Erica Reviews
Erica is a genuinely terrific achievement. As far as the ‘PlayLink’ aspect goes – even if the game is not officially part of Sony’s range – there’s nothing better out here. Technically it feels solid as a rock, with gloriously smooth transitions from gameplay back to FMV cut-scenes. You immediately feel part of the world and it never really gets old. You want to do right by Erica the moment you meet her and there’s very few games that offer this level of interaction, even if as a whole, the game is about the journey rather than the destination.
Erica is experimental in design, and because of that, some things just aren’t going to work out as well as you would hope. But despite both its big fault and barely noticeable flaws, Erica is an interesting, immersive and well-realised experience.
If you've never played an FMV before, Erica will probably be a lot more interesting and maybe it's a good entry-level to these types of games. But as far as I'm concerned Erica Mason can stay in the hospital and stop bothering me to help light her damn zippo.
Erica promises players a nice story. But is the story beautiful enough? We don't agree on this
Review in Turkish | Read full review
With a fairly solid use of known tropes of the thriller genre, ERICA's highlights aren't necessarily its story or characters. But it's a well-crafted and interesting enough tale to present what is in fact the most special aspect of the game, which is the way Flavourworks has found to increase player engagement by creating a layer of extremely natural mechanics and interactions on top of live-action elements. It is a product that builds a new, more interactive base for FMV productions, opening new potential for the genre.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Erica is an extremely well-done FMV thriller. It offers great atmosphere, good acting, branching story, multiple endings, plenty of replayability and all that for a very fair price. Put your prejudices against FMV titles aside and play it.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Even with annoying faults like duplicate choices I quite enjoyed my time going through this interactive thriller. Great cinematography and acting more than makes up for a cliché story and setting. But for a game that focuses on player choice I find the inability to view the choice tree or even custom save very limiting. It's fine for casual walkthroughs but completionist play is unnecessarily tedious.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Erica is a great looking, entertaining, well-acted FMV game that shouldn't be missed, especially for the low price of ten dollars.
With such an engrossing experience ready to be played right in the palm of your hands, it’s a bite sized tale that only will cost you a two cups of coffee (That’s around about $13 bucks, right?). Erica is highly recommended and essential gaming, for casual and experienced gamers alike, and would definitely be considered one of the best surprises Sony Interactive Studios have presented us this year.
An effective story, some excellent performances from its cast, and very good production values do much to cover up its minor flaws and, as such, help Erica stand out from the crowd, when it comes to full motion video games. With a nice tight runtime, it’s also a game that doesn’t outstay its welcome. More of this kind of thing, please.
As a film, Erica is a very engaging thriller, not for the somewhat cliché plot, but for the interactivity that brings a special flavor, since the decisions define the ending that will be shown. It is a pity that only the options at the end of the film really matter for the outcome and that there is no system for revisiting scenes or altering decisions. Still, Erica is an interesting title for anyone who is looking for simple entertainment, but with the participation of the viewer, staying in the middle between a conventional film and a game.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Erica was a bad game that could have been a decent movie. If you want a proper interactive FMV game experience; grab "Late Shift", "The Infectious Madness of Doctor. Dekker or "The Bunker" is all on steam for roughly the same price but with considerably better interaction. That said if you can find it on sale for around six dollars I'd say it's worth one playthrough.
Save for the few scenes that don’t gel together and the middle portion of the 'film', Erica is a fantastic experience that will have you gripped across multiple playthroughs. The cast, in particular Holly Earl as our lead Erica Mason, deliver top end performances throughout and the game doesn’t impose too many pointless decisions in order to constantly drive the story forward. All of this is even more impressive when you consider how many different twists and turns you can take with each playthrough.
Erica takes us back to an era where FMV was a thing but uses it to provide an engaging and captivating experience, not just to deal with hardware limitations. It’s asking price of $13 AUD is very reasonable considering it can be played multiple times, presenting very different outcomes each playthrough all for less than the cost of a single movie ticket. It’s a game I’m sure I’ll be diving back into but mostly I’m looking forward to seeing what Flavourworks can do with the Touch Video tech next.
Erica is an outstanding production that may jumpstart the interactive live action game genre yet again.
Erica is a solid addition to the FMV world, and I'm excited to see if the developer (FlavourWorks) continues with this genre in future games. The acting is solid, the companion app is a delight to use, and the story is intriguing.
Erica offers a very casual take on the adventure game genre with a rather convoluted story, but a great price and solid production values make it a novelty thriller that's worth a look.
Erica might have some problems with the plot and lack of character development, but it delivers a very satisfying, secret-filled interactive experience. The replay factor is high, as we will only have all mysteries solved after several hours of interaction.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Short but good live-action thriller about Erica's past and the shocking truth, just with simple story.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
action makes it different from its genre but it also confines it within it, specially 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 riskful experiment.
Review in Italian | Read full review