1. As you might expect from the title, the phone in this A Normal Lost Phone is not actually normal. It is a phone that tells you a story.
2. I would argue this is an RPG. The role you play is the kind of creepy asshole who goes through a stranger's phone. I mean, seriously, respect people's privacy. Throw the phone at the mayor's house if you want to do something fun w/ it.
3. This said, w/o going homeland security on some rando, there would not be much of a game here--though I suppose a responsibly disposing of an old phone simulator game would not be the strangest thing out there.
4. It is kind of hard to discuss this w/o at least hinting at spoiling the game's big reveal but there's a trigger warning at the beginning that there will be anti-LGBTQ language involved so I think it's fair enough to let you all know that the game's protagonist, Sam, isn't a straight cis male and not everyone knows this.
5. As you initially start to go through Sam's phone, you are funneled toward reading texts and from this, you can figure out passwords and such to gain access to other apps, which give you hints at how to access the next round of new things and so on.
6. Not gonna lie: I just looked up most of the passwords online when it came to it. Fiddling w/ getting them in right or looking through stuff you've already read struck me as tedious more so than satisfying. I think the game could have added some automatic note-taking of some sort or a system that gave you options like try your birthday or try your address or whatever.
7. Poking through a phone is a pretty effective perspective from which to tell a story. It's very personal and yet not colored in the same way as, say, an intimate conversation w/ that person would be.
8. As compelling as it is, perhaps a coming out story is not the story to tell in this way. Or, in any case, A Normal Lost Phone goes too far in this matter. Eventually, in order to progress, you start using the phone to send people messages that reveal personal details about Sam. Nobody does this aside from the kind of creepy asshole you are apparently supposed to roleplay as.
9. It ultimately
feels as much like a missed opportunity as much as anything. Why not
make the person you are roll playing as Sam's father or someone? Why not
make the player come face to face w/ the fact that what they are doing
is wrong?
10. The thing is this overstepping is never pointed out as such. It is not dwelled on or even pointed out that you violating a person's privacy. You go through the motions like you are solving a puzzle in a Professor Layton game or something. I suppose if you can take for granted that your snooping is not meant to be seen as malicious in this context you can then unashamedly learn about Sam's life and story.
11. At this point though, you have reduced the framing device of looking through someone's phone to a simple gimmick and then what's the point. I did think it was cool though that the in-game music game from just playing songs on the phone's music app though.
12. Sam's story is quite touching for what it's worth. It is a step by step
of a person finding themselves but then having to leave much of what
they know behind in doing so. It feels directly relatable even if you
have not experienced what Sam has.
13. As I started writing this, I did not expect such a large number of these thirteen points to be about the lost phone gimmick but, I dunno, I suppose that's the name of the game so it makes sense. I will say, despite my reservations about it, I enjoyed A Normal Lost Phone and it was a good use of the couple of hours it took to play it. It makes me a little uneasy but it's not a bad game to play.
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