Replica

About

"Replica is a single-player mystery simulation game with an intriguing story, marvelous game mechanics, pretty visuals, and a good soundtrack. As a player, you are given a cellphone of an unknown owner and must look for evidence of terrorism by hacking into the owner's accounts and inspecting their social media activity. The game features 12 multiple endings and 8 achievements, providing a unique and immersive experience that raises questions about privacy, surveillance, and patriotism."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

78%

Audience ScoreBased on 473 reviews

story43 positive mentions

grinding9 negative mentions

The game features an interesting and engaging story that encourages players to think about themes of privacy and government surveillance.
The unique gameplay mechanic of exploring a stranger's phone adds a fresh twist to the puzzle genre, making it immersive and interactive.
Multiple endings provide replayability, allowing players to explore different outcomes based on their choices.

The game is quite short, with a playtime of around 30-60 minutes, which may leave some players wanting more content.
Some puzzles can feel tedious or overly simplistic, leading to a lack of challenge for experienced players.
The writing can be heavy-handed and lacks subtlety, making the political messages feel forced or cartoonish at times.

story
146 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
64%
7%
The game's story is generally perceived as short and simplistic, often lacking depth and complexity, with many players finding it unoriginal and heavy-handed in its social commentary. While some appreciate the intriguing premise and the multiple endings, they feel that these do not significantly enhance the narrative experience. Overall, the story is seen as a mix of engaging elements and missed potential, leaving players wanting a more profound exploration of its themes.
- “The story itself is only 1-2 hours long, but it is a very mysterious journey with a lot of little puzzles that make it a very special play.”
- “The story is interesting and enthralling while causing reflection on real-world dilemmas and current events such as Big Brother, 'who watches the watchmen?', the Anti-Terrorism Act, and more.”
- “The story dives right in from the very beginning, and is enthralling.”
- “While I like some of the things that the game is trying to relay, the interface was clunky, the story was kind of meh, and the characters were pretty unlikable.”
- “The story itself isn’t particularly complex, there are no twists, and it’s pretty much what you would expect from the premise.”
- “In spite of some minor ambiguity, the premise is very obvious, the social commentary is too in-your-face, and the story is a bit too simplistic in its straightforwardness.”
gameplay
64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
63%
5%
The gameplay of the game is characterized by its unique premise of investigating a suspect's phone, offering a mix of puzzle-solving and detective mechanics. While some players appreciate the engaging narrative and replay value, many criticize the gameplay for being simplistic, repetitive, and lacking depth, often devolving into mindless clicking. Overall, it presents an interesting concept but falls short in execution, leaving players wanting more complexity and variety.
- “The puzzle/investigation gameplay is simple yet very effective, and it provides some actual replay value in spite of most puzzle answers being the same every time.”
- “The gameplay is focusing on spying on someone's phone to provide enough evidence to homeland security that this person has committed terrorism.”
- “The game's charm, for me personally at least, is in the gameplay, where you can immerse yourself into this suspect's phone as you're told what you ought to look out for.”
- “The gameplay itself consists mainly of snooping around a guy's phone and clicking on stuff to send to homeland security.”
- “Ultimately the gameplay is quite simplistic, based primarily around searching through conversations, social media posts and photos for specific information, alongside inferring a few passwords/login details, and the game is utterly unsubtle about how it presents a message about the potential dangers of the information age and state surveillance.”
- “The writing is juvenile, the gameplay is simplistic, and it's very short (which, as bad as it is, maybe is for the best).”
graphics
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
58%
8%
The game's graphics are characterized by a minimalist pixel art style that some players appreciate for its nostalgic charm, while others criticize it as outdated and inconsistent with the modern smartphone theme. Overall, the visuals are described as simple and low-resolution, yet they effectively contribute to the game's immersive atmosphere, despite some players finding them unsettling. While opinions vary, many agree that the pixel graphics align well with the game's narrative and gameplay mechanics.
- “I appreciated the minimalistic pixel graphics and interface.”
- “Good music and the retro pixel art style matches the feel of the game.”
- “The game has wonderful and simplistic pixel graphics.”
- “Graphically, the game is okay; it looks like an old phone and everything is in the same style.”
- “The use of lazy pixel graphics is both inexcusable and nonsensical here. The protagonist uses a smartphone from an era where pixel graphics were abandoned as no longer necessary due to advancements in display technology.”
- “The graphics are very low, the sounds are minimalistic, and the gameplay is only annoying and cruel.”
music
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
48%
10%
The music in the game is generally described as peaceful, relaxing, and fitting for its puzzle elements, with many reviewers appreciating its nostalgic and calming qualities. However, some critics find the soundtrack repetitive or not entirely suitable for the game's pace, suggesting that improvements could be made. Overall, while the music enhances the atmosphere, opinions vary on its appropriateness and execution.
- “The music is very peaceful and I think it’s a good match for a puzzle game like that.”
- “Good music and the retro pixel art style matches the feel of the game.”
- “The music is really peaceful and relaxing for what the game is.”
- “Music is dull.”
- “But, gameplay is dry and music is repetitive.”
- “While people rave about the music (and it is decent), I don't think it is all that appropriate for the pace of this game.”
replayability
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
