Best Games for Nature Photographers

Nature photography is a great hobby that can cover anything from animals to plants to fungi to natural landscapes. Virtual photography is a great hobby for gamers, allowing them to take amazing photographs within the worlds of their favorite video games. This goes beyond simply taking screenshots. Photo modes have become an increasingly popular feature in modern games, even if there are still franchises that resist it. Games about photography, like Beyond Good and Evil or Life is Strange, have existed for decades, but this isn’t the same thing. Virtual photography is an art form that allows players to get creative with the in-game world.

Even if it’s not the central focus, a lot of games nowadays love to present detailed environments for the player to explore. Many of them are at least partially set in natural environments, be it desert, forest, jungle, grassland, ocean, or some combination thereof. For some people, this can be a chance to take photographs in places they could never reach in real life. Such detailed worlds often come with impressive models of plants and animals. The following games offer great opportunities for nature photographers who want to take a shot in the virtual space.

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8

Assassin’s Creed

Detailed Open Worlds With Lots of Animals

Released

October 15, 2018

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language

This might seem like an odd choice, but the franchise actually fits quite easily, especially in the most recent entries. One of the things Assassin’s Creed is known for is its detailed reconstructions of historical settings. In the later games especially, that means a lot of detail goes into the environment, including wildlife native to the setting. Starting with Origins, every game has had a photo mode. This means they all include a great range of options for taking pictures, sometimes in settings a player could never hope to reach.

Whether it’s the Egyptian deserts of Origins or the Mediterranean islands in Odyssey, all of them go to great lengths to portray different types of wildlife. Odyssey in particular is notable, since its nautical setting allows for detailed underwater maps in addition to the impressive surface locations. Players might have to hunt or defend themselves against some of the creatures, but that’s only in the main campaign. In the Discovery Tour mode, that’s not a problem, as it allows players to freely explore the map and take photos of anything they want without danger.

7

Beyond Blue

Underwater Adventure Full of Deep Sea Life

Adventure

Casual

Simulation

OpenCritic

Top Critic Rating:
72/100


Critics Recommend:
47%

Released

June 11, 2020

Developer(s)

E-Line Media

Publisher(s)

E-Line Media

This impressive indie title focuses on low-pressure exploration of a marine ecosystem. Over the course of its short campaign, players step into the shoes of a diver named Mirai, who live-streams while documenting ocean life and promoting conservation. The overall gameplay is designed to be easy to handle. Mirai is well-equipped, so she doesn’t have to worry about oxygen, but she does get to encounter a variety of sea creatures. There’s even a cool level where she gets to go into the deep ocean and explore some of its more bizarre and unsettling wildlife.

The best part is that the game has a photo mode. This makes it not only a great opportunity to learn about different types of sea creatures, but also to engage in virtual photography of wildlife that might not be available to a lot of land-based photographers. This is a chance to take cool pictures of whales, fish, octopuses — all things that require an underwater specialist to photograph in real life.

6

Flight Simulator 2024

Travel the World and Visit Different Environments

Systems

Released

November 19, 2024

Publisher(s)

Xbox Game Studios

Franchise

Microsoft Flight Simulator

If any virtual photography was going to happen in Flight Simulator, one would think it would involve pictures of the various airplanes, helicopters, and hot air balloons available to the player. However, the latest entry added a walkaround mode where the player can step out of their vehicle and explore their impressively detailed surroundings.

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This can mean walking around an airport or a city, but players can also check out natural environments around the world. African grasslands, snowy mountains, tropical jungles, and the Australian outback are all choices, and each one is populated with native plants and animals. There are even photo missions which issue challenges for players to visit specific biomes and use the photo mode to take wildlife shots according to various parameters.

5

Ghost of Tsushima

Natural Beauty Clashes With Medieval Warfare

Systems

OpenCritic

Top Critic Rating:
84/100


Critics Recommend:
88%

Sucker Punch’s 2020 game is a gripping story about the flaws in the rigid Samurai code and the question of how one acts honorably against dishonorable enemies. But what doesn’t get as much attention is Ghost of Tsushima‘s open world, which puts a lot of emphasis on natural environments.

