A real-time texting adventure
Faint Signal is a real-time texting adventure game for iOS and Android in which a character in trouble can only text you, and you reply in your own words.
battery 9%. please answer.
Free download · This month's story is free
01 · Signal acquired
Faint Signal is an interactive fiction game played entirely through text messages. A stranger in danger reaches out to you, and you are the only one they can talk to. Messages arrive in real time with push notifications: the character walks, sleeps and runs low on battery, and you can answer straight from your lock screen. Unlike choice-based texting games, you type whatever you want. The character understands and remembers what you say, and a hand-written story keeps every chapter coherent.
02 · Protocol
A notification lights up your phone. Someone needs help.
No multiple choice. Advise, question, comfort, argue.
Search the web, study photos, take notes, and wait for their next message, or switch on fast mode.
03 · Open channel
Most texting games give you two buttons. Faint Signal gives you a keyboard. The character's replies are generated by AI and guided by a story written by human authors, so they stay in character, remember what you told them and reach real endings.
MaraHarlow Bay · online
04 · Toolkit
The character sees what is in front of them. You see everything else.
Search fictional websites, news and forums for clues.
Every photo the character sends is evidence.
Keep track of names, times and theories.
05 · Incoming
Three stories at launch. Each one runs for a few real days, in your pocket.
Survival
Alone on an Arctic island. Their radio is gone. Their only signal reaches you.
After a storm, Sam, a glaciology intern, is stranded on an Arctic island with no way off. Every decision about warmth, food and battery matters.
Sam Okafor, 24
3 real days
Investigation
Her brother never came home from the night shift. You're the only lead she has.
Mara's brother vanished after a night shift at the ferry terminal. Dig through the web with her and piece together what happened.
Mara Quinn, 29
4 real days
Eerie thriller
A radio station that went silent in 1998 is taking calls again. Tonight.
Iris hosts a late-night radio show on a tidal island. Calls are coming in on the frequency of a station that has been silent since 1998.
Iris Vale, 34
3 real days
06 · Settings
Write in your language and the character answers in it.
No waiting between messages (Faint Signal+).
After an ending, go back and try another path (Faint Signal+).
Player and character messages are moderated, with no explicit content. Designed for ages 12+.
07 · Plans
Free download. The story of the month is free. Faint Signal+ costs US$3.99 / €3.99 per month.
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Download the game and play the story of the month.
3.99 US$ / € / month
Unlocks every story, fast mode and rewind.
The subscription renews automatically each month; cancel any time in your App Store or Google Play settings. The local price is shown in the app before you buy.
08 · Transcript
Faint Signal is a real-time texting adventure game for iOS and Android. A character in trouble can only reach you by text message, and you help them by replying in your own words.
In most texting games you pick one of two or three suggested replies. In Faint Signal you type anything you want. The character understands what you write and remembers it, while a hand-written story keeps the plot coherent.
Yes. Characters walk, sleep and lose battery, so messages can arrive minutes or hours later as push notifications, and you can reply from your lock screen. If you'd rather not wait, Faint Signal+ includes a fast mode with no delays.
The download is free, and the story of the month is free to play. The Faint Signal+ subscription (US$3.99 / €3.99 per month, auto-renewing, cancel any time) unlocks every story, fast mode and rewind.
Three stories at launch: Whiteout, where Sam, a glaciology intern, is stranded on an Arctic island after a storm (survival); Harlow Bay, where you help Mara find her brother, who vanished after a night shift at a ferry terminal (investigation); and Night Frequency, where radio host Iris receives calls on the frequency of a station silent since 1998 (eerie thriller). A new story is added every month.
Yes. Character replies are generated by an AI model, guided and constrained by a story written by human authors, so the character stays in character and the story reaches real endings. Player messages and AI replies are moderated.
It is a phone inside the game: a browser for searching fictional websites, a gallery of photos the character sends, and a notes app. You use it to find clues the character can't see.
You can play in the language you write in: the character answers in your language. The interface is translated into 12 languages.
Faint Signal is designed for players aged 12 and up and its content is moderated with no explicit material. Stories include suspense and peril, and Night Frequency is deliberately eerie. The official age rating is the one shown on each store.
Yes. Once you reach an ending, Faint Signal+ lets you rewind and try a different path. Because you type freely, two playthroughs rarely unfold the same way.
Free download · This month's story is free