SIMULACRA Reviews
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.
SIMULACRA on the Nintendo Switch is an FMV adenture based on a story of mystery and horror and if the gameplay experience is not among the most outstanding ever designed, there is definitely something engaging about finding hints and advancing along the plot. The game's different endings add an additional incentive to explore and even though SIMULACRA is no masterpiece, its players will feel involved enough to take the experience to the end.
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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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.