"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 to uncover the mysteries behind the phone's owner.
8 Mystery Games To Sleuth To
For the investigative gamer out there, these mystery games are perfect to sleuth in and uncover many secrets that lurk within.
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.
6 Sara is Missing
App Store Rating: 3.7/5
- Release Date: October 23, 2016
- Developer: Kaigan Games
- Platform(s): Android, iOS, Windows, macOS
- Price: Free (with ads and in-app purchases)
- Genre(s): Simulation, Puzzle, Horror
Sara is Missing opens 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 and references to the infamous 'Red Room' creepypasta. Sara is Missing won two awards at the International Mobile Gaming Awards Southeast Asia: the Best Upcoming Game and Jury's Honorable Mention.
5 Duskwood - Detective Story
App Store Rating: 4.5/5
- Release Date: August 20, 2019
- Developer: Everbyte
- Platform(s): Android, iOS
- Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
- Genre(s): Crime, Thriller, Mystery
Duskwood is 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.
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One of the game's standout features is its community aspect, where players can theorize and share their experiences with a community of fellow armchair detectives. Players' responses to text messages also affect their relationships with the characters and the story's ending.
4 Replica
App Store Rating: 5/5
- Release Date: April 11, 2016
- Developer: SOMI
- Platform(s): Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch
- Price: $2.99
- Genre(s): Puzzle, Simulation, Dystopian Fiction
Set in a dystopian environment, Replica tasks 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.
3 A Normal Lost Phone
App Store Rating: 5/5
- Release Date: January 26, 2017
- Developer: Accidental Queens
- Platform(s): Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch
- Price: $2.99
- Genre(s): Puzzle, Exploration, Interactive Story
Unlike other found phone games, A Normal Lost Phone doesn'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 Phone has received positive reviews for sensitively portraying the LGBTQ+ community and 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.
2 An Elmwood Trail
App Store Rating: 4.8/5
- Release Date: October 19, 2021
- Developer: Studio Black Flag
- Platform(s): Android, iOS
- Price: Free (with ads and in-app purchases)
- Genre(s): Mystery, Interactive Story
In An 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.
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Detective games in the past were often very confining in nature, but more recently, some have opened themselves up to a wider world.
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 some surprisingly challenging puzzles.
1 SIMULACRA
App Store Rating: 4.9/5
- Release Date: October 25, 2017
- Developer: Kaigan Games
- Platform(s): Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch
- Price: $4.99
- Genre(s): Simulation, Puzzle, Horror
SIMULACRA was created by the same studio that developed Sara is Missing. It starts with the player discovering a lost phone, similar to its predecessor. As the player navigates through the phone, they discover a series of disturbing videos, messages, and photos suggesting that the owner of the phone, a woman named Anna, is in danger.
The success of SIMULACRA led to two sequels, SIMULACRA 2 and SIMULACRA 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.
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