Jessika

60%
Game Brain Score Based on 146 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • stability
Jessika Game Cover
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"Jessika" is a single-player mystery quiz game with a good plot and game mechanics. The game revolves around a father trying to understand the actions of his daughter, Jessika, through a series of letters and questions. Despite some bugs, "Jessika" offers a beautiful and thought-provoking story, adding to the list of games with captivating narratives from the same developer. The game's description hints at a tragic father-daughter relationship and a desire to uncover the truth behind Jessika's choices.

  • iPad
  • iPhone
  • Mac OS
  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Phone
  • Windows
  • Linux
  • Mobile Platform
  • Tablet
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

60%
Audience ScoreBased on 146 reviews
story50 positive mentions
stability12 negative mentions
  • The acting, particularly from the lead actress, is strong and engaging, effectively conveying the emotional weight of the story.
  • The gameplay mechanics of searching for keywords to unlock videos and documents create an intriguing investigative experience that keeps players engaged.
  • The game tackles heavy and relevant themes such as extremism, suicide, and radicalization, prompting important discussions about these issues.
  • The story is disjointed and lacks a coherent narrative arc, leading to an unsatisfying and confusing ending.
  • The user interface and search functionality are poorly designed, making it frustrating to track unlocked files and navigate through the content.
  • The game includes problematic themes and language that may be offensive to some players, and its handling of sensitive topics can feel superficial or poorly executed.
  • story258 mentions

    The game's story has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it disjointed and poorly executed compared to similar titles like "Her Story." While some appreciated the exploration of heavy themes such as radicalization and mental health, others criticized the writing, pacing, and lack of a coherent narrative arc, leading to an unsatisfying experience. Overall, the fragmented storytelling and unlikable protagonist detracted from the potential impact of the narrative.

    • “The gameplay is interesting, the story is deep and powerful.”
    • “The story is super engaging and it got me hooked from start to finish!”
    • “A considered and sensitive approach to some very difficult material - I did not guess the plot until about 2/3rds through, by which time I was dreading searching for more.”
    • “This results in a disjointed story which lacks a proper dramatic arc because you already know how some things are going to turn out.”
    • “Unfortunately, the story is poorly written, and is conveyed in such a way that it could imply glorification of extremism and racism instead.”
    • “The storyline did not flow together and the clips of Jessika talking were poorly done.”
  • gameplay44 mentions

    The gameplay features a nonlinear narrative where players decrypt files to uncover a story, reminiscent of titles like "Her Story." While some find the mechanics addictive and the premise intriguing, others criticize the repetitive nature, poor controls, and a lack of effective storytelling. Overall, the gameplay offers interesting elements but is marred by execution issues that leave some players feeling unsatisfied.

    • “The gameplay, in which you are a security expert decrypting files in the hopes of solving the reasons for a suicide, is interesting.”
    • “The gameplay is interesting, the story is deep and powerful.”
    • “The acting may be a little overwrought, but it's not awful, and the gameplay (finding words of importance from the subjects' files to discover more video clips and then use those to decode even more, etc.) is strangely addictive.”
    • “Though it has some interesting features, the price is very steep considering the rather poorly conveyed story and the monotonous gameplay.”
    • “This game has terrible controls, bad mechanics, and a much worse story.”
    • “Overall, I think this game struggles with effectively utilizing the gameplay to tell the story.”
  • stability12 mentions

    Overall, the game demonstrates solid stability with no crashes reported and minimal bugs, though some players experienced disruptive "glitches" that are intended to enhance the atmosphere but can be irritating and lead to confusion during gameplay. While these glitches are rare, they can detract from the experience, particularly when attempting to achieve 100% completion. Additionally, there are some minor localization issues, such as typos and inconsistencies.

    • “You will see some complaints about the intrusive and unsettling 'glitches' the game intentionally throws at the player.”
    • “The developer has previously said that the 'glitches' are supposed to be part of the atmosphere; that is just silly.”
    • “While the chat glitches were really rare, they were pretty irritating and made me restart the game the first time, since I wasn't sure how much of this was intended, as it completely broke that specific chat and wasn't really acknowledged by anyone.”
  • atmosphere8 mentions

    The game's atmosphere effectively enhances the hacker theme, with commendable acting and immersive elements. However, some players find the distractions and glitches intended to contribute to the atmosphere to be frustrating, as they can obstruct gameplay and hinder the experience. Overall, while the atmosphere is praised, it is marred by occasional annoyances.

    • “The acting and overall atmosphere is pretty good.”
    • “The developer has previously said that the 'glitches' are supposed to be part of the atmosphere.”
    • “There are times where the game will have distractions while watching a video, and while they added atmosphere to the game, sometimes it was annoying as things would pop up blocking what I was typing, and I would have to bring the terminal back up to continue.”
    • “The developer has previously said that the 'glitches' are supposed to be part of the atmosphere; that is just silly.”
    • “It just adds to the hacker atmosphere.”
  • emotional8 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted as a compelling and intense experience, effectively portraying psychological themes that resonate deeply with players. While some critiques mention a tendency for the narrative to become overly didactic, many users appreciate the emotional depth and the engaging performances that contribute to a powerful, roller-coaster-like journey. Overall, it serves as a catalyst for meaningful discussions about its themes.

    • “Nonetheless, it was interesting, and I appreciated the stark portrayal of the emotional and psychological side of the story.”
    • “It is more like a starting point for many discussions, and I really felt emotionally caught, especially when the actress freaked out during some of the videos.”
    • “It is a great three-hour emotional roller-coaster ride.”
  • optimization8 mentions

    The optimization of the game is hindered by poorly timed subtitles, which appear as a continuous block of text, making it challenging for non-German speakers to fully appreciate the main actress's strong performance. Despite this issue, the game is praised for its engaging story and the actress's impressive portrayal.

    • “A cool FMV game with an interesting story and great performance!”
    • “The performance by the main actress is also strong, something that is crucial for this kind of experience.”
    • “Really awesome performance from the actress!”
    • “The subtitles aren't timed to the individual corresponding lines—they just come out as a big wall of text—which makes it difficult to gauge the actress's performance for those who don't speak German.”
  • grinding6 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while some elements are easier and less tedious than expected, the lack of notifications for unlocked files and the difficulty in tracking missing items can lead to frustration and annoyance. Despite these tedious details, many still see potential in the game.

    • “The game doesn't notify you when files you previously found but were still locked become available, and there's no easy way to see all the files you still don't have, so the game can get annoying and tedious at times.”
    • “Even with that level of tediousness about the details, this game looked promising.”
  • graphics6 mentions

    The game features no graphics options, which is typical for a full-motion video (FMV) title. While the glitch and damage aesthetic is intended to enhance the narrative, many players found it distracting, particularly during gameplay after completing the story.

    • “The whole glitch/damage aesthetic that escalates as the story progresses adds a unique layer to the visual experience, although it can be distracting during post-story completion.”
    • “The graphics are impressive for a full-motion video (FMV) game, which is to be expected given the genre.”
    • “The whole glitch/damage aesthetic that escalates as the story progresses was distracting, especially during my post-story completion hunt.”
    • “There are no graphics options, but considering that the game is an FMV, this is to be expected.”
  • music2 mentions

    The reviews indicate that some users do not engage with the music in games, making it difficult for them to provide feedback on this aspect.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

4hMedian play time
4hAverage play time
4-4hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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