Erica

Erica is by far the best game to feature in the PlayLink category, but some of the ideas are unnecessary. The acting is great, but the story never really picks up until the final third of the game.

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"Erica" is an interactive live-action thriller game that places you in the center of the mystery surrounding the death of Erica's father. Your choices and actions will influence the narrative and lead to multiple alternative endings. Utilize your DualShock 4 wireless controller or the Erica app to delve into the world and investigate clues.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

84%

Audience ScoreBased on 437 reviews

story136 positive mentions

grinding10 negative mentions

Engaging story with multiple endings that encourages replayability.
High production value with excellent acting and cinematography.
Unique interactive elements that enhance immersion in the narrative.

Lack of save slots and no option to skip previously seen scenes makes replaying tedious.
Gameplay can feel clunky with awkward interactions and delayed responses.
Some plot points are confusing and leave questions unanswered, making the story feel incomplete.

story
375 mentions
36 % positive mentions
59 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The story of "Erica" is a complex and engaging narrative that intertwines themes of mystery, psychology, and personal discovery, often requiring multiple playthroughs to fully appreciate its depth and various outcomes. While many players praised the acting and cinematography, opinions on the plot's coherence and originality were mixed, with some finding it captivating and others criticizing it for being confusing or filled with plot holes. Overall, the game offers a unique interactive experience, but its reliance on replayability and occasional pacing issues may detract from the overall enjoyment for some players.
- “The story is anchored on the symbol of Omada Epsilon but braids it together with the Eleusinian mysteries and the oracles of Delphi.”
- “The interesting and complex story does not reveal all of its secrets in a single playthrough, and in order to find out every detail about the events, you have to play it several times.”
- “The story is thrilling and it feels like you reach the credits in no time, but of course it has a regular movie length of about two hours.”
- “The story so far is a bit unclear with certain aspects of the plot, and I'm just hoping they don't turn out to be unfinished plot holes in the end and more of just things that would clear up in other paths - if I ever get to them with the lack of skipping and saving.”
- “The plot is a mess, and has plot holes so big I could drive a Buick through them.”
- “The story is confusing, but not in an interesting way; there's no completionist help, the sliding controls sometimes don't work correctly, and it's very frustrating.”
gameplay
74 mentions
15 % positive mentions
73 % neutral mentions
12 % negative mentions
The gameplay in this title is primarily characterized as an interactive movie experience, where players make choices that influence the story, but many find the mechanics clunky and unintuitive. While some appreciate the unique blend of cinematic storytelling and minimal interactive elements, others criticize the forced quick-time events and cumbersome controls, leading to a mixed reception overall. Despite its engaging narrative, the gameplay often feels secondary and poorly executed, detracting from the overall experience.
- “As usual for interactive movies, gameplay consists of making choices like where to go, which area to investigate, or what to say in a conversation.”
- “This game is worth it for the unique gameplay it has, mixing real elements with interaction (something I always wanted to see in a game).”
- “Using a combination of cinematography and FMV-specific game mechanics, Erica never fails to hook you into its haunting world.”
- “Gameplay is not intuitive; it is hard to understand what degrees of freedom you have throughout the game.”
- “Erica is basically an interactive movie, with very minor gameplay elements involved.”
- “The mechanics of the game are annoying and cumbersome; I can't play this way.”
music
34 mentions
68 % positive mentions
24 % neutral mentions
9 % negative mentions
The music in the game, composed by Austin Wintory, is widely praised for its coherence and ability to enhance the emotional depth of the experience, often making players feel immersed in a cinematic atmosphere. Reviewers highlight the soundtrack's quality, noting that it effectively sets the tone without overshadowing the gameplay, contributing significantly to the overall enjoyment of the game. Despite some criticisms regarding gameplay mechanics, the music remains a standout feature, elevating the narrative and emotional impact.
- “The sound work is solid, and the music is excellent - it sets the tone without ever pushing into the foreground.”
- “The soundtrack is very good and really makes certain scenes feel more intense or grand.”
- “Of course the music is so amazing that it immerses the player into the story, making you forget that you're playing an interactive 'game', but more like watching a movie that you're a part of.”
- “Nothing makes me more sad than a game that has a musical instrument that you can't play.”
- “Like I'm having to tilt my head towards the screen (because that totally helps with headphones) to hear people talking over the music.”
- “This is a solid experience and I'm going to file a small complaint about the music.”
graphics
32 mentions
38 % positive mentions
53 % neutral mentions
9 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the stunning visuals and cinematic quality that enhance the storytelling experience. However, some users express disappointment in graphical fidelity and performance issues, such as stuttering and audio sync problems. Overall, while the aesthetics and design are often highlighted as impressive, there are concerns about functionality and clarity in the user interface.
- “The graphics are great, and you get to make choices that affect the story.”
- “Great visuals and movie-like gameplay that create an unsettling atmosphere.”
- “The graphics for this game look unreal.”
- “I found the graphical fidelity of the game pretty disappointing.”
- “The video and gameplay stuttered a little for me and at times the audio was out of sync, but this might be due to my older graphics card.”
- “It is probably for aesthetic reasons to not make the screen too crowded, but I don’t think it does very well when it comes to conciseness, as sometimes the wording is quite confusing and does not properly convey what actions the words represent.”
optimization
22 mentions
55 % positive mentions
32 % neutral mentions
14 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing issues such as crashes and frame drops, particularly during interaction scenes. While the performances of the cast are widely praised and contribute significantly to the game's immersive experience, technical problems detract from the overall enjoyment for some users. Despite these issues, many still recommend the game for its engaging story and strong acting.
- “The game's engaging storyline, excellent acting performances, and haunting atmosphere kept me on the edge of my seat.”
