Erica tells a boilerplate story—but tells it very well. With a fresh, intuitive interface and some of the best production values and acting ever seen in a video game, Erica feels very much like what it aspires to be—an interactive film. Erica is perhaps an odd experiment, but one well worth experiencing for gamers that enjoy trips off the beaten path.
Through allowing players to interact by using their cellphones, the game offers a modern-day alternative to storytelling, utilizing today’s technology to tell a hair-raising narrative about the murder of Erica’s father and the secrets that revolve around it. Even if some of the controls may seem unnecessary, the mysteries you uncover and the chilling plot is worth staying for. Strengthened by the interactive nature of the game and the stellar acting from a talented cast, Erica is a thriller you won’t want to miss.
Erica is an intriguing, admirable experience that those looking for something a little outside of the video game norm will surely latch on to. With an impressive set of performances, a story that’ll have you hooked straight from the off, and meaningful decisions that have a major impact on the game, FMV is making waves all over again.
Erica is difficult to judge. It has neither the tension of an Heavy Rain, nor the convoluted plot of other interactive dramas. Its choice of live-action makes it different from its genre but it also confines it within it, especially about interactivity and design. However, despite its low duration and hybrid nature, it’s evident the passion in every level (writing, background, actors). A courageous but also risky experiment.
Erica does some things really well, like giving you choices that really have an impact on the story. However, it all feels a little bit rushed, and answers come before you have time to ask questions.
It's not interactive enough to work as a game, though it's perhaps a bit too interactive to count as a movie. The choices you're presented with may be interesting on paper, but in practice they mostly just remove all tension from what should and could've been a fine thriller.
There’s plenty of intrigue here, and in better circumstances you’d want to spend more time with the characters in order to understand their perspectives. But by the fifth time you’ve opened a lock that could have so easily have opened automatically, all you really want to do is find the quickest possible route to the exit.
Гениальная игра, которая должна быть пройдена вами! Интересный геймплей, интересная подача, невероятно красивая актриса в главной роли и все это фильм, которым вы управляете! Игра проходится буквально за вечер и не успевает надоесть!
Introduction: Highly interesting game, and I had an enjoyable, short-lived time. I want more "games" of this kind. (It is more of an interactive/alterable movie really).
Long, detailed review ahead:
The good: This game was a ps plus free monthly game in July 2020, and came back to Playstation Plus subscribers as part of the Playstation Plus Extra game collection. Otherwise, it is also for 5£ right as of November 2023. Essentially: an accessible and cheap game. As to the quality, I was surprised. It is clear it had a limited budget and not many locations or actors were used for filming. Regardless, what the producers have done with the cards they were dealt is impressive. The image quality, the costumes, the gore, the lighting, the interactive moments- all great. I think a lot of those interactive moments were stop-motion filmed (rather than cgi or filmed regularly), and not only did they look awesome, they were well implemented and fitted seamlessly within the scenes. I think the amount and variety of interactivity is great. It had a nice pace to it, I would often be able to guess when I would interact next, and with what. It is quite immersive because, well, in real-life, you have to do everything yourself or else nothing happens. Furthermore, I would argue soundtracks are crucial for movies, even more so than for video games. They carry a lot of weight in movies. I am happy to say the soundtrack is as lovely and memorable as holly earl's acting. it is floral and majestic and orchestral at times, and creepy and stressful at other - it fits the game like a glove. Finally, the story itself was intriguing, confusing, creepy, and beautiful. It had a bit of mayfair witches vibes to it, slightly unsettling and about family and crime and witches. This is subjective, but I liked the genre and the direction the game took.
What could have been improved: I do not know if it was my controller but, sometimes, I had some issues with the touch pad. This, naturally, had an impact on the flow of the movie. Perhaps it should have been more sensitive or demanded less input, or the option of using the analog sticks. Perhaps the option of playing the game with your phone was an idea the developers came up with to combat this weakness. I do feel like the experience would have been better with my phone. (This feature does not work with the PS5 however). Secondly, although I have no major complaint, I must talk about the writing and the story. I do have a few criticisms to make. spoilers ahead: I had deduced that the perfume the old lady gave us was what was causing the bleeding that the patients were experiencing, and I had deduced that she was an evil deceiver. Showing a flashback to the perfume was not necessary, on the contrary, it ruined an opportunity for the player to showcase/act upon their own deductive skills. I was also left with a lot of questions, which made the overall experience a little bit less pleasant than it could have been. Where did Mia Greene come from, was Erica's dad actually grooming me? Was sergeant Blake on my side or was he secretly siding with the antagonist? Why did Greene have such aggressive, off-putting facial expressions? upon checking a 2nd time, i realised she was the one who killed Erica's neighbour at the start - or was she herself the neighbour? Why didn't she never just speak to Erica if her front door is right in front of Erica's. Whose hand was that in the box? What was the purpose of the patients being in the mansion? What was the cult about and what did they do? Perhaps having this many questions is intentional, in order to make the player want to play a second time? Overall, the story was nice and I wanted to get to the end. I felt immersed and hooked. Someone pointed out that the playstation trophies were handed at the end, lest it interferes with the immersion - a nice observation. I also noticed that on youtube, there was an announcement trailer of some sorts, and the actress and story were different - so it seems like they changed the direction of the story within the last 24 months of development. At times, my heart was racing because it felt like the stakes were high and I did not know what to do or who to trust. At times I even questioned my sanity and felt emotional and fed up (with the characters and their lies), but, to reiterate, I was left with a lot of questions unanswered.
To conclude: There was a lot of potential, and as many people have said, we hope to see more from this kind of games, and we probably will. I recommend the game to anyone really, and I do not have any major flaw with it, but something about the ending was not very satisfying, and i had a few minor issues with the fluidity of my involvement. I would not recommend it to a someone just wants to have mindless fun however, and it does not do anything specifically extraordinary, and perhaps a bit more time should have been put into the story planning. I give the game a 75/100.
The game is incredibly corny. The writing is very mixed and performances are not very good. The overall mystery of the game is interesting and in my playthrough choices did have consequences. The controls are also extremely bad in this game like wonky N64 controls but way worse.
No vale para mucho, la trama es demasiado confusa, pero no porque sea compleja, si no porque muchas veces, no está bien contada.
Si haces un juego de elecciones, que todas las elecciones te cuenten la historia, si no, no tiene sentido.
Tiene bastante buena fotografía y, después de hacer varias runs, en busca de la completionista, cobra todo más sentido, pero esto que hago es bastante inusual, como mucho, la gente juega 1-2 partidas. Entonces, de ese modo, te quedas como estabas.
SummaryEnter a dangerous and shadowy world of murder and cultists in this pioneering interactive thriller, exclusive to PS4, that asks you to reach into the game world and take control of the narrative.