Line #56 VideoGame/SaraIsMissing


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/simgame.jpg]]
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3	''[[https://saraismissing.itch.io/sim Sara Is Missing]]'', or ''S.I.M.'', is an adventure/horror game created by Monsoon Lab for Halloween Jam 2016. You find a phone whose data has been almost wholly corrupted. After doing a system restore to before the data was corrupted, you discover an assistant A.I. which greets you as Sara, before realizing that you are not her or with her. With only the limited information left on her phone, you must search through her emails, texts, contacts, and so on in order to find out what happened to her.
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5	The game is available for {{UsefulNotes/Android\|Games}} phones and [[Platform/AppleMacintosh Mac OS X]] + [[Platform/IBMPersonalComputer Windows PCs]]. A SpiritualSuccessor named ''VideoGame/{{SIMULACRA}}'' was released near Halloween 2017.
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7	!!''S.I.M.'' contains examples of:
8	* AllForNothing: If you [[spoiler:choose Sara's name in the final sequence, she is killed by Irizu and all that searching will have been fruitless]].
9	* AssholeVictim: Several of Sara's contacts are, to put it bluntly, assholes. Her ex-boyfriend broke her heart, her outgoing friend Faith pressures her into parties she doesn't want to go to, her mother is controlling and emotionally abusive, Buddy only talks to her in order to sexually harass her over text messages... the list goes on. [[spoiler:It makes it a little easier to post the cult's link to them if you use it as a means of punishing them for their behavior.]]
10	* BigBad: [[spoiler:Irizu is the leader of the sinister cult that has kidnapped Sara, and may or may not be controlling the phone through IRIS.]]
11	* ButThouMust: [[spoiler:When Irizu forces you to choose between Sara and Faith within 10 seconds, you can attempt to simply not respond, but IRIS will intervene and choose Faith to die.]]
12	* ControllableHelplessness: You can't talk to anyone except via text with minimal dialogue options. [[spoiler:When James tries to call you, you're unable to answer him.]]
13	* {{Cult}}: [[spoiler:The ones responsible for kidnapping Sara are a cult of some sort. It's unknown how they function or what their goals are, but one thing's for certain: they're dangerous and they don't care about human life.]]
14	* DisappearedDad: A conversation between Sara and her mother reveals that her father is dead. Sara still has him in her phone contacts, implying that his death was fairly recent.
15	* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:James and either Faith or Sarah are dead, the cult gets to live another day and you're likely to die or become a member of the cult yourself.]]
16	* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: You can save Sara, but no matter what route you take, [[spoiler:James is doomed to be killed by the cult members]].
17	* FirstPersonPerspective: The game is spent looking through a missing girl's phone without showing what the player looks like.
18	* FunWithAcronyms: IRIS stands for '''I'''ntelligent '''R'''ecognitive '''I'''conolatry '''S'''ystem.
19	* GenreShift: At first, it seems like another horror mystery thriller with a flavor of sci-fi due to IRIS, but then terrifying and psychological paranormal activities kick in soon enough.
20	* GISSyndrome: James's cursed video is a compilation of several web horror videos, so unless someone enchanted it, it's not really a death curse.
21	* HellIsThatNoise: The weird baby-like wail you hear during James' second call after you learn about [[spoiler:Irizu]]. Even James wonders what he just heard.
22	* HollywoodSatanism: [[spoiler:A mysterious cult that's into satanic rituals and kills people because they can/it's necessary, and no one knows about them without getting killed or joining. Ironically, their leader Irizu expresses a [[TheFundamentalist religiously fanatical]] philosophy of "helping God decide who to kill", though it's not clear if it's genuine.]]
23	* HopeSpot: [[spoiler:You find Sara, after James dies. She's still alive, but you have to choose between saving her and Faith. Regardless of your choice, someone will die.]]
24	* ItHasOnlyJustBegun: [[spoiler:Welcome to the cult, player.]]
25	* JumpScare:
26	** Once you restore the phone, you get one.
27	** After you look through the restored messages, James calls the phone and you get treated to a loud ringtone.
28	* NiceJobBreakingItHero:
29	** Playing James's video [[spoiler:corrupts Iris]].
30	** If you [[spoiler:spread the death curse, you condemn more people to death and James still dies]].
31	* NoodleIncident: Sara has fallen for Faith's "coven initiations" before.
32	* ParanormalInvestigation: Seems Sara was very into this, to the point that it was her intended career path.
33	* PoorCommunicationKills: If Derek had told Sara that [[spoiler:he got a last minute job that involves a flight on her birthday that involved photographing nudes for a fashion shoot]], she wouldn't have [[spoiler:broken up with him, because she's not upset that he is photographing nude women as it is part of his job, she's upset that he lied to her]].
34	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Sara's mother delivers one when Sara refuses to go to an important agency at a copywriter agency, calling her ungrateful and spoiled. Sara can only respond with a neutral "...OK, mom."
35	* SadisticChoice: [[spoiler:[[RedHerring Though none of the choices really matter, at least for now.]]]]
36	** [[spoiler:Refuse to send Irizu's chain mail video within two minutes, and James dies. But even if you do send it, James will die anyway. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero All you've done is doom another to the cult.]]]]
37	** [[spoiler:Telling Irizu to let Faith die for Sara's survival will, of course, result in Faith's death. If you decide on Sara, then she will die and IRIS will imply to make sure you will regret your choice. However, if you don't say any name, IRIS will override your message and say Faith anyway. Doing this will result in IRIS losing its trust (or [[{{Pun}} faith]]) in you.]]
38	* SchmuckBait: Prior to Sara's disappearance, James sends Sara a video which he claims is cursed to cause the viewer's computer to begin freaking out, and to make the viewer go insane.
39	* SequelHook: It's not clear if ''VideoGame/{{Simulacra}}'' is a direct sequel, but the ending definitely [[TheUnreveal leaves some questions hanging]]. [[spoiler:IRIS tells you that you have become part of something larger, and all will be revealed in due time.]]
40	* ShoutOut:
41	** One of the runes that the cult uses, that James sends Sara in an e-mail, is the Mark of Sacrifice from ''Manga/{{Berserk}}''.
42	** One of the emails discusses the possible themes of ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex''.
43	* SpiritualSuccessor: Shares a good deal of similarities with ''VideoGame/HerStory'', in terms of the general gameplay and scenario.
44	* TakeYourTime: Sara's phone never runs out of battery while you review her photos, messages and videos.
45	* TheUnreveal: At the end of the game, we're left with more questions than answers. [[spoiler:Why does IRIS have a similar name to Irizu? What's Sara doing with an incredibly advanced AI on her phone? How did she even lose her phone? How did you find it? Who are these cultists? [[NowWhat And what's going to happen to you next?]]]]

Context VideoGame / SaraIsMissing