SIMULACRA is the spiritual successor to Sara Is Missing (SIM), a semi-well known and Internet-popular game from 2016. This one is better in nearly every way; there’s a level of polish and clear vision here that SIM severely lacked. In fact, there are so many improvements that it’s crazy.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that it’s any good, either. While I admire the massive overhaul that this second shot got, I can’t help but notice many persistent major flaws that hold it back from being above mediocre-at-best. I can only hope that the devs continue to hone their craft, and that future games continue to go up in quality.
SHORT REVIEW
Visuals: 3/5
Sound: 1.5/5
Story: 1.5/5
Gameplay: 3.5/5
Worldbuilding: 3.5/5
Overall game score: 2.5/5 [2.6/5]
IN-DEPTH REVIEW
Visuals:
The art direction is just one of the things that received a big upgrade in SIMULACRA. Its look is sleeker and more professional; app icons, general layouts, and the overall graphic design feel much more realistic for a modern, state-of-the art phone.
There’s also some pretty decent visual scares. [SPOILERS] The evolution of the background photo as you progress, the creepy one-second jumpscares, and Anna being stalked in the background of one of her videos make for some memorable moments. [SPOILER ENDING]
Overall, 3/5.
Sound:
The main screen theme is actually pretty catchy. I wish the game had had more music, because the style they went for with it is interesting.
Aside from that, I’d like to discuss the absolutely terrible voice acting. Now, this can easily be lumped in with the story’s acting (as a portion of it is done through video), but there are actually more audio files/calls than videos, so it’s worth mentioning here too.
The VAs are so bad that it loops back around to being good, in a hilarious and ironic way. I found myself excited to listen to these bits simply to laugh at them. My favorite by far was Greg, who sounds like a 50s greaser severely over-exaggerating.
I also need to mention that I found the lack of background noise in these parts distracting. I understand wanting to have high audio quality for your game, but I doubt that all of these characters own the kind of phone that cancels out literally any noise.
Overall, 1.5/5.
Story:
The narrative is where SIMULACRA’S clearer vision really gets to shine through. It’s much more cohesive, the narrative much easier to follow, while still keeping the sci-fi and supernatural elements that the first attempted.
The characters are also much more interesting and two-dimensional. I don’t necessarily find them likable, or even well-written, but their contrasting personalities and strong traits at least keep conversations from feeling too similar.
Now, that being said, the dialogue is almost always subpar at best. While the character dispositions are strong enough to shine through, it’s often to a comical extent. This is what leads to many of them being unappealing.
Another big problem is the general length of the game. The dull dialogue drags on for so long, padding the runtime to an almost unbearable 3 1/2 - 4 hours. There was a lot of stuff that could’ve been cut or shortened. That was by far my biggest annoyance with it.
As I’ve already discussed, the acting is a huge issue as well. Not one member of the cast is good. Their deliveries are stiff and forced; it always feels like they’re just reading right off of a script. Hearing their voice acting is already terrible enough, but seeing them try to perform for the camera at the same time is almost impossible to watch.
Now - all those major flaws aside - there is one thing that I’d really like to praise. The climax of the game, where you finally confront the antagonist directly, is done superbly well. The VA for this character is fantastic, as are the effects overlaid onto it. The atmosphere set is immaculate, too. I can only dream of a SIMULACRA that didn’t take so long to get to the good part, or that the rest of the game matched it in quality.
Overall, 1.5/5.
Gameplay:
To my own surprise, I actually liked many of the puzzles in SIMULACRA. That’s not to say that there aren't a few that get a bit too convoluted, but the overall quality is much higher than SIM. SIMULACRA focuses heavily on app exploration; as long as you’re thorough in your search, you shouldn’t have too much of a problem. The answers are integrated in a natural way, too, keeping things immersive. This kind of design is sensible, but still complex enough to provide a challenge.
There’s also an astounding amount of stakes put into how you interact with characters. Your replies actually do matter - at least, over half the time. I really appreciated that, since in many smaller games the illusion of choice means a lot of conversations are ultimately pointless (take, for example, SIM.)
Still, those aforementioned runtime issues make talking to Anna’s loved ones - which is the other half of the game, aside from the puzzles - such a chore. Even if you are choosing between dialogue options rather frequently, it gets boring after a while. I think that if the dev team focuses on tightening the length up, they’ll have a much better product on their hands.
Overall, 3.5/5.
Worldbuilding:
SIMULACRA’s world is far more in-depth than I would’ve originally expected; there’s enough content in the apps to build fairly strong flavor text and lore. Plenty of side characters populate this internet space to flesh it out, many of which you will have small interactions with.
Anna’s character is also given quite a bit of dimension. Her personal issues and interpersonal relationships are intriguing, as well as her love of animals and pursuit of vet school (against the wishes of her mom.) I liked learning more about her.
Overall, 3.5/5.
