Common Sense Media Review
By Amanda Bindel
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Choose Your Own Adventure grows up, goes tech, is great.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Lifeline...
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 1 parent review
Privacy Rating Warning
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
What’s It About?
In LIFELINE... Taylor is a student and astronaut on board a transport ship, the starship Varia, that crashed on an unknown moon. Somehow, Taylor is able to connect with the player -- and only the player -- sending text communications and waiting for responses. Kids choose from two responses to each scenario, changing the story based on the response, which plays out in almost-real-time with breaks when Taylor rests or is busy. Players receive notifications on their device when Taylor is active. Once they've completed the story once, they can replay in fast mode, without delays, and jump to specific parts of the story to try out answers. Players can choose incorrectly, and Taylor can die as a result; players then can start over from the beginning or from a specific choice.
Is It Any Good?
Lifeline... pulls players in, leaving them eager to get a notification from Taylor to continue the adventure. The writing is excellent, really bringing Taylor's voice and personality to life, though it's also pretty descriptive when it comes to some of the macabre discoveries. The initial playthrough can take several days, depending on the decisions the player makes. Once that adrenalin rush wears off, players can revisit their choices and see how the outcome might change. Then they can play in fast mode, too, making the subsequent play more of a binge-watch than the real-time first playthrough. Taylor's gender is never specified, and the name is gender-neutral enough that players can picture Taylor as male or female, which is empowering. Lifeline... is truly smart and really exciting.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what's happening while "Taylor is busy" and their own endings for what could happen to Taylor and the crew.
Remind kids that this is fiction -- an imaginary, futuristic scenario. Parents may want to play, too, ahead of kids or alongside, so they can discuss some of the scenarios.
Kids can create a similar game by writing out possible scenarios, responses, and choices.
App Details
- Devices: iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Release date: June 17, 2015
- Category: Adventure Games
- Topics: Adventures , Space and Aliens
- Publisher: 3 Minute Games, LLC
- Version: 1.4
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 8.0 or later
- Last updated: July 28, 2016
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
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