Wow, I don't think I've stumbled across any other games that have NO interaction yet. No collections, no wish lists, nothing. It's probably stuck somewhere between "I don't watch the show" and "It's a mobile game".

That said, -is- anyone around here playing this?

Developed by Night School Studio (Oxenfree) and published by Telltale Games (you know... Telltale), this game is something I might call a "reality sim" or variation on Augmented Reality, I guess? It's a mobile phone game, as mentioned previously, based on the Mr Robot TV series, wherein you "play" the game through a text messaging app. The premise is that you find a phone on the ground and before you know it, characters from Mr Robot are texting you and requesting your help for things. Interactions are handled via multiple-choice options and what you choose (apparently) can affect the story immediately or down the road.

The most interesting/frustrating part about this "game" is that interactions are handled in real-time. That is, when it's the middle of the night, chances are you won't have anything to do because the characters you interact with won't be around. Even when they are around and you are talking to them, they might just have to leave and not get back to you for a few hours. There doesn't seem to be any way around this, and it's just about waiting the time out to be able to continue on.

Throughout the rest of the app you will find basic attachment management (but only when it matters), texting of other random people/side stories (but again, at their pace), and contacts. The story takes place during the first season of the show and references events during this time. All of this is basically a Mr Robot version of a game called Lifeline, where you are trying to assist someone with their survival on the Moon (or Mars? I'm not sure offhand). Same idea; you communicate via text and the story progresses based on your answers and the timing of the other character. If you send him out on an 8 hour trip, he will be gone for 8 hours. There are several of this by 3 Minute Games, which all seem to be highly rated.

So that's how it all works. How do I actually like it? I'm still on the fence, but I'm interested enough to keep it installed and check back in throughout the day. Considering that's all it really expects of you, I guess I'm set for now. The in-game app is designed so that you see when they are "typing", a la whatever that feature is called on iPhone, and it's actually a little scary how easy it is to slip into feeling like you are talking to an actual person. This gets broken when you come across a choice for your dialogue, but then you pick and you are back to listening. There is a weird sense of anxiety as you sit there waiting to see what they say; "Oh, they are typing for a long time, this must be a big message" or "Man, I hope I said the right thing, hurry up and respond to me!". The worst part is really getting into it for 10-15 minutes with some long dialogue and some "action" going on, and then all of a sudden your session wraps up, everyone needs to "be back later" and you are left hoping someone texts you back before you give up and go do something else.

Compared to a standard game, it's also hard to come to terms with the fact that I can't tell if I'm saying or doing the right things. I don't know if there will be an end, and if there is, how badly I can mess it up. I don't know if future updates will change something that would have made my earlier experiences better. I don't know if you are supposed to want to start a new game and try different options. That seems weird because the draw of the game is the "realism". The impact is in seeing it unfold this first time and just having to live with my decisions, errors and all. After getting to the end of Lifeline, you can go back and change key options to be able to replay the rest and see what could have happened, but I don't know if that makes sense to me. This might be a one-time burner.

At launch, there was a notification bug where the game would basically send you a push notification anytime you went away from the game screen, telling you that you had a new message, but you didn't. Then, it wouldn't tell you when you actually had a message. Sounds like some programming flag got set backwards or something. It got fixed in an update today and it's instantly better in that regard. Now I can actually leave my phone and trust that when it says I have a message, I get to actually play for a minute. Well, if it isn't a spam text from someone you can't actually interact with.

That leads me to probably my biggest gripe so far. I'm accepting that this game takes time and is trying to alter your reality, but this reality breaks down in some basic functionalities. Things like that you can't delete old spam messages, text whoever you want whenever, send files to people for no reason, etc. It's the equivalent of an invisible wall at the edge of a level in a third-person platformer. What you want to do is right there, you can see it, why can't you do it? At least build a fence or mountains or something. Incorporate realistic boundaries. Here, let me text anyone "Hello" or something, even if they respond back with a canned "Leave me alone" or just don't say anything. I know I've just let random texts from people linger into eternity. Let me delete some of this junk that literally has no purpose past amusing you the first time you read it. That would be fine here.

Unsurprisingly, I have typed way more here than I expected to, but just wanted to leave some thoughts in case others were playing, or were interested in this. If you are into Mr Robot, it's an interesting glimpse into that universe. Just be aware of what you are getting into, set your expectations accordingly, and be ready to manage your patience.

In the event that this ever ends, I will be back with final thoughts! Time to go check this message that has been sitting there through half of this typing and see what they need from me next :)