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- Another Indie
- Another Indie
- Another Indie
- Another Indie
SIMULACRA 2
Released On: Jan 30, 2020
69
7.7
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 7 Critic Reviews
69
29% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
71% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 7 Critic Reviews
69
29% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
71% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Simulacra 2 is at its best when it is rewarding strong attention to detail, and at its worst when it's punishing you for guessing incorrectly in dialogue sequences. The acting is strong by FMV standards too. I like this series and I appreciate how much it grew between the two games. I'm excited to see where they go next with it.
Creepy, fun and immersive. Simulacra 2 goes all the way in the form of an B series horror thriller. At times it feels a little bit linear, but there is plenty going on inside this phone to keep you engaged.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 9 User Ratings
7.7
56% Positive
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
33% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
11% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 9 User Ratings
7.7
56% Positive
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
33% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
11% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
Simulacra 2 is a game that successfully experiments with storytelling, and delivers an engaging narrative with a many mysteries to solve. It’s best played on a phone, but if you like exploring new ways of discovering a story, it’s worth your time.
A horror-tinged found phone game that any mystery fan should find a few hours for.
The game almost plays itself, which is a shame. It’s still made well enough to keep players engrossed in the mystery and scared of the Ripple Man. [04/2020, p.80]
It’s well priced and a thrill ride from start to finish, including fully working apps and different live-action endings to uncover. Although a little predictable in places, and maybe a tad preachy, it gets the job done and will probably make you flush your phone away.
Although it doesn’t feel entirely phoned-in, SIMULACRA 2 fails to either build on its predecessor’s style or provide enough worthwhile substance of its own, making for a sequel that isn’t quite transmitting at full strength.
Simulacra 2 is more of Simulacra 1: More data to search, more people to hack, more cringe to endure.
Another stranger’s phone. Another story tinged with horror and sci fi elements. Another trip into the uncomfortable territory of violating simulated people’s privacy for a good cause. This sequel sticks pretty close to the footsteps of its predecessor.
This time, the justification is justice, because the owner of the phone is quite dead, and you might be a cop, or a cop's little journalist helper. That makes the whole endeavour a bit less creepy, even though the characters of the story and the protagonist himself express a whole lot of disapproval of the invasion of privacy aspect of the proceedings.
Gameplay-wise, things have been improved and deepened quite a lot. There is now a mechanic where you can store facts that you have discovered as a kind of file on the phone, and use them to confront people with them via chat. The simulations of social hacking have been implemented more gracefully and more challenging. The FMV production values have gone up, the inevitable creepy pasta is quite a bit creepier.
So if Simulacra 2 is a whole lot more of Simulacra, and I found Simulacra quite compelling and mostly fun to play, then I must have enjoyed playing Simulacra 2, right? Unfortunately, no, I didn’t.
There were a few minor snags: Some of the riddles you have to puzzle out were very obscure, and, to my mind, there was way too much dross to sift through to find the few nuggets of usable information within the timelines of the various social media apps on the phone.
But the main reason I felt little enjoyment while playing were the characters.
The game’s main four characters are influencers, and as a consequence, they are a bunch of miserable, , morally compromised people. That's not my framing, that is the inescapable implication of the script. I can’t find a single ounce of sympathy with any of these people even though their life is in danger and the plot tries, unsuccesfully, to redeem them in the end. There is no self-reflection, nothing is learned.
Seriously, if I ever want to warn someone away from this career path, I'll have him or her play this game. The cringe is that intense.
I admit this might be a me thing, because I look with deepening horror at this business of turning your own life into a product. But I do believe that you can not play this game without developing a distaste for an Influencer's existence.
Staring into an abyss can be compelling or even fun, eyeballing these particular depths was not fun for me. Only play this if misery porn is your thing.
TLDR: An OK horror story combined with an honest look into one of the creepiest and extensively miserable facets of online existence. This is an acquired taste, and I have failed acquiring it.
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PC
Summary A dead influencer. An obsessed detective. Three suspects. Piece the truth together by going through the victim’s phone messages, videos, and social media in the follow up to the critically acclaimed SIMULACRA.
Platforms:
- PC
- iOS (iPhone/iPad)
Initial Release Date: Jan 30, 2020
Developer:
- Kaigan Games
Publisher: Another Indie
Genres:
