There's been a huge influx of interactive found phone-style mobile games as of late, and one that launched recently called unrd is the best we've downloaded so far.
unrd offers four unique stories
For those unfamiliar, these apps tell fictional stories, often with a thriller, crime, or horror slant, in which you're given access to one of the lead characters' phones. Allowed access to all of their text messages, and the stories of their contacts, you're encouraged to piece together the narrative bit by bit, as you're fed more information across a real-time adventure.
Those who love crime thrillers, and have been waiting for an innovative approach to telling stories that fit into that genre will feel right at home with unrd, which is at its best when it's delivering some truly terrifying storytelling.
The format used means that those playing through each story will experience the goings-on of each tale "as it happens", as if it were really happening in real life, and they had a gateway to peek through and find out vital information ahead of the characters involved.
Messages come through as if you're using an instant messaging service, with developers really utilising this method and approach to turn the "game" into the best it can be.
One of the aspects that I truly loved about the app was the use of live video. Notifications will come through on your phone alerting you when one of your fictional contacts has "gone live", and you can then watch the story go down in front of your eyes, as if you're tuned in to a special live feed. It's a brilliant idea, and one that's executed perfectly.
There were a couple of bugs I came across when trialling out the service following its launch earlier this month. For example, some messages would come through in a group chat, replying to a message that hadn't yet arrived. Things like this were subtle and didn't have too huge of an impact on the overall experience however; I still enjoyed every minute of working out what was going down in the various stories offer.
Four stories are currently available for FREE on unrd, with different lengths and content for each. Further adventures look set to come to the app in the coming months. You can download unrd on the app store now, by clicking here.