Simulacra

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.

What’s most baffling about Simulacra is why more wasn’t done to make it a more authentic mobile experience.

Simulacra might not be perfect, but it highlights that the found phone horror concept is one that has a significant amount of potential.

While I spent most of my time with Simulacra 3 waiting for the game to reach its full potential and never quite seeing it happen, Kaigan Games continues to deliver one of the more unique horror series out there. Scrolling through a phone to discover the world's horrors is always worth it — it at least adds a new definition to doomscrolling, I'll tell you that — but I can't help but wonder what Kaigan Games could do if they met the full potential they continue to showcase throughout this trilogy. Regardless, it's a worthy expansion of the series, and with an affordable price tag, I definitely recommend giving it a shot.

The horror title SIMULACRA can entertain you, scare you, and make you think—all for less than four euros. As the saying goes, a lot of music for little money. In my opinion, the game has a very interesting concept and execution; using real actors was a perfect choice, the story will keep you glued to your chair, and the scary atmosphere will keep you on edge. However, the ending will probably disappoint me for a while, as I was expecting something more thought-out and epic.

Simulacra 2 is a worthy sequel and an immersive take on the role that our digital presence has in defining who we are. The different playable characters help to give a different perspectives to the sotyr and the suspects are sufficiently flawed to keep you guessing as to where blame may lie, but the wider cast of characters don't feel as focussed as the original. While the virus in question here is completely digital, it's uncannily topical given our enforced switch to virtual interactions.

Simulacra excels in premise alone. By the end of the game, I found myself wondering when a better game with this kind of concept will be released. It suffers from an identity crisis. It started out as an enticing murder mystery game, and wound up a tired metaphor.

The studio clearly sees potential in the format as a storytelling platform, and I definitely want to see them refine it in the future.

Simulacra 2 is an improvement on its predecessor, but there's further to go. A tighter narrative and better interface design don't quite compensate for sketchy writing and silly horror.

Simulacra is a very clever game that, despite the simplicity of both its premise and gameplay, immerses you into it and doesn't let you go until you've solved the mystery.