Mystic Messenger

-0.06
Neutral
Price: Free
Ads: Unknown
In App Purchases: Yes

iOS App Store

Temporal Dark PatternsTemporal Dark Patterns

This game has 57 reported Temporal Dark Patterns. There are 57 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

-1.37

17 votes
Playing by Appointment -
17 / 0 votes
Being forced to play according to the game's schedule instead of yours.

16 votes
1 votes
Wait To Play -
16 / 1 votes
In-game timers that make you arbitrarily wait for something.

10 votes
5 votes
Daily Rewards -
10 / 5 votes
Encourages return visits every day and punishes you for missing a day.

8 votes
8 votes
Can't Pause or Save -
8 / 8 votes
The game does not allow you to stop playing whenever you want.

5 votes
12 votes
Grinding -
5 / 12 votes
Being required to perform repetitive and tedious tasks to advance.

1 votes
14 votes
Advertisements -
1 / 14 votes
Forced to watch ads or given rewards for watching ads.

17 votes
Infinite Treadmill -
0 / 17 votes
Impossible to win or complete the game.

Monetary Dark PatternsMonetary Dark Patterns

This game has 46 reported Monetary Dark Patterns. There are 128 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

0.69

15 votes
1 votes
Premium Currency -
15 / 1 votes
Exchange rate between real money and in-game currency disguises the real price of items.

14 votes
2 votes
Pay to Skip -
14 / 2 votes
Spend money to avoid waiting for a timer to expire.

6 votes
9 votes
Artificial Scarcity -
6 / 9 votes
Limited time offers with unnecessary urgency.

4 votes
13 votes
Pay to Win -
4 / 13 votes
A player can spend real money to purchase something that gives them an advantage in the game.

2 votes
14 votes
Accidental Purchases -
2 / 14 votes
Making it easy to accidentally spend money with no confirmation or ability to undo or refund the action.

1 votes
15 votes
Recurring Fee -
1 / 15 votes
Encourages players to play as much as possible to get their money's worth.

2 votes
13 votes
Pay Wall -
2 / 13 votes
The game becomes impossible to continue playing without payment.

2 votes
13 votes
Anchoring Tricks -
2 / 13 votes
Placing a cheap item next to an expensive item to make it look more affordable.

16 votes
Gambling / Loot Boxes -
0 / 16 votes
Spending real money to play a game of chance for a reward.

16 votes
Power Creep -
0 / 16 votes
A permanently purchased item in the game becomes less valuable over time.

16 votes
Waste Aversion -
0 / 16 votes
Capped inventory forces you to destroy items or upgrade inventory. Also, having small amounts of left over premium currency.

Social Dark PatternsSocial Dark Patterns

This game has 0 reported Social Dark Patterns. There are 119 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

5

17 votes
Social Pyramid Scheme -
0 / 17 votes
You get a bonus for inviting your friends and then they have to invite their friends.

17 votes
Social Obligation / Guilds -
0 / 17 votes
To avoid letting down your friends, you are obligated to play when you don't want to.

17 votes
Friend Spam / Impersonation -
0 / 17 votes
The game sends spam to your contact list or social media account.

17 votes
Reciprocity -
0 / 17 votes
Feeling obligated to return a favor, share resources, trade an item, etc.

17 votes
Encourages Anti-Social Behavior -
0 / 17 votes
The game incentivizes players to lie, cheat, or backstab other players to get ahead.

17 votes
Fear of Missing Out -
0 / 17 votes
If you stop playing you'll miss out on something or be left behind and unable to catch up.

17 votes
Competition -
0 / 17 votes
The game makes you compete against other players.

Psychological Dark PatternsPsychological Dark Patterns

This game has 39 reported Psychological Dark Patterns. There are 67 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

-0.39

12 votes
3 votes
Aesthetic Manipulations -
12 / 3 votes
Trick questions or toying with emotions or our subconscious desires.

10 votes
6 votes
Invested / Endowed Value -
10 / 6 votes
Having already spent time and money to improve your status in the game, it's difficult to throw it away.

7 votes
8 votes
Complete the Collection -
7 / 8 votes
The urge to collect all the items, achievements or secrets in a game.

6 votes
10 votes
Badges / Endowed Progress -
6 / 10 votes
Reluctancy to abandon a partially completed goal, even one forced upon the player.

3 votes
11 votes
Variable Rewards -
3 / 11 votes
Unpredictable or random rewards are more addictive than a predictable schedule.

1 votes
14 votes
Illusion of Control -
1 / 14 votes
The game cheats or hides information to make you think you're better than you actually are.

15 votes
Optimism and Frequency Biases -
0 / 15 votes
Overestimating the frequency of something because we’ve seen it recently or memorably.

App Store Ratings

iOS:  (4.50) with 17,471 votes.



Recent Dark Pattern Reviews

Pay Wall reported on Jan 17, 2023
Later routes (particularly Another Story) cost more hourglasses than the player is likely to receive through gameplay alone.
Complete the Collection reported on Jan 17, 2023
Multiple endings, CG gallery, party guest gallery
Playing by Appointment reported on Jan 17, 2023
This is a core part of the gameplay. Chat logs open for player interaction at specific times of day (including the middle of the night!) and only remain available until the next scheduled one comes up; after that the opportunity to make choices in that chat, and earn hearts/CGs/party guests from it, is lost unless the player spends premium currency.
Can't Pause or Save reported on Jan 17, 2023
I don't remember if you can suspend a game in progress if you know you're not going to be able to interact with it that day, but I don't think you can.
Aesthetic Manipulations reported on May 27, 2022
If you miss hourly entries, the characters wonder where you are and sometimes complain about missing you
Wait To Play reported on May 27, 2022
Chapters unlock in real time, hour by hour
Playing by Appointment reported on May 27, 2022
Chapters are unlocked on a real time hourly basis, and if you miss the time a chapter unlocks you can no longer interact with characters at that time.
Playing by Appointment reported on May 25, 2022
The “gimmick” of the game is that text chats and calls occur in real time over the course of a week, but 3 AM group texts and needing to answer them right away to participate can be super frustrating.
Aesthetic Manipulations reported on May 25, 2022
It’s an otome game, so an emotional attachment to the characters could make you more likely to wake up at 5 AM for an event or something.
Advertisements reported on Oct 24, 2021
it is one way of earning premium currency


Report a Dark Pattern

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