Presented as a game to "discover oneself", the game revolves around the player wandering in a monochrome library-like world and being guided by a mysterious woman named Es.
The player wanders through an endless aisle where they click thought bubbles, which generally show quotes from literary classics and phrases related to the personality tests Es gives to the player, to collect EGO points. They can also buy books which allows the player to passively accumulate EGO points and "read" pages of said books to upgrade the books' accumulation rate.
The main story progresses when the player reaches an EGO point milestone.
Originally released on mobile devices in Japanese, the game eventually got an English release.
A version of the game for Nintendo Switch called ALTER EGO S was originally announced for release in 2020, but has since been delayed until further notice. A paid Spin-Off game, ALTER EGO COMPLEX, was released in September 2020 for iOS and Android, which expands on the character of Es following the original game's events.
Not to be confused with the 1986 game of the same name or tropes pertaining to an alter ego, nor with a different game of the same name released for the PC and Wii. Nor with the app version
of the Artificial Intelligence from Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc.
This game provides examples of:
- Allegedly Free Game: Downplayed. Upon completion of the game, you can pay some real money to unlock bonus scenarios based on each of the game's three endings. However, since all that you get is basically a chunk of text and the entire rest of the game is playable to completion without paying a single cent otherwise, the bonus scenarios are essentially a thinly veiled "support the developers" button. You can also buy some upgrades with real money, but they are completely unnecessary unless you're trying to get 100% Completion a little faster.
- Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Es is introduced as a polite but stoic and emotionally distant librarian who is there to help you through your journey of self-discovery. She provides you with books to read alongside added commentary.
- Anti-Villain: Ego Rex can be interpreted this way. They'll repeatedly tell you to keep Es conforming to their rules and regularly call her a failure. However, considering what happens when you set Es free, their actions are somewhat understandable. Besides, they never actually try to stop you from getting the other endings and congratulate you if you reach the True Ending.
- Ambiguous Gender:
- The player’s gender is never revealed and is simply referred to as the wanderer. Even the picture of the wanderer in the books is androgynous.
- Ego Rex's façade is half a bearded man and half a woman sculptured in rock. Since no voice actors are employed and we only interact with them by means of dialogue bubbles, it's impossible to know Ego Rex's gender. Likely, non-binary, all things considered.
- Bizarre Dream Rationalization: In the ID ending, Es concludes that both the player and Ego Rex are figments of her imagination, only there to serve as a Good Angel, Bad Angel duo that fuels her conformity/impulse conflict.
- Bookworm: Along with her often reading, Es claims books "books are to [her] what breath is to others." She loses the ability to read properly in the ID ending, though.
- But Thou Must!: At the final picture book, the one about the little girl and the wanderer, the game will force you into choosing one specific option of the three possible if you are in either of the bad ending routes. This is done by blocking with dialogue bubbles, modeled after Ego Rex's or a distorted version of Es's, the other two options. Respectively, you get "Choose conformity" or "Choose impulse".
- Cessation of Existence: In the SUPER EGO ending, Es reaches the conclusion that she'll never reign in her impulses, and therefore is not worthy of existing. As a result, she makes herself fade out of existence.
- Cute and Psycho: Es is intended as a Love Interest of sorts to the player character, so most of her interactions with the player are meant to be wholesome and her personality is bashful and well-mannered. During the ID ending, however, she decides that her impulses are all that matters. Unfortunately, one of them is killing the entity that always tries to repress her desires, aka Ego Rex. For that purpose, she destroys the library world. Her design changes to a constantly glitching one and she wears a deranged smile.
- Despair Event Horizon: Es falls into this in both bad endings, although with wildly differing results; in the SUPER EGO ending, Es falls into a deep depression and either fades away or commits suicide, while in the ID ending, she spirals into madness and destroys the world she inhabits, believing that only she and her impulses matter.
- Easter Egg: If you tap Es enough times, you can unlock 'Es Worshipper' as a result of your final mirror piece. The text on it was apparently written by Es and teases you about how much you've interacted with her, you pervert.
- Endless Corridor: You wander through a pitch-black corridor that never seems to end. While doing so, you read books and tap on thought bubbles. Obtaining the SUPER EGO ending replaces the walls with Ego Rex's face.
- Featureless Protagonist: Even though The Protagonist's psyche is represented as shards in a mirror, their face is never shown, nor they are referred to by any name other than the generic "wanderer". The fact that voice actors are never used for any of the characters further prevents any characterization from taking place.
