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IN MIMPI, YOU play as the titular white dog who can inexplicably
control clouds and jump on them in order to progress through this
gorgeous world, on the hunt for your missing owner.
There are a lot of characteristics shared with games like Limbo —
the protagonist embarks on a wordless narrative, venturing
through a dynamic and non-repetitive side-scrolling world, solving
puzzles that usually involve platforms or bridges along the way.
There are two types of collectibles, one of which you can spend
on the surprisingly useful hints (which are, again, wordless) and
the other which unlocks a series of comics which fill in some back
story... to an extent. Each stage is thematically coherent, from
underwater caves to desert canyons, and the levels feature an
abundance of checkpoints (which take the form of fire hydrants
that you piddle on — cute) in order to circumvent any frustration
caused by a particularly baffling riddle or a rather large chasm
to be leapt.
The odyssey is described as ‘psychedelic’ and the art style
matches this well, with both the landscape and the strange
creatures that inhabit it being skewed by Mimpi’s canine
perception of reality. The music and sound effects are particularly
amazing, with an awesome theme tune and immersive, interesting
environmental sounds that make it worthwhile playing with
a good set of headphones.
With puzzles that are challenging, but not infuriating,
an intrigue that begs to be pursued, a simple and immediate
(and adjustable!) control scheme, and a whimsy that suits mobile
gaming perfectly, we’d recommend this game to anyone with two
thumbs and at least one eye. [HARRY DOMANSKI]A NORMAL LOST Phone is designed to be an enigma. You “find”
a phone, you unlock it (clearly someone needed to spend more time
creating their password), you read through the owner’s texts and
then you unravel the story of the person who held this device before
you did. The way you figure out their passwords is from passing
references and you will need to work out how to connect to Wi-Fi
in order to further snoop through this person’s life, loves and feelings.
Eventually, you know them better than some of their friends,
and definitely more than most of their family. There’s a sense of
unease to it all — it feels wrong, you shouldn’t have this much
unfettered access to someone else’s private life — but it all takes
place in a safe, fictional space where your feelings of guilt and
intrusion are part of the story.
Of course, it’s still possible to overstep boundaries, and A Normal
Lost Phone does this a little bit towards the end, with some rather
strange choices that the player must make to continue the game.
Nevertheless, once the game was all over, and after all we’d learned
about the previous owner of the phone, we were left smiling.
A Normal Lost Phone isn’t a typical mobile game experience.
There are a few puzzle aspects, but they mainly involve careful
reading and a bit of deduction. There is a plot, but it’s one you’ll have
to discover for yourself through reading their correspondence.
Instead of being guided down a tunnel, being held by the hand
like in many other games, A Normal Lost Phone asks you to take
the time to notice the details. It’s not a particularly long title
or one that offers much replay value, but that just means that it,
by no means, outstays its welcome, and the story of this lost phone
is definitely worth it.
[K ATE GR AY]Mimpi
MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR.
Free with IAP | mimpi-game.comA Normal Lost Phone
A SALUTARY LESSON ON CHANGING YOUR PASSWORDS.
$4.49 | accidentalqueens.com41 / 2[ MOBILE GAMES ]Having a ruff day
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