- “The actors' performances are genuinely good, the story has its moments, and the package captivated me enough to go through it in a single sitting.”
- “As an interactive adventure, the game overflows with quality: resolution and quality of the film, actors' performances, dubbing in different languages, music...”
- “In terms of performance, there was a certain bit where the game crashed, which made the scene skip to the choice at hand directly.”
- “I've tried multiple things but at best the performance is bad, at worst the game crashes at launch.”
- “Performance-wise, people mention problems like crashing, freezing, etc. I didn’t encounter any, fortunately, although I did notice sudden frame drops every time the game gets into interaction scenes.”
replayability
19 mentions
16 % positive mentions
68 % neutral mentions
16 % negative mentions
Replayability in the game is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the high replay value due to multiple endings and branching paths, others find it frustrating that many choices lack significant consequences, leading to repetitive gameplay. The inability to skip previously seen scenes further detracts from the experience for those looking to explore all storylines. Overall, the game offers replayability, but it may not appeal to everyone due to its reliance on multiple playthroughs to uncover the full narrative.
- “Great replay value.”
- “It seems like the replayability factor is quite high; there seem to be many loose ends.”
- “It is very replayable, with decisions that create totally different paths depending on what we choose.”
- “Unfortunately, the replay value suffers somewhat from all the choices and, above all, many of them are without consequence, because there are really only a few nodes in the game where really different paths arise.”
- “I personally don't like the idea that you have to play multiple times to get the full story as it feels like a cheap tactic at replayability, especially since you cannot skip scenes you have already seen, so a lot of time you'll be sitting listening to the same dialogue over and over again to find everything.”
- “Don't get me wrong, the game is great and all... but it is so much about being replayable to find out more about the story and you can't skip some really boring parts and scenes that never change.”
atmosphere
16 mentions
56 % positive mentions
25 % neutral mentions
19 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its psychological thriller elements, engaging storyline, and excellent acting, creating a haunting and immersive experience. While the visuals and soundtrack contribute significantly to the unsettling tone, some players noted that the slow pacing and certain scenes detracted from the overall tension. Overall, the atmosphere is described as dark, eerie, and captivating, successfully drawing players into its narrative.
- “The game's engaging storyline, excellent acting performances, and haunting atmosphere kept me on the edge of my seat.”
- “Great actors, great camera work, great soundtrack, and a dark and eerie atmosphere into which you immerse completely.”
- “Great atmosphere and story that kept me engaged throughout.”
- “Great visuals and movie-like gameplay that create an unsettling atmosphere.”
- “There are scenes where you do want to move quickly for the tension and atmosphere it creates, but there were a couple of selections that I missed when I glanced away for a second.”
- “Erica is an FMV adventure created with a lot of attention and commitment to things that contribute to the atmosphere and the overall experience of maladaptation and going through nightmares.”
grinding
13 mentions
15 % positive mentions
8 % neutral mentions
77 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being tedious and repetitive, with players expressing frustration over the lack of scene skips and the necessity to replay the game multiple times to unlock achievements and explore different endings. Many find the required interactions cumbersome and time-consuming, detracting from the overall enjoyment despite the game's intriguing story. Overall, the grinding experience is seen as a significant drawback, making the game feel unnecessarily prolonged and boring.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “A bit grindy sometimes.”
- “In a word, the game is tedious, repetitive, confusing, and half-assed.”
- “Sadly, on subsequent playthroughs there are no scene skips for scenes you've already seen, so it gets a bit tedious, and the achievements are spread across 5-6 playthroughs. After the 3rd one, you'll be plenty bored with it.”
- “The game is very interesting and has a sense of mystery, but to see the different endings, you have to play the game all over again multiple times, with no way to skip the cinematics or jump to a specific point, making it kind of tedious.”
stability
12 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is notably poor, with users reporting frequent crashes, freezes, and issues with the achievement system. Many players experience the game freezing upon exit, requiring them to use the task manager to close it, while others encounter random freezes during gameplay. Despite some players not facing significant issues, the overall consensus highlights a persistent presence of bugs and glitches.
- “Very buggy, can't even start the game and when it somehow opens for no reason, the achievement system doesn't work.”
- “Closing the game just freezes it; I have to close the window from the task manager.”
- “As of 2024, people still report recurring freezes or crashes after some minutes or every hour.”
emotional
9 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Reviews highlight a mixed emotional experience in the game, with some players feeling a lack of deep emotional connections due to infrequent character interactions, leading to a sense of detachment. Others, however, appreciate the haunting narrative and evocative sound design, which evoke strong feelings and can leave players in tears. The story's ambiguity and emotional turmoil create a rollercoaster of feelings, though some find the protagonist's consistent emotional state to be underwhelming.
- “Lastly, it may just be me, but I'm getting some Pan's Labyrinth vibe from the game. If anyone hasn't seen that film, you should check it out instead. If the gameplay of this game scares you, it will make you cry if you’re an emotional wreck like me.”
- “Nice, I cried. :)”
- “Its haunting story and decent acting are brilliantly matched with the accompanying sounds that all made me feel like I was watching a newly released movie.”
humor
4 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its absurd scenarios, such as the lack of supervision for characters and unexpected interactions, which often lead to laugh-out-loud moments. Players find comedic value in quirky dialogue and playful elements, like a piano that allows for humorous remixes, enhancing the overall lighthearted experience.
- “The setting and the way people acted made me laugh because it is just so far-fetched in some aspects, like how the girls have no supervision whatsoever.”
- “It's funny, I didn't know this game existed and found out about it in a strange way.”
- “I thought it was hilarious when they came back to Erica's flat and the door was open, and the detective just lets her go in first instead of him going first.”