For games like an Outer Wilds, Hypnospace,(2 of my GOATs) Witness(eugh), etc. I learned an interesting proposed genre name, "Mentalvania". I would personally also submit Metroidbrainia or Infovania, but all three work. It's for any of these games where you don't quite get real "powerups" or unlock shortcuts by altering the game too much if at all, but you observe and learn the closed system and interact with it in your own way.

Nuts is one of these boys. I think it's one of my favorite not-actually-one-but-maybe-will-catch-on genres, since most(except witness) are pretty great. This one is never as eureka-inducing as like an Outer Wilds, but every discovery or happy accident with your cameras does give a milder version of that feeling.

Squirrels are very cute! The ending is sad but in a beautiful way. The game looks cool, though some palettes are a little challenging. The story is light. but interesting.

Wash away all but the squirrels (prayer emoji).

As much as I wanted to like this game, I found the game mechanics tedious after the first few rounds. The plot also didn't provide enough to make me want to keep going. I dropped the game without reaching the ending, but based on other reviews here I don't think I missed out on much that would've changed my opinion. I think there was the foundations of a good idea, but it didn't follow through.

Also, not the games fault, but it did give me motion sickness after a while. The extreme contrasting colours probably did not help.

I really wanted to like this game going into it. I know up until its release I was looking forward to its art style and the thriller direction it was going to take.

It's main mechanic, placing the camera and watching the recordings during the night becomes tedious after the novelty wears off and for the most part you're better off just wandering the sectioned off forest to find any secret acorn piles there might be.

I know on one of the levels I glitched my way up a hill and was able to place my camera in an "unreachable" tent that the squirrels would store nuts in.

A big thing that makes the Firewatch comparison possible is the story. A story that sadly doesn't provide as much as it's aspirations with more questions than answers.

The beauty of Firewatch is the chemistry between Delilah and Henry. A game where on top of that their back and forth banter through the woods makes the whole experience even better.

Here, our player is voiceless and being spoken to without truly trusting the player or giving in world clarification for game events. Mysteriously your stuff show up from a character briefly mentioned, but most of the time it's referred to as just like "oh, your stuff's here".

Same with the moving of the trailer, it's moved by the same guy (whom I cannot remember the name of for the life of me) and you just wake up in the new areas after a fade to black.

There's no comment about "oh congratulations on doing that, we'll collect you this evening" or anything like that.
It just happens. There's such a disconnect between the narrative and gameplay at times that it's hard to keep my mind in the game.

The recording mechanic never gets improved once the player has mastered it and teeters off with the confusing end.

Unlike Firewatch, this game doesn't let the player play the ending, they more stumble into cut-scene triggers until the game reaches an inconclusive ending.

My goal isn't to compare them necessarily, it's just hard to see a game I wanted to succeed fall this hard.

There is a lot to love about the main mechanic. The act of taking photos is always fun and the idea of setting up cameras during the day, recording during the night, panning and zooming the cameras to take the perfect shot.

I know a couple people didn't like the art style and although it was a bit much at times, I did like the overall feel of it. The sound work was recognized as outstanding but I cannot say they stood out in my playtime.

At the end of it all it just feels immensely unsatisfying.

it is the best game about squirrel photography just like Mandibles is the best funniest movie with a giant fly.

Biggest problem with this game is the disconnect between the story and the gameplay, both in the writing and the game design:
story: corporation is destroying forest
plot: take pictures of squirrel for???
and you're just constantly alternating between gameplay and narrative phone call, making the disconnect even more obvious.

I feel forced to compare but this is just shitty Firewatch. Firewatch isn't good cause there's a nice looking forest and someone you're talking to, it's the whole execution, the way the game kept you immersed and engaged.

This gives me random itch.io demo vibes. Fun gameplay, vibrant graphics, and engaging plot.

But unfortunately you can 100% it in 3-4 hours, so you're much better off waiting for a sale.

...I will discover the squirrel's secret...