Strange Telephone / ストレンジテレフォン

About

In Strange Telephone, players navigate surreal, dot-worlds generated by phone numbers, helping the protagonist Jill and her phone-companion Graham escape their mysterious confinement. As you explore and collect items, multiple endings and experiences await, promising a unique and intriguing adventure.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

Strange Telephone / ストレンジテレフォン screenshot

84%

Audience ScoreBased on 155 reviews

graphics16 positive mentions

story6 negative mentions

The game offers a unique and surreal exploration experience reminiscent of Yume Nikki, with charming visuals and a captivating atmosphere.
Puzzles are interesting and provide a fun challenge, encouraging experimentation and exploration.
The game is affordable and provides a decent amount of content, with multiple endings and a quirky charm that appeals to fans of indie games.

The exploration can feel repetitive and shallow due to the limited variety of worlds and the reliance on random number generation for access.
Many puzzles have illogical solutions, leading to frustration and the need for guides to progress, which detracts from the overall experience.
The time limit imposed on exploration can hinder immersion and enjoyment, making the game feel more like a chore than a leisurely exploration.

graphics
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
42%
9%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming pixel art style and surreal, dream-like aesthetics, creating an engaging atmosphere that resonates with fans of indie and Japanese games. While the visuals are often described as cute and appealing, some players note that the repetitive environments can diminish the initial visual impact. Overall, the combination of unique graphics, solid sound design, and a captivating atmosphere contributes to a memorable gaming experience, despite some challenges in player onboarding and progression.
- “The graphics are very cute and the story is quite nice!”
- “With its surreal atmosphere and endearing pixel graphics, I can recommend this to fans of Yume Nikki or Japanese indie games in general.”
- “The music and atmosphere are unique and the graphics are appealing.”
- “Strange Telephone is not a bad game aesthetically, but I feel like it actively does not want me to take the time to appreciate and get immersed in the atmosphere.”
- “The aesthetic of it might appeal to some people, which is what initially drew me in, but the visual awe wears off after seeing the same scene too many times.”
- “Instead of dialogs, the game relies on its surreal, dream-like, mildly cute and horror-esque retro aesthetics, while sometimes telling simple stories through interactions or animations.”
story
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
63%
20%
The story aspect of the game is generally perceived as vague and lacking depth, with many players noting that it often feels disjointed or non-existent. While some appreciate the surreal and ambiguous storytelling style, others express disappointment over the absence of a coherent narrative or character development. Overall, the game offers a minimalistic approach to storytelling, relying heavily on player interpretation and exploration rather than delivering a structured plot.
- “The graphics are very cute and the story is quite nice!”
- “Strange Telephone is a wonderfully crafted game which, in my opinion, is heavily underrated. The story is vague and one has to figure it out for themselves, though it looks like hints are scattered about.”
- “The game sports 11 unique endings, all of which can help bring some understanding of a story.”
- “Nothing was given about the story or characters' background, basically just clicking to go left or right without knowing what to do, picking up items without any useful information.”
- “The story isn't really there, and it looks like the creator is trying to do something with Alexander Graham Bell and inventing, but I'm unsure what the main goal is.”
- “There's no real dialogue (save for the item descriptions) so while there is a story, the details are up for interpretation.”
atmosphere
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
62%
28%
10%
The atmosphere of the game is generally praised for its surreal and calming qualities, with appealing visuals and sound design that evoke a sense of exploration reminiscent of titles like *Yume Nikki*. However, some players feel that gameplay mechanics, such as time limits and shallow world design, detract from the immersive experience, making it difficult to fully appreciate the atmosphere. Overall, while the game has a charming aesthetic and unique atmosphere, it may not satisfy those seeking deeper exploration and engagement.
- “Visuals, music, atmosphere, and more are all lovely.”
- “The art is cute and unique, the atmosphere is really nice and the sound design is excellent.”
- “Overall, it's just a very unique, original and charming game, with great aesthetics, atmosphere, and an exchange of ideas not seen so much in games these days.”
- “But for most players, I'd recommend you try Yume Nikki instead, which has a better surreal/creepy atmosphere and better exploration.”
- “Strange Telephone has some nice art direction and certainly nails, for the most part, that surreal atmosphere it's trying to convey, but when you start seeing just how shallow the 'worlds' are and how ineffective and broken the mechanics are, everything falls apart (pretty quickly too, I might add).”
