Nerdful Things – ‘Erica’ Review
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First Impressions
I love a good point ‘n’ click adventure – the first game I remember was The Secret of Monkey Island on the Amiga. I remember getting stuck and got so frustrated that, when I went to bed, I couldn’t sleep as I kept trying to figure out what I should do. Eventually, when sleep took hold, I dreamt about it and found the solution in my dreams. As soon as I woke up, I chucked it back on and was able to get past that tricky segment. It wasn’t the last time where sleep provided me with the answers to games – sad, I know.
But, not only do I love point ‘n’ click, I love a good FMV title. The last game I played that featured FMV was The Bunker – an interesting and very bizarre game. Enjoyable nonetheless. The first FMV title I recall playing was The X-Files – I had negotiated with my Mum that, if I didn’t go on the Battlefields trip with school, that she was to buy me the game. A £40 game in place of a trip that cost a couple of hundred quid? I sold myself short but it’s what I wanted. Man, I loved that game. The show had truly captured my imagination. Bearing in mind, this was pre-internet (well, for the masses anyway as it only launched by Pipex in 1992 for just over 100 customer sites) and I was nine years old when the show first aired. To this day, I have a fondness for the show and its characters. That’s what made it for me; interesting characters, great stories, a great cast and fantastic overall production.
Erica came as a bit of a surprise. I remember hearing about it a while back and things went silent. Then, I saw a trailer on Youtube and later that day the game was listed on the PlayStation Store. It supposedly takes a couple of hours to run from start to finish but, of course, there are various choices that affect the ending so you’ll be playing multiple times to get every ending and see how everything unfolds.
As you play, you uncover the reality behind her father’s death and explore how deep the rabbit hole goes.
Unlike other PlayLink titles, this game is for a more mature audience. Despite Erica‘s incredible Britishness, there are a number of F-bombs dropped throughout the game. Just mentioning this in case you thought it’d be an ideal gift for your kids. Not that I’m judging; I don’t mind my kids hearing swearing etc. as long as they do not repeat anything they have heard.
Gameplay
You can play the game using the DualShock 4 touchpad – swiping and clicking to open and select things. Quite a cool use of the pad but it does have issues with being over or under sensitive at times. I played it for the first hour using this method. Or you can play using the companion app. It doesn’t feel like a gimmick and literally everything can be controlled from your phone – you can pause the game and edit settings and of course play the game by swiping and tapping. This is probably the best implementation of an app for a PlayLink title.
The scenes are beautifully shot and well acted with some familiar faces as well as some that feel recognisable (for me anyway) but when checking them out on IMDb I don’t appear to have seen anything they’ve starred in… The sound is crisp and effective at setting the tone for the scene. All these things are vital in keeping players invested in a game that they have limited and, somewhat repetitive, input into. But I think that’s where its strength lies – the simplicity. It’s easy for players to pick up and play whether they wish to download the app or not and, given the popularity of Bandersnatch, it’s another fantastic and intriguing story for folks to sink their teeth into whilst making choices along the way.
The music and ambient effects really add to the immersion and I found my heart rate increasing and a certain tension building at times. A gust of wind or creepy echo is enough to send chills through you. For the first half of my first playthrough I played with headphones on – this is the best way to experience it, I think.
Given that some choices are time limited, I felt under pressure to make a choice. The right choice. But, then again, how is one to know what the right one is? Again, this adds to the immersion and the desire to do right by Erica and her newfound friends. Trust is a key element here, having been warned by a character that the girls will try to manipulate you and you later find out the contrary. Who should you trust?
I feel like I should have taken notes as to what choices I’ve made so I don’t make the same ones again on my next playthrough but I was too engrossed, not to mention the fact it would break the immersion anyway. There are no puzzles to solve or items to combine to allow progression. You either choose conversational points or ares to explore/items to open and investigate. All very straight forward but, of course, what you decide to look at or say may prevent other forks in the road so choices can be rather crucial and positively or negatively affect the outcome.
The game doesn’t tell you this and there is no little symbol (that I’ve noticed anyway) but it does auto save. I tested this out early on just in case as it was getting late and I wanted to ensure I wouldn’t lose any progress. As there’s no symbol to tell you it’s saving, I’m not sure at what stage or how often it does it but it appears to save at every scene change. If, like me, you typically only get to game in chunks due to other life stuff you’v gotta do then this should hopefully help.
Trophies unlock at the end of the game – I’m guessing it’s to avoid distraction that can break the immersion. It’s weird playing a game and getting no sort of feedback as tho how you’re doing or what you’ve accomplished but I quite enjoyed having no distractions as I played and it felt good hearing the trophies ding away at the end. I unlocked 5 – 3 silver and 2 bronze after playthrough number one.
EDIT: Playthrough 2 garnered another 7 trophies – 1 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze.
Verdict
I really enjoyed Erica and I’m looking forward what happens across my next playthrough to see how different my story is. The acting is superb and there’s something to be said for sinister stories with proper English accents – it adds to the chill/creep factor. If you love a good story-driven single-player experience then I thoroughly recommend Erica. There seems to be plenty to do as there are a total of 34 trophies (one being platinum) and if I only unlocked 5 on my first run then I would assume the game will require five or six plays to get full completion. Tie that in with the fact the game is only £8.99 for a newly released title, you can’t go wrong! It’s an absolute steal for that price. While you’re at it, why not get a cheaper PSN wallet top-up and grab some other goodies in the sale?
I hope the success of this game paves the way for a resurgence of quality FMV based games as, in a saturated gaming world of Battle Royale and other multiplayer-centric titles, a solid single-player story-driven experience is a breath of fresh air. After all, it’ll be a while before we see new titles in the likes of Heavy Rain, Beyond Two Souls, Detroit: Become Human and Until Dawn.
Remember and get discounted wallet top ups and PS+/XBox Live Gold subscriptions for your PlayStation/XBox, FIFA Coins and so much more over at Electronic First
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—The Trying Scotsman has a ‘Don’t Be A Dick’ policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
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