Zift Advisory
Episode is the #1 role playing app in the iTunes app store. Readers pick their story and choose responses to given situations to live out the story according to their decisions. The Episode app is free to download from the iTunes app store and Google Play store. It is rated "T" for teens and is not safe for kids.
What is Episode - Choose Your Story?
The Episode app is a role playing app that has a collection of interactive stories designed to provide for readers an engaging and unique experience. Stories include genres such as mystery, romance, heartbreak, and drama, and a wide variety of stories within the genres, each with their own set of choices to make.
Readers can design and customize their avatar with different outfits and features. As the Episode app is interactive, readers can engage with different characters, developing relationships through the choices they make, which has an effect on the path and outcome of the story.
Within the Episode app, there are thousands of different stories and situations to play out. Additionally, for the more creative mind, Episode also allows users to write and publish their own stories on the app.
Episode is rated for users 12+, and is available for both iOS and Android devices. While the app is free to download, readers often run into the problem of not having the necessary amount of tickets to continue reading a story, or not having enough gems to have their avatar wear a specific outfit.
Episode does offer in-app purchases for packs of tickets and gems, ranging from $0.99 to $19.99. While the gems are not necessary, not having them can grow frustrating. The app scores a 4.7 out of 5 in the iTunes review section, with much praise about the level of fun and intrigue of the stories, intermixed with complaints about the need for gems and tickets to fully enjoy it.
Is Episode - Choose Your Story safe for my kids?
The Episode app is not safe for kids under 12 or 13, as there are themes and content that are too mature for younger children. Some stories include mild sexual themes and content, mild horror, and mild drug and alcohol references which parents should steer young ones away from.
Also present in Episode is a heavy amount of consumerism, as they often make certain features and storylines inaccessible for a few hours unless the user purchases more gems or tickets to continue. There are many opportunities for readers to enjoy a story uninterrupted, as the community section has stories made by other members that often do not require any gems or tickets.
Parents should have a conversation with kids to make sure they know the rules surrounding permission to make in-app purchases and other downloads.
Episode can be quite fun for many readers, and rather addicting too. For kids, it's important that the app does not replace actual reading, as Episode is more based on graphics and quick sentences than a regular book would be, so it should not be seen as a substitute.
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