The range of animals isn’t as wide as in some of the other games on this list, but the ones that appear look amazing. One of the game’s mechanics involves following foxes and birds to hidden secrets. Jin can also encounter crabs, bears, deer, fish, and crabs. But it’s easy to forget that “nature” isn’t exclusive to the animal kingdom. The game boasts gorgeous forests and meadows full of colorful flowers, offering a great opportunity to photograph an extremely scenic environment.

4

Horizon Series

Post-Apocalyptic World Full of Life

Systems

Released

February 18, 2022

ESRB

T for Teen: Blood, Language, Use of Alcohol, Violence

The line between natural and artificial gets a bit blurry with Horizon Zero Dawn and Forbidden West, and a big part of the game involves robots that look and act like animals. But that doesn’t stop the games from showcasing a gorgeous natural world. Aloy can explore forests, deserts, tundras, and can even go underwater in parts of Forbidden West. With the theme of nature reclaiming the old world, there are also a lot of overgrown ruins where plants have started to take over. This gives the player lots of great landscape opportunities.

The game also has its share of animals, and even the animal-like machines make interesting photographic subjects. There is a certain peculiarity to the sight of machines that seem to resemble animals navigating what otherwise seems to be a natural world, and they come in a lot of different shapes and sizes.

3

Lushfoil Photography Sim

Low-Stress Photography in Various Environments

Exploration

Simulation

Virtual Reality

Released

April 15, 2025

Developer(s)

Matt Newell

PC Release Date

April 15, 2025

PS5 Release Date

April 15, 2025

As great as a lot of games on this list are, many of them can be intense. Some players might want a calmer, more relaxed experience where they can explore without getting attacked by outlaws or robots. And some might be interested in a game that simulates the experience of real-life photography, rather than just using a photo mode. In that case, a good choice would be Matt Newell’s upcoming indie game Lushfoil Photographer Simulator.

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This game is a walking simulator where the player can explore various environments around the world and take pictures with an in-game camera, rather than using a photo mode. It even incorporates the choices a professional photographer would have to make, like exposure, contrast, white balance settings, and even a basic editor. There are no combat mechanics or puzzles to get in the way. Players just walk around a beautifully rendered setting full of plants and animals that will make excellent pictures.

2

No Man’s Sky

Lots of Planets With Their Own Fauna

Adventure

Action

Survival

OpenCritic

Top Critic Rating:
72/100


Critics Recommend:
36%

Wildlife doesn’t have to be limited to creatures found on Earth. Unfortunately, until we find a planet with confirmed alien life and a reliable means of getting there, real-life photography of alien fauna is impossible. For virtual photography, on the other hand, there are some options. Plenty of games feature alien ecosystems, but so far none have been able to match the range in No Man’s Sky.

The game’s procedural generation system allows the player to keep traveling to new worlds and finding new ecosystems with their own unique wildlife, perfect for capturing with the game’s excellent photo mode. All sorts of alien creatures can pop up on different planets. There are even options for diving into alien oceans and taking pictures of marine ecosystems.

1

Red Dead Redemption 2

Exploration of the American Frontier

OpenCritic

Top Critic Rating:
96/100


Critics Recommend:
94%

Released

October 26, 2018

Rockstar’s gorgeous open world comes with an almost ridiculous amount of detail. The game takes place on a large map with a variety of extremely detailed environments, and there’s only one truly urban location. There are small towns and farms, but a lot of the map is open country and various natural environments.

Over the course of the story, protagonist Arthur Morgan encounters meadows, forests, cajun swamps, and (albeit briefly) a tropical island. Except that last one, all of these can be visited at any time. And, of course, Rockstar couldn’t render such beautiful environments without offering creatures of the American Frontier, from squirrels to bison. These animals can be hunted, but those who don’t wish to do so can still appreciate the beauty of the natural world. And of course, the game’s excellent photo mode is perfect for getting virtual photos of all those creatures.

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