has visited himself, recreated based on his photographs and adapted to suit the needs of the game. “I like to think of Lushfoil’s environments as a recreation based on a memory, or a dream, rather than being physically accurate,” the developer wrote to us. But there are also places he has never been, discovered and recreated thanks to others’ photo collections and Google Maps. Each level ultimately becomes the photorealistic digitisation of a postcard—a clean, uninhabited world for virtual tourism.

Lushfoil Photography Sim also helps reinsert virtual photography —photography carried out within video games—into the industrial cycle of production and consumption. Virtual photography began as a détournement of video games, even as a subversive practice. But over the years, its commercial potential has emerged, and now many major games include dedicated photo modes, which here become the entire experience, enclosing virtual photography within a conventional gamified progression, with challenges to overcome and items to find in order to unlock features and areas. “I thought these gameplay elements were necessary to give the player a reason to explore,” Newell explained. The question now is: what does a détournement of Lushfoil Photography Sim look like?

Lushfoil Photography Sim by Matt Newell, published by Annapurna Interactive, is available for Windows, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S and X.