Photo Mode is my new gaming obsession

Infinity Nikki and Assassin’s Creed Shadows have become my twin obsessions for their meticulously detailed environments, textures, and weather. With open-world dress-up game Infinity Nikki, I continue to be agog at how clothing textures are rendered with such detail and fidelity that by mere sight, I know exactly what a piece of fabric will feel like. For Assassin’s Creed Shadows, an action-packed romp through feudal Japan, I’m constantly in a state of awe at the natural beauty of the Japanese countryside, a feature that has been widely celebrated since its release. Both games are so visually arresting they made me fall in love with a video game staple that I’ve never really cared about before: photo mode.

Photo mode, which typically pauses the game to give players the ability to take professional grade images of their video games, is a modern gaming feature that’s been around long enough to become a standard inclusion, especially in AAA games. But I’ve never seen their appeal. It’s a video game, not some fleeting life moment. I’m not gonna fondly flip through my PS5 media gallery in five years going, “Aww look at the time Yasuke chopped the arms and head off th …

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