“Found phone” games or found phone simulators mimic the experience of finding a lost phone and going through its contents to discover a story. The gameplay typically involves reading text messages, making calls, browsing social media apps, and solving puzzles, all touncover the mysteries behind the phone’s owner.
To no one’s surprise, these tend to be mobile games, in order to provide a truly immersive experience. Players can vicariously live the life of a professional or amateur detective to find missing people or experience someone’s life story by snooping through their phone, one text message at a time.
6Sara is Missing
App Store Rating: 3.7/5
Sara is Missingopens with the player finding a lost phone belonging to a girl named Sara. As they dive through the phone’s contents, including text messages, photos, videos, and apps, they uncover and piece together clues about Sara’s disappearance.
There’s a sense of darkness and ease throughout the game, with themes of the occult andreferences to the infamous ‘Red Room’ creepypasta.Sara is Missingwon two awards at the International Mobile Gaming Awards Southeast Asia: the Best Upcoming Game and Jury’s Honorable Mention.
5Duskwood - Detective Story
App Store Rating: 4.5/5
Duskwoodis set in the small, mysterious town of Duskwood, where a young woman named Hannah has gone missing. The player inadvertently becomes involved in the case when they receive a message from Hannah’s friends. The player then gets contacted by a mysterious hacker, who offers to help them.
One of the game’s standout features is its community aspect, where players can theorize and share their experiences with acommunity of fellow armchair detectives. Players' responses to text messages also affect their relationships with the characters and the story’s ending.
4Replica
App Store Rating: 5/5
Set in a dystopian environment,Replicatasks players with investigating a confiscated smartphone to find evidence of terrorism or subversion. They’re often faced with moral dilemmas along the way, such as choosing to comply with the government or seeking the truth and potentially facing consequences.
Replica has been praised for its thought-provoking narrative and raising questions about surveillance and privacy in the modern age. It was the winner of the Impact award at IndiCade 2016 and the Best of Game Design award at the Indie Stream Fest Award in 2016.
3A Normal Lost Phone
Unlike other found phone games,A Normal Lost Phonedoesn’t deal with any serious investigation into a missing person. The game begins with the player finding a phone belonging to a person named Sam. The story unfolds through the player piecing together details of Sam’s story through texts, e-mails, photos, and apps.
A Normal Lost Phonehas received positive reviews forsensitively portraying the LGBTQ+ communityand its unique storytelling approach. Critics and players alike praised the game for the game’s ability to create an intimate narrative through nothing but snooping through a lost phone.
2An Elmwood Trail
App Store Rating: 4.8/5
InAn Elmwood Trail, players take on the role of a detective named Adam Lane, who receives a text from an unknown individual blackmailing him to reopen the case of Zoey Leonard, who went missing in the Elmwood forest. To help him out, the individual sends him Zoey’s phone.
As expected, the player is tasked to look through Zoey’s phone to look for clues. The game makes sure to provide an immersive experience, with eerie music, and sound effects, along with somesurprisingly challenging puzzles.
1SIMULACRA
App Store Rating: 4.9/5
SIMULACRAwas created by the same studio that developedSara is Missing. It starts with the player discovering a lost phone, similar to its predecessor. As the player navigates through the phone, they discovera series of disturbing videos, messages, and photossuggesting that the owner of the phone, a woman named Anna, is in danger.
The success ofSIMULACRAled to two sequels,SIMULACRA 2andSIMULACRA 3, and a spin-off,SIMULACRA: Pipe Dream. The game won the Excellence in Storytelling award at the 2nd International Mobile Gaming Awards, as well as awards for Best Innovation and Best Storytelling at the 2017 SEA Game Awards.
