Analog horror Horror Mystery and detective horror

SIMULACRA 2

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A dead influencer's wiped phone, an obsessed detective and three suspects.

Platforms: PC, iPhone, Android
Stores: Steam, GOG
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (86% of 1,694 reviews); App Store 4.7 of 5 from 1,042 ratings; Google Play 4.7 from 2,123 reviews; Metacritic 69 (PC)
Players: 1
Made by: Kaigan Games
Released: 2019

No. 27 of the internet horror games · No. 25 of the artificial intelligence horror games

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What frightens An up-and-coming influencer has been found dead and her phone deliberately wiped. As you restore her files and talk to her friends, photos glitch, videos fill with digital noise, the phone reboots on its own and jump scares break in, as if something lives in her social media.
Content: death, disturbing imagery, jumpscares, flashing glitch effects, mild drug references, mild violence.

SIMULACRA 2 is a found-phone horror mystery with live-action video. Maya Crane, a young influencer, has been found dead and her death ruled an accident. Detective Murilo thinks otherwise and hands you her wiped phone. With WARDEN, a police program that restores deleted files, you go through her apps, chats and videos, question her friends and decide what happened. Your choices lead to several different endings.

About SIMULACRA 2

SIMULACRA 2 is made by Kaigan Games, the studio behind the first SIMULACRA, and published on Steam by Soft Source. It came out on iPhone and iPad in December 2019, then on PC through Steam and GOG on 30 January 2020. It is also on Android.

Maya Crane, a young influencer, has been found dead, and the case has been ruled an accident. Detective Murilo is not convinced. Her phone appears to have been wiped on purpose, and he gives it to you for an investigation that is not officially sanctioned. At the start you choose whether to play as an investigative journalist or as a new detective. Reviews say the two roles change your angle on the case more than the story itself.

Everything happens on the phone. You read her messages, a group chat of friends who do not all trust each other, her photo gallery, a case file from the police and her posts on a Twitter-style app called Jabber, where she also received nasty comments and messages from a stalker. A police program called WARDEN restores deleted files. The videos are played by a live-action cast and shot in 4K. Some dialogue choices are timed. The story branches, and after an ending a chart shows the paths you took and the ones you missed.

The horror is mostly digital: corrupted photos, a face that tears apart into static, videos breaking up, the phone rebooting by itself and a number of jump scares. Reviewers found some of the acting hammy and the tone at times absurd, but liked the mystery. The story stands on its own, though it ties into the first game's lore.

On PC it runs on Windows only. The voice acting is in English, with text in Chinese, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese and Russian on Steam. A run through the main story takes about five hours, and seeing more endings takes longer. It suits players who liked the first SIMULACRA and anyone who enjoys found-footage mysteries more than monsters.

How to play SIMULACRA 2

Choose to play as an investigative journalist or as a new detective.
Go through Maya's phone: messages, group chats, media, social apps, videos and the police case file.
Use WARDEN to restore deleted files and corrupted images.
Reply in chats with her friends and the detective; some choices are timed, and your answers change what people tell you.
Piece the clues together to decide what happened to Maya, and reach one of several endings.

Screenshots

SIMULACRA 2 screenshot: the phone's home screen shows a photo of a woman with yellow flowers torn apart by digital glitches, with Media and WARDEN apps

SIMULACRA 2 screenshot: the police case file on Maya Crane, age 25, with an autopsy photo of her face covered in cracks

SIMULACRA 2 screenshot: a group chat called New Beginnings where Maya's friends ask how you got her phone

SIMULACRA 2 screenshot: Detective Murilo in suspenders sits at his desk under a wall of newspaper clippings and awards

SIMULACRA 2 screenshot: Maya's photo gallery from 13 July with party selfies with friends, two cats, yoga and food

SIMULACRA 2 screenshot: the phone's media gallery of 28 photos, mostly yoga, swimwear and travel pictures

Tips

Read old messages and posts closely; clues hide in small details.
Restore every file WARDEN can recover before drawing conclusions.
Be careful whom you trust in the group chat.
Some replies are timed, so keep up with a chat while it is happening.
After an ending, check the story chart to see which paths you missed, then replay.

Questions

Do I need to play SIMULACRA first?

No. SIMULACRA 2 tells its own story, though it shares the found-phone style of the first game and ties into its lore.

What platforms is SIMULACRA 2 on?

PC (Windows) through Steam and GOG, iPhone and iPad through the App Store, and Android through Google Play.

Does SIMULACRA 2 have multiple endings?

Yes. The story branches on your choices, and after an ending a chart shows the paths you took. One GOG player review counts seven endings.

Is SIMULACRA 2 live action?

Yes. Its videos and photos feature a live-action cast.

How long is SIMULACRA 2?

About 5 hours for the main story, 6.5 hours with extras and 8.5 hours to see everything, by HowLongToBeat's figures on GOG.

Is SIMULACRA 2 scary?

It has jump scares, glitching photos and videos, and a dead woman's autopsy photo. It is rated PEGI 12 and 12+ on the App Store.

What languages does SIMULACRA 2 support?

Spoken English. On Steam the text is also in Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese and Russian. The App Store version lists English only.