You can keep “jump”; however, the most effective action in video games is arguably “examine”. When a title like Lone Pine allows players to analyze both a campfire and a trash bin, revealing character insights with each comment, it shows quality writing.

Lone Pine is about traversing a national park equipped with just your backpack full of items to interact with, as well as a camera to take pictures of cryptids. The goal is to document as many undocumented species as possible.

To attract these creatures, players must gather knowledge about them and solve various puzzles. The photography features are impressively detailed, including controls for shutter speed, aperture, and zoom, which make the act of taking photos an engaging part of the gameplay.

However, challenges arise; for instance, I found myself stumped on a puzzle involving matching dog head drawings, which highlighted the difficulty of image interpretation. The developers are aware of this obstacle and promise revisions in the full game, expected to release within the coming year. You can follow Lone Pine on its Steam page.