Summer means holidays, at least in theory, and holidays means taking lots of photos to capture the happiest and most goliardic moments. Even in video games it is possible to take photos of landscapes, characters, highlights and epic feats thanks to the photo mode and the share button; however, there are video games in which the camera is physically present and is a fundamental tool to move forward in the story or to get more information on the plot, enemies and places.
In this list, we present five video games in which the characters use a camera and the photos are a building block of the story.
Beyond Good & Evil
One of the tasks of Jade, the protagonist of Beyond Good & Evil, is to photograph the animal species present in the game world to complete a sort of census of the local fauna. It is not an end in itself, as filling an entire roll of photos will reward a pearl, a very important object in the Ubisoft title. Pearls are used to unlock otherwise inaccessible play areas and to buy items from shops, some of which are essential to continue the adventure. The setting of this video game is very summery, with an archipelago to explore, so Jade's photographs will make you feel on vacation.
Life is Strange
Maxine is the most promising student on the Blackwell Academy photography class. Max discovers that he has extraordinary power: he can manipulate time, with the ability to interfere with the course of events and change them. What is a photograph if not a journey through time? In Life is Strange, the player is in possession of a camera with which he can take pictures while living the days of Maxine and Chloe: these represent the collectibles and go to unlock the trophies and achievements of the game. Max is always looking for the perfect shot. Also in this case, the general atmosphere and the environments make an excellent setting for tourist photos.
Project Zero (saga)
The video game in which the camera is probably the number one tool of the adventure. This time of summer and vacation there is really nothing, the Project Zero saga is in fact one of the most terrifying of the Japanese horror toy library, together with Silent Hill and Forbidden Siren. The camera obscura is the camera that the protagonist of the saga must always keep at hand as if it were a rifle… because, on balance, she is. This is in fact the only weapon in the game, ghosts are only vulnerable to photographs taken with that particular camera. A simple snap does not cause them extensive damage, but the perfect shot - when the lens turns red - disintegrates them.
Bioshock
The camera in BioShock has a very specific role and is important both from the point of view of the knowledge of the "bestiary" present in the game and for our fate in combat. The research machine, as it is called in the Bioshock universe, can be equipped as a weapon in one's arsenal and needs the films to function. It does no damage, but is able to collect information on enemies, which allows us to know a little more about the history of the latter and, above all, to know their weaknesses. As we mentioned, it does not produce damage, however it has five levels of research, based on the rarity of the enemy, which, if completed, give access to bonuses in combat and permanent damage.
The Evil Within 2
In The Evil Within 2, Sebastian Castellanos does not own a camera and therefore does not use it to investigate, but we put this game on the list because photography is really important in the history of the title developed by Tango Gameworks. One of the first bosses Sebastian faces is Obscura, a creature made up of various anatomical parts of corpses with a camera instead of a head. The detective must prevent Obscura from taking a picture and hit her straight in the lens to get rid of it. Furthermore, the main villain of The Evil Within is Stefano Valentini, a crazy photographer who aims to capture the precise moment in which death captures its victims.
These are five video games in which the camera is the protagonist of the events narrated, an essential tool for the characters and for the player himself. Do you know others? Tell us in the comments.
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