SIMULACRA

 PC
Metascore
tbd

No score yet - based on 2 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. COGconnected
    Nov 2, 2017
    70
    Despite my numerous complaints with it, SIMULACRA was, at its core, a title that had me engrossed.
  2. Adventure Gamers
    Mar 26, 2018
    60
    While not flawless and more focused on narrative than puzzles, SIMULACRA manages to be a fun experience by offering more player agency than its lost phone contemporaries, throwing players into an ongoing missing persons investigation – with a supernatural twist.

User Reviews

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User Score
6.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 16 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 16
  3. Negative: 2 out of 16
  1. TitaniumDragon
    Oct 6, 2018
    5
    Simulacra is a found phone horror game. The premise of the game is that you (the unknown, nameless protagonist – but presumably *you*, theSimulacra is a found phone horror game. The premise of the game is that you (the unknown, nameless protagonist – but presumably *you*, the actual player) found a phone out on your front porch that belongs to a woman named Anna. There’s something off about the phone, though; it keeps glitching out, a number of the files on it are messed up, there’s some creepypasta-esque flashes of the screen changing to horrifying images – and of course it quickly becomes evident from the frantic messages you get from her boyfriend that Anna has gone missing.

    The game’s basic premise is exploring Anna’s phone. You decrypt some images and text messages via very simple minigames, but most of it is a choices-matter narrative, as you interact with not only Anna’s boyfriend, but a funny guy named Taylor on Spark (a dating/hookup app that *totally* isn’t Tinder) who had been flirting with Anna, as well as messages from Ashley, Anna’s best friend. You browse a few in-game websites, make a few phone calls from phone numbers you find on them and hidden in various images, and gradually unravel the mystery of what happened to Anna over the course of the game.

    This is something of a hybrid of a simple puzzle game and Telltale’s sort of narrative storytelling, where you have a list of dialogue choices and they influence how other characters react to you. There is actually a branching narrative – the choices you make actually influence which endings you can access as you try to save Anna, only to discover that things aren’t so easy, and how you treat the characters affects how they interact with you. If you’re a jerk to someone, they won’t trust you and will be a jerk back; if you’re nice to them, they’ll be more trusting. But at the same time, you can lie about who you are to various people in the game, and while sometimes they’ll figure it out, other times you’ll slot right in as a trusted person and be able to get what you need out of them.

    Indeed, pretense is a major theme of the game – people aren’t quite who they present themselves to be online, and the fronts they put up often don’t match who they are (or, indeed, who they perceive themselves to be). Is Anna’s boyfriend really still together with her, or did they break up, and is he stalking her? There’s a bunch of sexual predators on Spark – is Taylor one of them? Does Ashley have ulterior motives in her friendship with Anna?

    I’d like to say that the biggest flaw with this game is that the resolution is, perhaps, a bit on the nose. While I approve of this new age of horror, and coming up with a new spooky villain, I also didn’t feel like it did a good enough job of reinforcing the manipulation angle of social media, instead simply resorting to outright mind control, which was a lost opportunity.

    However, I think the actual largest flaw with this game is that it is just okay. It is a clever idea, and there are some fun conceits in there, but I have to say at the end I was left feeling just lukewarm about it. When I play a game, or finish a game, I want a sense of satisfaction. But this was just sort of an experience I had. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t particularly excellent, either.

    If you’ve never played a game like this before, and somehow got this for free or as part of a bundle, it’d be worth a spin to just try out something new. But at the same time, I’m left feeling like it’s hard to recommend that someone go out of their way to experience it, and when I recommend something, I want to actually be able to say to someone “Yes, you should go play this game.”

    I wasn’t left with that feeling here, as while it is overall decent, it is all just a little bit flat, and the jump scares don’t manage to really carry the horror of the game very well.    … Full Review »
  2. gingersnap225
    Sep 3, 2023
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. Interesting game. Neat concept. I wish they wouldn't have gone for a supernatural story, as I think the idea of searching for a missing woman by digging through her phone is interesting enough as is. The idea that you are just some random guy who picked up her phone and is now answering all of her messages is a little weird. Wish they would've come up with a better explanation. BUT the game was neat. I plan on playing the others to see if they improved upon the concept… Full Review »
  3. renyw
    Dec 19, 2022
    9
    great great great great great great great great great great great great great
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