High School Story

-0.59
Neutral
Price: Free
Ads: Yes
In App Purchases: Yes

iOS App Store

Temporal Dark PatternsTemporal Dark Patterns

This game has 8 reported Temporal Dark Patterns. There are 12 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

-0.58

3 votes
Grinding -
3 / 0 votes
Being required to perform repetitive and tedious tasks to advance.

3 votes
Wait To Play -
3 / 0 votes
In-game timers that make you arbitrarily wait for something.

2 votes
1 votes
Daily Rewards -
2 / 1 votes
Encourages return visits every day and punishes you for missing a day.

3 votes
Playing by Appointment -
0 / 3 votes
Being forced to play according to the game's schedule instead of yours.

2 votes
Advertisements -
0 / 2 votes
Forced to watch ads or given rewards for watching ads.

3 votes
Infinite Treadmill -
0 / 3 votes
Impossible to win or complete the game.

3 votes
Can't Pause or Save -
0 / 3 votes
The game does not allow you to stop playing whenever you want.

Monetary Dark PatternsMonetary Dark Patterns

This game has 11 reported Monetary Dark Patterns. There are 21 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

-0.24

3 votes
Premium Currency -
3 / 0 votes
Exchange rate between real money and in-game currency disguises the real price of items.

2 votes
Anchoring Tricks -
2 / 0 votes
Placing a cheap item next to an expensive item to make it look more affordable.

2 votes
1 votes
Artificial Scarcity -
2 / 1 votes
Limited time offers with unnecessary urgency.

2 votes
1 votes
Pay to Skip -
2 / 1 votes
Spend money to avoid waiting for a timer to expire.

1 votes
2 votes
Accidental Purchases -
1 / 2 votes
Making it easy to accidentally spend money with no confirmation or ability to undo or refund the action.

1 votes
2 votes
Power Creep -
1 / 2 votes
A permanently purchased item in the game becomes less valuable over time.

3 votes
Pay to Win -
0 / 3 votes
A player can spend real money to purchase something that gives them an advantage in the game.

3 votes
Recurring Fee -
0 / 3 votes
Encourages players to play as much as possible to get their money's worth.

3 votes
Gambling / Loot Boxes -
0 / 3 votes
Spending real money to play a game of chance for a reward.

3 votes
Pay Wall -
0 / 3 votes
The game becomes impossible to continue playing without payment.

3 votes
Waste Aversion -
0 / 3 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 4 reported Social Dark Patterns. There are 15 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

1.67

3 votes
Social Pyramid Scheme -
3 / 0 votes
You get a bonus for inviting your friends and then they have to invite their friends.

1 votes
2 votes
Fear of Missing Out -
1 / 2 votes
If you stop playing you'll miss out on something or be left behind and unable to catch up.

2 votes
Social Obligation / Guilds -
0 / 2 votes
To avoid letting down your friends, you are obligated to play when you don't want to.

3 votes
Friend Spam / Impersonation -
0 / 3 votes
The game sends spam to your contact list or social media account.

2 votes
Reciprocity -
0 / 2 votes
Feeling obligated to return a favor, share resources, trade an item, etc.

3 votes
Encourages Anti-Social Behavior -
0 / 3 votes
The game incentivizes players to lie, cheat, or backstab other players to get ahead.

3 votes
Competition -
0 / 3 votes
The game makes you compete against other players.

Psychological Dark PatternsPsychological Dark Patterns

This game has 7 reported Psychological Dark Patterns. There are 14 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

-0.24

3 votes
Invested / Endowed Value -
3 / 0 votes
Having already spent time and money to improve your status in the game, it's difficult to throw it away.

3 votes
Aesthetic Manipulations -
3 / 0 votes
Trick questions or toying with emotions or our subconscious desires.

1 votes
2 votes
Variable Rewards -
1 / 2 votes
Unpredictable or random rewards are more addictive than a predictable schedule.

3 votes
Badges / Endowed Progress -
0 / 3 votes
Reluctancy to abandon a partially completed goal, even one forced upon the player.

3 votes
Complete the Collection -
0 / 3 votes
The urge to collect all the items, achievements or secrets in a game.