- Freudian Trio:
- Superego: Ego Rex — during the SUPER EGO route, Es is erased from existence and Ego Rex takes over.
- Id: Es — during the ID route, Es stops reining her impulses and goes crazy. Her name is the original term Freud used for the Id. (das Es)
- Ego: The Player Character/wanderer. It should be noted that during the EGO/ALTER EGO route, no strange whispers start appearing.
- Guilt-Based Gaming:
- If you try to restart after reaching the true ending, Es pleads with you not to reset her precious memories.
- She will also plead for you to help her in the SUPER EGO ending and asks for forgiveness in the ID ending.
- Hates Being Touched: If you touch Es, she can say "Don't touch me. Please" or tell you to stop. She can even insult you for touching her.
- In-Series Nickname: The Façade is the name Es uses to refer to Ego Rex. While never outright stated, the reason is probably because Es sees Ego Rex's rule-abiding stance as just a great farce.
- Magical Library: Every literary classic seems to be available in Es's library, with several revolving around self-discovery or otherwise being heavily tinted by introspection. There are also some non-fiction books and even a few magic books (like the one whose ending changes every time you read it).
- Microtransactions: Players have the option to pay to boost EGO points, remove in-game advertisements, and gain access to bonus content.
- Multiple Endings: Two bad, and one good. There's the ending of ID, in which Es goes mad and denies the world. There's the ending of SUPER EGO, in which Es denies herself and Ego Rex gains control. Finally, there's the ending of ALTER EGO, the true ending in which balance is found, Es is able to be happy while staying herself, and the credits roll.
- My God, What Have I Done?: In the ID ending, Es briefly regains her senses and asks the player to forgive her before she breaks the world.
- New Game Plus: You can start a new gameplay loop after reaching an ending. Starting a new loop resets all of your Books and bonuses gained from Es, but retains all of your achievement bonuses, allowing you to plow through early-game with your boosted EGO generation.
- Not So Stoic: Es seems stoic on the surface, but begins to express more and more in each of the three endings. She begins to express rage and violence in the impulse ending, depression in the conformity ending, and is truly happy in the Alter Ego ending.
- One-Letter Name: Es is alternatively known as "S".
- Past Experience Nightmare: In the true ending, Es mentions that she's being having weird, disquieting dreams. One about denying her identity and vanishing from existence and another about giving in to impulse and becoming a destroyer of worlds due to the Façade's pressure on her. Given that you can't achieve that ending without going through the ones in which such nightmares are the reality first, she's likely Dreaming of Times Gone By.
- Pretty Butterflies: Glowing blue butterflies are a defining motif of the game, representing Es's and the player's wandering, beautiful, and ever-evolving souls. They are especially striking due to the Deliberately Monochrome aesthetic.
- Player Personality Quiz: One of the main features of the game. Es from time to time gives the player personality tests.
- Ship Tease: In the true ending, Es has this with the wanderer in spades, especially in the paid scenes.
- Splash of Color: The game is completely in black and white except for the butterflies because they are meant to be a stylized Notice This indicator of sorts to highlight the next thing to tap. Furthermore, they carry a heavy symbolozing about souls and transformation.
- The Stoic: Es. She mentions that, even though her facial expression didn't change, she's happy to see you.
- Take a Third Option: The True Ending route, where Es realizes that she needn't choose between true impulse or true conformity and decides to continue searching for herself along with the player.
- Took a Level in Cheerfulness: In the True Ending, Es (who starts off as emotionless) is finally able to start smiling with contentment at herself, having made peace with both her impulses, restraints, and desire to explore herself. That ending is the final one in both her and the Wanderer's journey, so her smiling symbolizes a Happy Ending and invites a feeling of healing.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: In the Giving in to Impulse ending, poor Es goes mad and decides to destroy the library-like world of the game and go after the Façade. She concludes everyone is a product of her imagination. A big part of her mental breakdown is the mental stress of reigning in her impulses and a deep feeling of loneliness.
- World of Mysteries: While the game's setting looks like a library, the exact nature of the place has never been disclosed and questions about why Es is able to destroy it or what kind of being is Ego Rex (a talking door?) are left unanswered. The shelved books exist in Real Life and are all about self-discovery in some way or another, which is the game's Central Theme, but we never get to know who hand-picked them and put them there. The butterflies, which represent people's wandering souls, are another mystery.