56%
11%
The game's replayability is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating the multiple endings and hidden achievements that encourage revisiting the game. However, many find the repetitive dialogue and short length diminish the overall replay value, leading to a consensus that while there are options for replaying, the incentive may not be strong enough for all players. Overall, it offers some replayability, but opinions vary on its effectiveness and worth.
- “The fact that there are multiple endings and a decent amount of replayability as well is an absolute must for a game like this.”
- “Has enough replayability if you play it to see the 12 different endings (I have seen only one at this time but I will return for the rest of them in the next days).”
- “Eleven possible endings yield high replay value.”
- “The only replayability stems from trying to solve how to unlock achievements and get alternative endings, but it's just not worth a replay for me.”
- “The game itself is short, although it has hidden achievements and replayability with multiple endings - although you always start with the same written dialogue, which made me find it quite repetitive.”
- “I was pretty satisfied once I was done, but the 'replayability' of multiple endings to get achievements wasn't enough for me to want to play it through again.”
grinding
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game is often described as tedious and frustrating, with players noting the repetitive nature of unlocking content and multiple endings. Many reviewers express a desire for better user experience features, such as skipping options and save functionality, to alleviate the monotony of repeated playthroughs. While some find the game entertaining, the overall sentiment leans towards it being a grindy experience that could benefit from improvements.
- “It seemed like something I'd enjoy, but to be honest I found the experience kind of tedious.”
- “Cool idea, it really is and it can be fun but is very tedious and annoying just to unlock the phone.”
- “But the plot is not-so-credible and the UX is painful and slow, which is all the more of an issue as you have to go through the same story a few times to get the multiple endings... this would be much less tedious with proper skipping features.”
emotional
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
88%
38%
The emotional aspect of the game is polarizing; while some players find it impactful and capable of fostering connections despite minimal character development, others criticize it for being overly simplistic or heavy-handed in its moral messaging. Overall, the game offers an emotional experience that can resonate with players, but its execution may leave some feeling disconnected or frustrated.
- “I made an emotional connection even though there were no faces.”
- “The first couple of runs through the game have a solid emotional impact.”
- “There exists an emotional aspect of this game if you want there to be.”
- “The story is very simple and boring.”
- “I found the emotional depth lacking and the narrative uninspired.”
- “The characters felt one-dimensional, making it hard to connect emotionally.”
humor
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is described as a mix of clever and darkly funny elements, with some players appreciating the comedic endings, while others find them lacking depth or too unrealistic. While the concept is praised, the writing's heavy-handedness may not resonate with everyone, particularly those who feel the serious themes should not be approached humorously. Overall, reactions to the humor are mixed, with some finding it enjoyable and others feeling it detracts from the experience.
- “Replica is clever, darkly funny, and more true than people allow themselves to accept.”
- “There is a way to cheese your way to the 'true ending' (advance time), but when you do this, you get a humorous ending.”
- “Some of them are really funny.”
atmosphere
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The atmosphere of the game is described as inconsistent and lacking depth, with critiques highlighting its reliance on generic tropes and underdeveloped characters. However, some users appreciate the sharp dialogues and tense ambiance, comparing it favorably to other titles like "Papers, Please," particularly for those who enjoy puzzle games with a dystopian theme. Overall, while it has potential, the execution leaves much to be desired.
- “There are many sharp dialogues, a tense atmosphere, and some endings are hard to find.”
- “If you enjoy puzzle games with a side of Orwellian-dystopian atmosphere, then this game will be well worth your $2.99!”
- “Similar atmosphere to 'Papers, Please' but updated to the current time.”
- “It is super short and a little bit incoherent in the atmosphere.”
- “I like the idea of this game, but without good writing to go along with it, it really lacks the atmosphere that this game desperately needs. It just feels like it's using all the tropes about the surveillance state with very generic antagonists, lacking depth in the characters.”
- “I'm aware that the limits of what a lost-phone simulator can offer, but at the same price, 'A Normal Lost Phone', a similar indie game made by Accidental Queens, has exceeded this one in many ways, particularly in terms of depth of story, interface design, and atmosphere.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, users report a mixed experience regarding stability, with some noting only minor bugs and glitches, while others express frustration with a significant presence of issues that detract from gameplay.
- “The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs and glitches.”
- “There are a few bugs and glitches that disrupt the experience.”
- “There are minor bugs and glitches that can be frustrating.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some users praising its smooth performance and efficient resource management, while others report occasional frame rate drops and stuttering, particularly on lower-end hardware. Overall, the game's optimization appears to be a work in progress, with potential for improvement in future updates.
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The reviews indicate a lack of character development for the protagonist, with players expressing disappointment over the absence of growth or evolution throughout the game.
- “There is no character development for the character you are playing.”
- “The character progression feels stagnant and uninspired.”
- “I expected more depth and growth from the characters, but they remain one-dimensional.”