SIMULACRA

Simulacra is surprisingly engaging for a game that takes place completely on the screen of a found smart phone. With well-drawn characters, a gripping story, and one foot planted firmly in the real world, the suspense of Simulacra entertains quite well. Never truly chilling, Simulacra is nonetheless a unique suspense mystery that is well worth a look.

Simulacra is a different game whose unusual formula makes it more than interesting. It tackles themes of today's society with a crudeness that few games would dare to attempt through a fairly convincing and entertaining simulation. Despite being in full English, it is a title worth giving a chance to.

Simulacra is one of the more interesting lost phone games I've played, and I enjoy the horror atmosphere it creates. The narrative is beyond intriguing despite the blandness of Anna herself, helped along by distrustful characters with more depth to them. I like the fact that there is generally no time limit, as it gives me time to sit and think, as well as to sift through the phone's contents. The puzzles aren't ridiculously difficult, but aren't always easy either. I would like to return to the big question I've been asking all along: is it reasonable to play found game on a console with a controller? It works well enough, minus my gripes about small icons and the annoyance of typing text.

Simulacra does a good job of delivering suspense, but its capacity for horror is limited. Equally so, the way that the game utilizes its phone apps leaves much to be desired in such a brief package, elongating the experience with fumbling around for what to do rather than filling the time with some form of progress. Simulacra has a lot to improve on, but there is still something dramatic and interesting here.

The game pitches itself as FMV horror, and while the experience does incorporate those two elements the more you play, it never amounts to anything more than cheap jump scares and creepy episodes of breaking the fourth wall. It's effective enough the first time, but diminishing returns weaken the tactic dramatically. The same can't be said for some of the horrific voice acting, however, which is cringeworthily terrible on almost all fronts. Although, Simulacra offers just enough of an intriguing, narrative reason to put up with it all.