Erica Reviews
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.
After spending some time as a PS4 exclusive, Erica has made its way onto PC. As an interactive movie game it excels in combining good cinematography with the interactivity of video games to present a captivating thriller whose ending you can decide. While the genre might not be for everyone, Erica is a high quality movie game that will please anyone who is interested in these types of experiences.
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 long as you don't plan on making a repeat playthrough, Erica is a great experience. Only upon replay do issues like limited narrative variation, non-essential quicktime events, and the illusion of choice make an appearance. Despite that, this is a fantastic use of the FMV genre that more people deserve to experience.
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
Sony's FMV thriller Erica is coming to PC.
FMV games aren't to every taste, to be fair, but for a change of pace, and an opportunity to jump into the genre, Erica is the best of its class. A dark, gory thriller, Erica comes across like a compelling mix of Broadchurch and The Wicker Man, elevated by surprisingly strong performances and polished production values. Pity about the restricted, rigid control options that have carried through to the PC release.
With its intriguing narrative hook, Erica's premise is enough to pique any FMV fan's interest. Sadly, clumsy plotholes and unnecessary choices weigh the game down, and it doesn't quite deliver in the end. It's still entertaining enough if you're looking for a different kind of movie night, though.
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 is a great looking, entertaining, well-acted FMV game that shouldn't be missed, especially for the low price of ten dollars.
Short but good live-action thriller about Erica's past and the shocking truth, just with simple story.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Erica is a novel concept which fails on almost every count, unfortunately, and can't as such be recommended at all.
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
This is a game valued accurately – although there isn’t much gameplay itself, who hasn’t paid at least this much just to watch a movie?
With each decision, the player feels closer to unraveling a mystery, all the while knowing a single playthrough will only just crack the surface.
Erica tells a boilerplate story—but tells it very well. With a fresh, intuitive interface and some of the best production values and acting ever seen in a video game, Erica feels very much like what it aspires to be—an interactive film. Erica is perhaps an odd experiment, but one well worth experiencing for gamers that enjoy trips off the beaten path.
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
Erica is a carefully executed, harmonic clash of film and game that tells a great mystery in a memorable way.
Erica is a great story with mystical plot, which is clearly worth the money, even if you decide to finish it just once. Only the inability to choose a chapter, some limitations of the format and the inevitable flow points of the plot cause minor disappointment.
Review in Russian | Read full review
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.