Who you are will determine her fate – Alter Ego Review

This may be the most interesting mobile game I’ve ever played. For anyone who’s interested in psychology and literature, you’ll definitely enjoy it.

Alter Ego requires you to take different personality tests to determine an ending. You’re greeted by a mysterious door that introduces you to the world. What’s slightly eerie is it mentions what you’ll find in this world is yourself.

When the door disappears, you start to collect ‘EGO.’ The EGO is a thought bubble. At first, it has the question ‘What am I?’ As you click on them, your EGO goes up, similar to a point system. Once you collect enough, you can ‘buy’ a book that changes the quotes in the EGO. These quotes are from authors of different literature.

When you collect enough EGO, you can progress throughout the book which changes the quotes. However, now you can also meet ES.

ES is a mysterious girl in a library, and she takes you on a journey of self-discovery. Through a series of questions, she analyzes your personality and also asks questions about herself.

Depending on your results, there are apparently three endings you can achieve (ID, Super Ego, Alter Ego). Three guesses on which is the ‘true’ ending. All of these endings decide ES’s fate. Apparently, she can either go mad, disappear, or have a happy ending. I haven’t gotten an ending yet, but I doubt I’ll get the true ending based on my choices right now.

In the end, I came for the personality tests but stayed for the story.

Thoughts

I love the creativity in this. It’s unique, and nothing like I’ve ever come across in terms of storytelling. I also enjoyed the different personality tests which also vary. Some are situational questions while others are how you interpret a story. If you don’t like your result or want to get a different ending, you can also retake it in exchange to watch an ad.

Ads are also strategically placed. I’m pretty sure I’ve watched more ads in this game (without skipping) than any other game. You watch ads to either retake the test or to double/triple your EGO points for a certain amount of time.

Of course, you also wonder about ES. Who is she? What is she? What’s her ending? In the end, it’s these questions that keep you progressing in the game. There’s also a strong replay value.

Though, it can get tedious quickly. To progress, you can either click on the EGO or exit the game and come back later to rack up points. When you get further in the story, it takes longer to meet ES. But the creators do make it easier. There are goals you can achieve to get you more EGO or watch an ad as I mentioned above.

Alter Ego is essentially a conversation between you and ES. You collect EGO to go back and talk to her, which she can either ask you questions about yourself or have a short chat with you about her.

Apparently, ES’s mood changes if you don’t talk to her for a while, according to a comment on an Alter Ego walkthrough. But I haven’t noticed any differences. Or maybe I log in every day, so I don’t see that option.

I haven’t finished the game, so I can’t vouch for endings. However, the design and the storytelling aspect is something I’m fond of. It’s a unique spin on a typical ‘choose your adventure’ game.

Fun Fact: Alter Ego is coming to the Nintendo Switch in spring 2020.