Sara Is Missing is a game by Kaigan Games that came out a couple years ago... and what a game it is. It's won international awards for sheer creativity. From the get-go, you're immersed in a mystery that progressively gets more sinister as the player gets deeper into the storyline.
The Premise
You, the player, have picked up a damaged mobile phone and need to figure out who the owner is. A SIRI-like disembodied voice (named IRIS, heh heh) appears to help you figure this out as you trawl through the contents of the phone.
It soon becomes apparent that the owner of the phone (the titular Sara) is in mortal danger and only you can help her.
The Aesthetics
Not a big fan, to be honest. But the interface choices (colors, backgrounds) were apt considering the phone is supposed to belong to a certain young lady named Sara Young.
I mean, I wouldn't have chosen those colors for my own phone, and perhaps that's the point.
The Experience
If the makers of this app wanted the experience to be immersive, well, they definitely succeeded. Everything in this app pretty much accurately depicts the user interface of an actual phone. It's like you're holding the actual damaged phone in your hand as you navigate its contents. In fact, sometimes it's hard to figure out where the game ends and your mobile phone begins.
Also, this game tries hard to scare you by suddenly playing video clips and random phone events... and sometimes it works. If you're jumpy, play it when you're sitting down.
The Interface
This is pretty easy to figure out because the interface of the game is exactly like the contents of an actual mobile phone. You tap, drag and slide your way through an interface that poses no problems at all.
What I liked
Immersion. Once you get into it, it's easy to forget that the mobile phone in your hand is actually your own. It really feels like you're part of the game's universe. Achieving that level of immersion is a trick that doesn't always get pulled off successfully with most games.Speaking of immersion, at the end of the game, there's a set of co-ordinates that will lead you to Janda Baik in Malaysia. Now that's a nice potential hook for a sequel!
Content. The video clips are kept short and the images are kept small. This means that the file size of the app is a lot smaller than an actual phone would take up. This is cleverly explained in-game as the contents of the phone being damaged and the files inaccessible.
Some of the puzzles are nice. There's a segment where you have to figure out Sara's password. Not too difficult, but still well done.
Sara Is Missing... S.I.M. That's pretty clever!
What I didn't
The story was very short. Most people will be able to complete this within an hour. The choices were sometimes not very interesting either. Story branching could use a little work here. Where this is concerned, the effort feels rather casual.IRIS, the voice that helps you, is creepy even when it's trying to be helpful. Perhaps that's by design.
Sometimes it's not very obvious how to get out of the app and back into the real world. That's one of the instances where immersion is taken just a teeny bit too far.
Conclusion
As apps go, Sara Is Missing isn't bad. It's a great idea with a decent amount of quality in the execution. Sure, it could have been done a lot better, but all things considered, I think it's worth a download. There's not much in the replayability stakes, but that's the way these story-based things are.Kaigan Games has released a well-received sequel to this app, named Simulacra. I intend to check that out soon-ish.
My Rating
7 / 10
App-ceptional!
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