Gamescom 2017: Find out a stranger's secrets in Another Lost Phone for iOS and Android
Ring ring
Another Lost Phone isn't so much a sequel to A Normal Lost Phone as it is a progression. If you've played the original you know some of what to expect, but a lot has changed as well.
The version I played at Gamescom is a demo, tweaked a little to accommodate the time and location that I'm playing it at.
But there's an instant familiarity all the same. The art-style has been given a revamp, but the mechanics are still the same. You're looking at a phone on your phone, and trying to piece together the life of the person who's lost it.
Essentially then it's a puzzler. First things first, you need to work out how to connect to the internet. You've got access to some files and apps, and poking around in them will get you the correct password.
Then there are questions to answer, and they send you searching deeper into the emails and photos that are stored on the misplaced device.
While the original game dealt with issues around gender, this one is taking a different tack, although the dev isn't revealing what it is just yet.
There are definite hints of what it might be in the demo, but I don't want to say too much, because discovering for yourself is sort of the whole point of the experience.
Where did I put it?Another Lost Phone is a game about exploring a familiar device from an unfamiliar position. You're cracking codes, reading messages, and digging into the private life of a complete stranger.
And it's an important, engaging, enthralling experience. Video games can have messages, they can say things, and they can still be entertaining while they do it. And Another Lost Phone is shaping up to be a fine example of that.
