A Gamer Transforms 2025’s Top Extraction Shooter into an Impressive War Photography Experience

One Player Transforms 2025’s Extraction Shooter Into a Stunning War Photography Experience

You’ve never seen the Rust Belt like this before.

As a third-person shooter with a single weapon that allows for scoping, players often miss out on the breathtaking environments and explosive action of _Arc Raiders_ from a first-person perspective. However, there’s a unique way to explore post-apocalyptic Italy through the eyes of a Raider: using binoculars. While they come with a heavy vignette and some HUD elements to mimic a zoomed scope, PC players can hit F10 to hide the HUD and remove the vignetting, resulting in a grainy image that’s perfect for capturing stunning shots of the game.

This is exactly what one real-life photographer, known as Topside Flicks on YouTube, has accomplished. He’s traded in his weapons to navigate the wilds of _Arc Raiders_’ chaotic landscapes, capturing some of the most beautiful screenshots of the extraction shooter to date.

The grainy aesthetic of these images fits perfectly within _Arc Raiders_’ makeshift world, where Raiders must improvise with whatever they can find. It’s easy to envision a photographer in this universe cobbling together found objects to snap some stills.

I’m an amateur photographer myself, having dabbled in the craft during college, and I grew up with a family member who made a living behind the camera. I appreciate a good shot, whether in real life or in-game, so I was eager to learn more about the experience of capturing the stunning vistas of _Arc Raiders_ and freezing the intense bursts of violence the game is known for.

Levi, the man behind Topside Flicks, shared his thoughts with me over email. He mentioned that the game’s beauty compelled him to find ways to take photos. “I was playing with a friend and I couldn’t stop marveling at how great this game looked,” he said. “I’m a photographer by trade, so I’m always seeing photo opportunities.”

_Arc Raiders_ clearly offers fantastic capture opportunities, likely due to the lack of color grading and filters, as discussed by the developers in their behind-the-scenes featurettes.

Every map in _Arc Raiders_ is an active digital warzone, and I asked Levi how perilous his photo excursions are. “I die plenty of times,” he admitted, “but the beauty of these runs is that I’m not looting, so if I die, all I lose are binoculars and some defibrillators.”

Despite the risks, Levi isn’t shy about getting close to intense firefights to snag the perfect shot. He’s had his share of close calls, stating, “I get set on fire quite a lot in my videos. The Fireballs are my arch-nemesis when I don’t have a weapon,” referring to the rolling Arc balls that can incinerate players with their flamethrower attacks.

Once on the battlefield, binoculars in hand, he focuses solely on the light and composition of his surroundings. The results speak for themselves. While some images have undergone post-processing edits, they are strong captures, especially considering he dives headfirst into violent warzones purely for the sake of the art, not for loot.