Overall game score: 2.5/5. A vastly superior successor to Sara is Missing, SIMULACRA shows how much an understanding of the story you want to tell can improve your game. The length, acting, and writing hold it back from being good, but it’s much closer to good than SIM was.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that it’s any good, either. While I admire the massive overhaul that this second shot got, I can’t help but notice many persistent major flaws that hold it back from being above mediocre-at-best. I can only hope that the devs continue to hone their craft, and that future games continue to go up in quality.
SHORT REVIEW
Visuals: 3/5
Sound: 1.5/5
Story: 1.5/5
Gameplay: 3.5/5
Worldbuilding: 3.5/5
Overall game score: 2.5/5 [2.6/5]
IN-DEPTH REVIEW
Visuals:
The art direction is just one of the things that received a big upgrade in SIMULACRA. Its look is sleeker and more professional; app icons, general layouts, and the overall graphic design feel much more realistic for a modern, state-of-the art phone.
There’s also some pretty decent visual scares. [SPOILERS] The evolution of the background photo as you progress, the creepy one-second jumpscares, and Anna being stalked in the background of one of her videos make for some memorable moments. [SPOILER ENDING]
Overall, 3/5.
Sound:
The main screen theme is actually pretty catchy. I wish the game had had more music, because the style they went for with it is interesting.
Aside from that, I’d like to discuss the absolutely terrible voice acting. Now, this can easily be lumped in with the story’s acting (as a portion of it is done through video), but there are actually more audio files/calls than videos, so it’s worth mentioning here too.
The VAs are so bad that it loops back around to being good, in a hilarious and ironic way. I found myself excited to listen to these bits simply to laugh at them. My favorite by far was Greg, who sounds like a 50s greaser severely over-exaggerating.
I also need to mention that I found the lack of background noise in these parts distracting. I understand wanting to have high audio quality for your game, but I doubt that all of these characters own the kind of phone that cancels out literally any noise.
Overall, 1.5/5.
Story:
The narrative is where SIMULACRA’S clearer vision really gets to shine through. It’s much more cohesive, the narrative much easier to follow, while still keeping the sci-fi and supernatural elements that the first attempted.
The characters are also much more interesting and two-dimensional. I don’t necessarily find them likable, or even well-written, but their contrasting personalities and strong traits at least keep conversations from feeling too similar.
Now, that being said, the dialogue is almost always subpar at best. While the character dispositions are strong enough to shine through, it’s often to a comical extent. This is what leads to many of them being unappealing.
Another big problem is the general length of the game. The dull dialogue drags on for so long, padding the runtime to an almost unbearable 3 1/2 - 4 hours. There was a lot of stuff that could’ve been cut or shortened. That was by far my biggest annoyance with it.
As I’ve already discussed, the acting is a huge issue as well. Not one member of the cast is good. Their deliveries are stiff and forced; it always feels like they’re just reading right off of a script. Hearing their voice acting is already terrible enough, but seeing them try to perform for the camera at the same time is almost impossible to watch.
Now - all those major flaws aside - there is one thing that I’d really like to praise. The climax of the game, where you finally confront the antagonist directly, is done superbly well. The VA for this character is fantastic, as are the effects overlaid onto it. The atmosphere set is immaculate, too. I can only dream of a SIMULACRA that didn’t take so long to get to the good part, or that the rest of the game matched it in quality.
Overall, 1.5/5.
Gameplay:
To my own surprise, I actually liked many of the puzzles in SIMULACRA. That’s not to say that there aren't a few that get a bit too convoluted, but the overall quality is much higher than SIM. SIMULACRA focuses heavily on app exploration; as long as you’re thorough in your search, you shouldn’t have too much of a problem. The answers are integrated in a natural way, too, keeping things immersive. This kind of design is sensible, but still complex enough to provide a challenge.
There’s also an astounding amount of stakes put into how you interact with characters. Your replies actually do matter - at least, over half the time. I really appreciated that, since in many smaller games the illusion of choice means a lot of conversations are ultimately pointless (take, for example, SIM.)
Still, those aforementioned runtime issues make talking to Anna’s loved ones - which is the other half of the game, aside from the puzzles - such a chore. Even if you are choosing between dialogue options rather frequently, it gets boring after a while. I think that if the dev team focuses on tightening the length up, they’ll have a much better product on their hands.
Overall, 3.5/5.
Worldbuilding:
SIMULACRA’s world is far more in-depth than I would’ve originally expected; there’s enough content in the apps to build fairly strong flavor text and lore. Plenty of side characters populate this internet space to flesh it out, many of which you will have small interactions with.
Anna’s character is also given quite a bit of dimension. Her personal issues and interpersonal relationships are intriguing, as well as her love of animals and pursuit of vet school (against the wishes of her mom.) I liked learning more about her.
Overall, 3.5/5.
Overall game score: 2.5/5. A vastly superior successor to Sara is Missing, SIMULACRA shows how much an understanding of the story you want to tell can improve your game. The length, acting, and writing hold it back from being good, but it’s much closer to good than SIM was.