SIMULACRA
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Critic Reviews for SIMULACRA
Simulacra might not be perfect, but it highlights that the found phone horror concept is one that has a significant amount of potential.
What’s most baffling about Simulacra is why more wasn’t done to make it a more authentic mobile experience.
Simulacra is a solid horror game with some good ideas. If you can overlook the voice acting, there's a fun, unnerving experience to be had.
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 does a good job of delivering suspense, but its 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.
Despite my numerous complaints with it, SIMULACRA was, at its core, a title that had me engrossed.
