I’ve never played a non-horror game that is as unsettling as Alter Ego.
Alter Ego tells the tale of you and Es, as… you navigate through tons of book quotes and discover your true self.
The gameplay involves tapping on book quotes, advancing your book progress, unlocking new books (kind of like cookie clicker), interacting with Es, and doing personality tests.
I played this game while going through a rough patch, and I felt it helped me somewhat make sense of what I’m feeling. I could almost share Es’s struggles to understand herself (although I haven’t developed an existential crisis. Yet.)
What I love most about this game is that it introduced me to great books (some of which I’ll probably not get to read until I master a certain level of Japanese or some publisher localized it into English/Thai). The only books I’ve read before playing this game are Osamu’s Ningen Shikkaku, Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, Shelley’s Frankenstein, and Carroll’s Alice Adventures in Wonderland. Now I want to read everything Es is recommending. I’ve been trying to hunt for Moon over the Mountains and Thousand Year Beach, but it’s only available in Japanese. The kanjis are giving me nightmare lol
What makes this game special is how real Es is despite being a fictional character. (fourth wall breaking incoming) She might guess that she is just a fictional character, but because you’ve been through so much with her to reach the true ending… Well, you just can’t break it to her. What I’m trying to get at is that, despite being a game, she felt like she’s… real. With all those struggles with existence. And being lost in trying to understand herself. I may be reading too deep into this, but that’s how I feel.
(PS. try not logging into the game for 2+ weeks and log in again. Es’s reaction is… a must-see. Most unsettling mobile game moment lol.)
Anyway, if you’re into mind-boggling stuff, do check this game out. It’s definitely worth your time. Plus, the soundtrack is on Spotify.
bonutzuu 