Simulacra (video game)

Simulacra (stylized in all caps) is a 2017 detective-horror game developed and published by Malaysian video game developer Kaigan Games. It was released for the Windows, iOS, Android, macOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. The game has received mixed reviews from critics, praising it for its scary premise and unique game concept, while denouncing it for its poor voice lines.

Plot
The player finds a lost mobile phone that belonged to a person named Anna. Attempting to access the phone through the lock screen causes the phone to suddenly crackle, with the distorted screen showing "Help me". The phone continues to do things on its own, leading to a certain video. It's showing a scared Anna begging whoever is watching not to come after her. In order to find out what happened to Anna, the goal for the player is to collect all the information possible and try to find the AI Simulacrum, the one behind Anna's disappearance.

Gameplay
As a spiritual successor to the game Sara is Missing, Simulacra revolves around exploring the missing person's phone. There are various contacts that can be interacted with, such as her friends or boyfriend. The players can also fix glitched messages and images or check the installed apps like Spark, Jabbr and Surfer. However, during these said ventures, the player may experience some glitches and jumpscares on the phone and an individual called "Aulner" trying to message the player in odd capitalization, asking the player to find him and by doing so the player will supposedly find Anna.

The game has 4 endings unlocked by following a specific narrative branch.

Reception
Simulacra received "mixed or average" reviews from critics for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch versions of the game, while the iOS version received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.

Sequels
Kaigan Games have also released several follow-up games: a spin-off Simulacra: Pipe Dreams on October 26, 2018, and two sequels Simulacra 2 and Simulacra 3 on January 30, 2020, and October 25, 2022 respectively.