Here comes another review of an IOS/Android game! The absolutely mind-blowing Lifeline! By 3 Minute Games, Lifeline isn’t a game you could finish in 3 minutes, or 3 days. In Lifeline, a game that nobody can deny was clearly heavily inspired by the book The Martian by Andy Weir (skip the movie and read the novel, you’ll thank me later) you are contacted by Taylor, an astronaut stranded on a planet with no way to communicate with anybody to get help, until he/she randomly connects with you/your phone.
Lifeline started off making me feel a little strange, as at times it did feel like I was talking to a person, and that is one of the strongest aspect of the game. Your role largely consists of keeping Taylor company, and helping her/him make decisions concerning her/his survival. At some point in the game, Taylor, whose gender is never mentioned or important to the story, became a woman so clearly in my mind that it feels a little silly to act like she is anything other than that to me.
Lifeline’s most interesting trait is the fact that it takes place in real time. When Taylor messages you/talks to you, and you respond or give your opinion on what she should or shouldn’t do, she goes off and only comes back when whatever needed to be done is done, which in some instances, took a few hours. I caught myself looking at my phone multiple times a day, sometimes even in the middle of the night, to see if Taylor had messaged me, worrying about her and wondering if whatever had happened had been resolved or not.
The game succeeded in making me care very deeply about Taylor, her safety, and the resolving of her situation. At times, the story took turns towards a type of darkness I hadn’t expected, and I never imagined that Lifeline would turn out to be horror game starting the second half of the story.
As you advice Taylor on the actions that should be taken, you also get to asked her questions, or respond to her, as a beautiful soundtrack draws you deeper and deeper into a story that ended and left me with so emotions that I thought of Taylor for days after and continued to check on my phone, hoping that she was still on the other side.
10/10
Lifeline isn’t just an IOS or Android game, it is a fully fledged game that will draw you in and make you care so deeply about a character that you will find yourself worrying for her as you go about your day. Lifeline is the kind of game that puts to shame anyone who dares to claim that phone games can’t be categorised as video games.
Available for: IOS, Android