A Normal Lost Phone allows you to satisfy the secret snoop that’s hidden within all of us. At the start of the game you find a phone, and must pour through its files, emails and DMs to work out what happened to its owner Sam. It all plays out in a stylised phone OS, adding an extra layer of immersion as you do your sleuthing. Many of the phone’s folders and files are password protected but give hints that the keys to opening them can be found in another part of the phone. You’ll flick through pictures to work out the names of best friends, cross-reference the phone’s calendar with text messages to work out birthdays. There’s a neat little mystery begging to be unravelled over the game’s roughly two hours of play time, as you get to know Sam better, and work out why they may have left their phone behind in the first place. If you like detective games, A Normal Lost Phone and its sequel are great little fixes. There’s an interesting story being told while you work away as well, one that goes from sinister to chilling to uplifting over its runtime.
