Report updated May 20, 2026
Unnatural
For fans of interactive fiction and horror literature who prefer text-based roleplaying experiences.
Unnatural is an established games app that is free with in-app purchases. With a 4.3/5 rating from 3.8K reviews, it shows polarized user reception.
What is Unnatural?
Unnatural is a text-based interactive horror game for iOS and Android that uses a choice-driven narrative engine.
Users hire the app for immersive, low-stakes horror roleplaying that does not require the graphical overhead of modern RPGs, serving a specific preference for text-heavy storytelling.
Current Momentum
v1.3 · 1w ago
Maintenance- Ships infrequent maintenance updates.
- Last major content release 2014.
Active Nemesis
Become a Werewolf Queen
By Li-Ho Tseng
Other Rivals
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What makes this app unique?
What Does It Look Like?
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What Are The Key Features?
Choice-driven horror story engine without graphics or sound effects, relying on reader imagination.
First two chapters available for free, with the remainder of the story locked behind a single in-app purchase.
Customizable typography options including Helvetica and OpenDyslexic fonts within the settings menu.
How much does it cost?
- Free tier: first two chapters with advertisements
- Premium: one-time in-app purchase to unlock full story and remove advertisements
Freemium model uses a content-gate strategy where the first two chapters act as a sample to drive a single conversion event.
Who Built It?
Hosted Games
Empowering authors to create and publish interactive text-based gamebooks using a proprietary scripting language. Providing a platform for narrative-driven roleplaying experiences.
Portfolio
13
Apps
What other apps does Hosted Games make?
Way Walkers: University
Life of a Space Force Captain
Don't Wake Me Up
Super Star Soccer Striker
Scales of Justice
Sordwin: The Evertree Saga
Explore the full Hosted Games report
Portfolio breakdown, audience, momentum, and every app published by Hosted Games.
What do users think recently?
Analysis in progress, available soon
View the full user-sentiment analysis
Mood gauge, ratings & review-volume history, every praise / complaint / request, and sentiment over time.
What is the competitive landscape for Unnatural?
Where is it available?
Localized markets (1)
How's The Games Market?
Market outlook for this category
Available very soon
The rivals identified
Nemeses(1)
This app competes directly for the supernatural-themed interactive fiction audience, leveraging high-engagement romantic drama tropes to capture the same demographic as Unnatural.
Differentiators
- Utilizes a subscription service model to drive recurring revenue versus target's one-time purchase structure.
- Features a high-fidelity visual presentation that significantly elevates the immersion compared to text-heavy alternatives.
- Maintains a massive review volume, creating a social proof barrier that is difficult for smaller titles.
Head to head
The target must pivot toward a more visual-first UI or double down on its unique, gritty narrative niche to avoid being eclipsed by the nemesis's production value.
Contenders(4)
This title competes for the same fantasy-loving audience that enjoys stat-based progression and branching narrative paths.
Differentiators
- Integrates complex stat-based gameplay mechanics that offer deeper tactical replayability than the target's narrative-focused experience.
- Includes granular font and accessibility customization options that cater to users with specific visual requirements.
They target the same audience of readers who enjoy gamebook-style mechanics and interactive decision-making.
As a dominant publisher in the text-based RPG space, they compete for the same core user base that values deep, choice-driven narratives.
Differentiators
- Operates an omnibus app library that allows users to access dozens of titles within one interface.
- Provides robust accessibility settings, including screen reader support, which broadens their total addressable market significantly.
They compete for the same interactive fiction market share by offering a massive library of human-authored stories.
Same space(3)
They compete for the same casual-to-midcore mobile gaming audience that enjoys team management and strategic decision-making.
They compete for the same mobile RPG audience by utilizing innovative, non-traditional input methods for gameplay.
Differentiators
- Integrates a unique barcode scanning engine that turns physical items into in-game assets for players.
- Supports real-time PvP arena combat, offering a high-intensity alternative to the target's passive reading experience.
They compete for the same audience interested in character-driven RPGs with strong narrative and social components.
Compare Unnatural against every rival
All rivals in one side-by-side table — identity, store metrics, ratings & sentiment, and strategic intel — plus a head-to-head page for each.
The outtake for Unnatural
Strengths to defend, gaps to attack
Core Strengths
- Gritty narrative tone appeals to traditional horror fans
- Accessibility font settings broaden the addressable user base
- Standalone purchase model lowers the barrier to entry
Critical Frictions
- No cloud-save functionality despite user requests
- Lack of visual interface limits immersion
- Single-purchase model restricts long-term revenue per user
Growth Levers
- Implement a subscription tier to capture recurring revenue
- Expand into wearable platforms to increase daily touchpoints
Market Threats
- Subscription-based rivals capture higher lifetime value
- Visual-first storytelling trends erode text-only engine appeal
- Lack of live-ops content leads to post-story churn
What are the next best moves?
Ship cloud-save functionality because it is a top-requested feature → unlock data-loss frustration
User reviews consistently cite data loss as a primary frustration point.
Trade-off: Push the UI-overhaul sprint to Q4 — cloud-save is a higher retention priority.
A counter-intuitive read
The lack of visual immersion is a strategic asset, not a weakness, as it allows the app to maintain a lower development cost structure while serving a niche that rejects the 'gamified' visual bloat of modern romance titles.
Feature Gaps vs Competitors
- Cloud-save functionality (available in peers but missing here)
- Visual character-driven relationship arcs (available in Werewolf Story but missing here)
- Resource management systems (available in Wizard's Choice but missing here)
Key Takeaways
Unnatural holds a loyal horror audience through its narrative depth, but it bleeds potential lifetime value to subscription-based rivals, so revenue growth hinges on transitioning to a recurring model or adding live-ops engagement loops.
Where Is It Heading?
Stable
The interactive fiction market is consolidating around subscription-based omnibus apps, leaving standalone titles like Unnatural exposed to higher-value competitors. The app must pivot to a recurring revenue model or risk becoming a legacy asset with no path to growth.
The lack of new content since the initial release leads to inevitable churn once the story concludes, limiting long-term user retention.
The current maintenance-only update cadence keeps the app functional but prevents it from capturing new market share from high-production competitors.