There’s something appealing about photography games. It doesn’t seem like it would be a particularly exciting genre, yet it’s also wildly compelling. I think for most gamers, this realisation came with Pokémon Snap. A game that should have been a laughable cash-grab, but remains as one of the best spinoffs that the franchise has ever made.

Which is why when I’m given the opportunity to review a game that allows me to put my camera-work to the test, I jump at it. This time we have a relaxing little nature photography game by the name of Flutter Away.

Many thanks to the publishers for the review copy.

Screenshot

If it wasn’t obvious by the title, Flutter Away is all about butterflies. Actually, that’s only sort of true. In fact, I’d say it’s more about your growing relationship with a Capybara as you go about your five day nature trail. Your goal is to set up camp and keep a track of the wildlife in your journal; specifically, your main goal is to track down three new species of butterfly per day by utilising your camera to take a photo, and the perch to allow you to get up close to them for a further examination.

Whilst this is the primary focus for your progression, your notebook also gives you a small handful of other objectives to achieve either during the day or night. Most are pretty straightfoward, although a few had me wandering around trying to find what I needed.

That’s not to say that the game is particularly difficult, as it’s really quite relaxing and short (clocking in at around 45 minutes to beat) but it’s also a rather sweet experience even if you do end up falling into the same routine every day. Whilst I did enjoy tracking down other plants and animals to complete my journal, the explorable area is quite short and grows a little tiresome even by the end of the game’s short runtime.

VERDICT
I enjoyed my time with Flutter Away, as it allowed me to briefly unwind whilst photographing a plethora of butterflies and making friends with a Capybara. There’s not a huge amount of content here to keep you going for particularly long, but it’s still a sweet little nature game for those looking to pass a little time.