3 votes
Illusion of Control -
0 / 3 votes
The game cheats or hides information to make you think you're better than you actually are.

3 votes
Optimism and Frequency Biases -
0 / 3 votes
Overestimating the frequency of something because we’ve seen it recently or memorably.

App Store Ratings

iOS:  (4.50) with 171,947 votes.



Recent Dark Pattern Reviews

Daily Rewards reported on May 24, 2022
Collect virtual currency to advance, with limits on how much each income generator can hold.
Grinding reported on May 24, 2022
Limits on the currency generators means having to return to the game frequently to collect the currency.
Social Pyramid Scheme reported on May 24, 2022
You can link characters in your game with people you are friends with on Facebook. When you use a character that you have linked to a Facebook friend, both receive an award.
Invested / Endowed Value reported on May 24, 2022
Although it doesn't take much time to advance in the game, it is still a significant time investment, and it would be disappointing to lose all of the progress and start again.
Artificial Scarcity reported on May 24, 2022
This was common while the game was being updated, but isn't a problem anymore since the updates have been officially retired.
Accidental Purchases reported on May 24, 2022
When you don't have enough virtual currency to complete a task, you are redirected to the menu where you can buy the virtual currency with real money.
Power Creep reported on May 24, 2022
The categories for income generators are different. The ones from the beginning of the game hold much less than the ones later on, meaning you'll have to have much more of them and check in on the game more often to keep up.
Variable Rewards reported on May 24, 2022
There is a poll activity in the game wherein you can answer questions and see other people's responses to them. When you answer these questions, you get a random reward with greatly varying degrees of grandeur.
Anchoring Tricks reported on May 24, 2022
The virtual currency available to purchase comes in bundles of varying degrees of size with vastly different prices.
Fear of Missing Out reported on May 24, 2022
The game has limited-time quests that expire a few days after unlocking them. Taking an extended break means losing the chance to partake in the quest.


Report a Dark Pattern

Screenshot Live high school your way!

5/5 "Out of all the iPhone games I've played, High School Story is easily the one with the most heart." - K. Alpert

5/5 "I'm way past my high school years... but this game is hands down one of the best games I have ever played." - Kaytumbear99

Meet All-Star classmates in all-new exclusive stories! Add them to the school of your dreams, filled with all your friends. Throw parties, go on dates, and recruit jocks, nerds, cheerleaders, and MANY MORE classmates to unlock their stories! Go on wild trips, take your team to the next level, and discover hundreds of other adventures!

- ADD SPECIAL CHARACTERS to your school, and unlock exclusive stories!
- THROW PARTIES to unlock over 30 characters!
- DATE your crush and play matchmaker for everyone at your school!
- BATTLE a rival high school in an evolving story, including a showdown at the Homecoming game, a science fair, a prank war, and more!
- PUT YOUR FRIENDS in the game and join them on adventures, dates, and parties!
- MAKE NEW FRIENDS and play their stories!
- BUILD your dream school and decorate it with everything from a half-pipe to a box of puppies!
- CUSTOMIZE your look and choose your clique!
- LEARN new vocabulary in fun mini-games!
- ENJOY tons of new content every week, including more characters, more stories, and more romance!

Please note that High School Story is completely free to play, but you can purchase some game items with real money. If you don’t want to use this feature, you can disable in-app purchases in your device’s settings.

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To our players: Thank you for your passion. Pixelberry is a firm believer that games can make a difference. And you’ve proven they can.

When we partnered with non-profits, like The Cybersmile Foundation, a cyberbullying non-profit, and the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) you responded with great enthusiasm. Together, we’ve done some amazing things.
* Over 4 million players have learned more about cyberbullying.
* Over 30,000 players have visited NEDA's sites to learn more about eating disorders.
* And thousands of players have reached out to Cybersmile, often for help with bullying.

Thank you! We really, sincerely appreciate your enthusiasm and support.

- The Pixelberry Team

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Your use of this application is governed by the Terms of Service available at: http://highschoolstory.com/terms-of-service/
Collection and use of your data are subject to the Privacy Policy available at:
http://highschoolstory.com/privacy-policy/

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