Jessika
- October 25, 2021
- Tritrie Games
- 4h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on Apple Store"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
Phone
Mobile Platform
Tablet
Reviews
- The game features a strong performance from the lead actress, which adds depth to the storytelling.
- The gameplay mechanics of searching for keywords to unlock videos create an engaging investigative experience.
- The game tackles heavy and relevant themes such as radicalization and mental health, provoking thought and discussion.
- 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 tedious to track and unlock content.
- The game contains problematic themes and language that may be offensive or triggering for some players.
- story129 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 71 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative 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 the nonlinear structure that often left key plot points unresolved. Overall, the narrative's potential is overshadowed by its execution, leading to a lack of emotional impact and coherence.
“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 two-thirds through, by which time I was dreading searching for more.”
“The fragmented and somewhat shallow story lets it down in the end.”
“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.”
- gameplay22 mentions
- 41 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a nonlinear narrative and mechanics that involve decrypting files to uncover a mystery, which some players find addictive despite its repetitive nature. While the core concept is intriguing and reminiscent of similar titles, many reviewers noted issues such as poor controls, bugs, and a lackluster story that detracts from the overall experience. Ultimately, the gameplay offers an interesting premise but struggles to effectively engage players due to its execution.
“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.”
“Nice core mechanic, along the lines of 'Her Story' and 'Telling Lies'.”
“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.”
- stability6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is generally solid, with no major crashes reported and minimal bugs during regular play. However, players have noted disruptive "glitches" that are intended to enhance the atmosphere but can be intrusive and frustrating, particularly during attempts to achieve 100% completion. Additionally, some users experienced issues with sound levels and localization 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.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is generally praised for enhancing the hacker theme, with good acting contributing to the overall experience. However, some players find the distractions and glitches intended to add to the atmosphere to be annoying, as they can obstruct gameplay and hinder immersion.
“It just adds to the hacker atmosphere.”
“The acting and overall atmosphere is pretty good.”
“The developer has previously said that the 'glitches' are supposed to be part of the atmosphere, which is an interesting concept.”
“There are times when the game has distractions while watching a video. 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.”
- emotional4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its stark portrayal of psychological themes, engaging players in deep discussions. While some moments may feel heavy-handed, the overall experience is described as a compelling emotional roller-coaster, particularly enhanced by powerful performances.
“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.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has been criticized for poorly timed subtitles, which present a wall of text that hinders the viewer's ability to appreciate the actress's performance, especially for non-German speakers. Despite this issue, the main actress delivers a strong performance that enhances the overall experience.
“A cool FMV game with an interesting story and great performance!”
“Really awesome performance from the actress!”
“The performance by the main actress is also strong, something that is crucial for this kind of experience.”
“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.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be less tedious than expected, though it can become frustrating due to a lack of notifications for unlocked files and difficulty in tracking missing items. This can lead to moments of annoyance, but overall, the game still holds promise despite these issues.
“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.”
- graphics3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative 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, it can be distracting, particularly during post-story exploration.
“The whole glitch/damage aesthetic that escalates as the story progresses adds a unique layer to the visuals, though it can be distracting during the post-story completion hunt.”
“The game utilizes OpenGL for its graphics, which contributes to its overall visual performance.”
“While there are no graphics options available, this is understandable given that the game is a full-motion video (FMV) experience.”
“There are no graphics options, but considering that the game is an FMV, this is to be expected.”
“The whole glitch/damage aesthetic that escalates as the story progresses was distracting, especially during my post-story completion hunt.”
- music1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The reviewer does not engage with the music in games and therefore cannot provide any feedback on it.