- “The music and designs of the environments are alright, but since each environment is literally only the size of your screen and you constantly are jumping between them, there's zero room for atmosphere or immersion.”
gameplay
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
76%
14%
The gameplay of "Strange Telephone" is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating its unique mechanics and charming aesthetics reminiscent of "Yume Nikki," while others criticize its repetitive exploration and shallow mechanics that lead to boredom. The core mechanic of dialing phone numbers to access small, disconnected worlds offers a novel approach, but many find the gameplay lacks depth and meaningful engagement, often reducing to simple item collection and usage. Overall, while the game has potential with its surreal atmosphere and puzzle elements, it struggles to maintain player interest over time.
- “This is a fun little Yume Nikki-styled sidescroller with an emphasis on puzzles and classic 'point and click' styled gameplay.”
- “It's really charming and fun to play, with some new and interesting game mechanics I've never really seen before.”
- “A pretty good atmospheric exploration/puzzle game with a lot of experimentation in its gameplay.”
- “Unfortunately, I think this game is somewhat hampered by the primary mechanic of dialing in locations to visit and the repetitive nature of the locations you visit.”
- “The actual gameplay is 'use item on x to continue' and it tells you nothing about that.”
- “I cannot say that I gained a single thing from playing this; it doesn't have any gameplay so it's not really fun, it doesn't have a story or artistic vision to the world so it wasn't meaningful, and there's no cohesion to the different worlds so it wasn't even immersive.”
music
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
29%
13%
The music in the game is widely praised for its beautiful and atmospheric qualities, enhancing the overall experience with laid-back tunes that many players find enjoyable and memorable. While some reviewers noted that the soundtrack can become repetitive over time, it is generally considered a strong aspect of the game, complementing its visuals and themes effectively. Overall, the music contributes significantly to the game's surreal and immersive environment.
- “The music surprisingly has some really nice tunes, many of which are very laid back and nice to listen to when you're just chilling out or studying.”
- “The music is wonderful, the worlds are wonderful, and the creature designs are so wonderful.”
- “Honestly, the game is worth it for the music alone, if you want to spend a few hours between realms wandering without a cause.”
- “The music and designs of the environments are alright, but since each environment is literally only the size of your screen and you constantly are jumping between them; there's zero room for atmosphere or immersion.”
- “A very atmospheric game, beautiful art, but the soundtrack is kinda annoying in some worlds.”
- “The soundtrack is fair, although it gets repetitive after a few hours of gameplay.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and frustrating, often leading to repetitive back-and-forth actions and aimless wandering. Unlike its inspiration, Yume Nikki, which is cryptic and mysterious, this game is criticized for becoming obtuse and boring, as players resort to random number trials to progress.
- “The game eventually devolves into a tedious session of trying random numbers until you find the object you need in the preview screen, or you give up and try to walk in a single direction from a random number.”
- “In the end, this game is boring, tedious, and (unlike its inspiration Yume Nikki) instead of being cryptic and mysterious, it becomes just obtuse and frustrating.”
- “It's a bit tedious having to go back and forth, but I can understand a bit why since otherwise most players would just be roaming around forever with no repercussions and eventually would get lost.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game lacks significant replayability, with users noting that it does not offer enough incentive or variety to encourage multiple playthroughs.
- “Unfortunately, it really doesn't have any replay value.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its fascinating and heartfelt qualities, evoking strong emotions, though it is also noted to have some significant flaws.
- “This game is fascinating, charming, and heartfelt, evoking a deep emotional response.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by a variety of endearing "mini-stories" that players encounter while solving puzzles and assisting NPCs, offering a mix of cute, scary, sad, and hilariously awkward moments that enhance the overall experience.
- “Instead, there are countless endearing mini-stories you uncover as you solve puzzles and help NPCs, which can be cute, scary, sad, or hilariously awkward (if you played the game, you know the one).”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy for "Strange Telephone" is positively received, with users appreciating the clever integration of advertisements that feature gameplay elements, such as a character using a phone, enhancing the overall experience rather than detracting from it.