Erica

 PlayStation 4
User Score
6.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 371 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 173 out of 371
  2. Mixed: 132 out of 371
  3. Negative: 66 out of 371
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  1. stardustancient
    Oct 7, 2019
    2
    I really like interactive stories and FMV games so i was fully expecting to love this game. Unfortunately however, that didn't end up happening.

    First of all, the controls are absolutely horrendous. I cannot overstate just how much i hate the controls. For some reason they decided they didn't like any of the buttons on the PS4 controller so the entire game is controlled with either the    I really like interactive stories and FMV games so i was fully expecting to love this game. Unfortunately however, that didn't end up happening.

    First of all, the controls are absolutely horrendous. I cannot overstate just how much i hate the controls. For some reason they decided they didn't like any of the buttons on the PS4 controller so the entire game is controlled with either the touchpad or a phone. I don't see why, because playing the game with buttons instead of weird swipes and dragging a cursor around would have made the game exponentially better.

    The controls being so incredibly bad is the main reason I have given the game this score, but apart from that the game doesn't exactly set the world on fire. the plot, acting and characters are all incredibly mediocre. There are some good plot elements but they are drowned out by the rest of the game. If i had to score the game without taking the controls into account i would probably give it a 6 or 7, but since the controls are incredibly important in any interactive media, and because i have literally been led to the wrong ending multiple times because of the controls, I feel the game warrants a 2.

    Unless this game receives some sort of update that enables you to use the controller or something, you should avoid this game at all costs. If you are really interested in the story I recommend watching a youtube video of the game instead of putting yourself through this mess because there isn't really that much interactivity in the first place.    … Expand
  2. notahobbit
    Jul 13, 2020
    4
    So this interactive movie was free on PS Plus in July 2020, which is why I gave it a 4. If I had paid the £9 that it cost on release it would have been a zero. The interface is designed to be played on a touchscreen device so I used a tablet, downloaded the app and it all worked fine, no problems.

    My main issue with the interactive element is that most of it is literally just swiping    So this interactive movie was free on PS Plus in July 2020, which is why I gave it a 4. If I had paid the £9 that it cost on release it would have been a zero. The interface is designed to be played on a touchscreen device so I used a tablet, downloaded the app and it all worked fine, no problems.

    My main issue with the interactive element is that most of it is literally just swiping the screen of your tablet or smartphone up, down, left, right or a variety of other patterns to make something happen on the TV. The movie basically just pauses until you do it, so if you need to open a door the movie just pauses while looking at the door until you drag your finger down the screen to open it. These elements are mostly just a nuisance with on-screen prompts that leave you wondering what's the point.

    Other interactive elements do give you some choices, but you never feel that the choices you make really change the action very much. I only played this through once and I read afterwards that there are 7 different endings but I couldn't think how I would have expected it (or wanted it) to end any better or worse than it did the first time.

    The story was 'ok' if a bit predictable and the actors didn't do a terrible job (some better than others), but that wasn't enough to rescue the disappointing interactive aspect which should really have been the main focus of the production.    … Expand
  3. metacritic3
    Aug 21, 2019
    0
    The best place would have been on Netflix, not on PS4. Too expensive for what it's worth.
  4. Dompli
    Aug 3, 2020
    0
    Maybe they marketed this as a "game" because they realized it was too **** to be a movie and noone would
  5. Frank1401
    Apr 6, 2020
    1
    It lasts only two hours, you can do only few things, not even one puzzle to solve, the plot was very simple and didn't feel realistic at all. Didn't enjoy this game and do not recommend to anyone.
  6. MrFleming
    Jul 26, 2020
    0
    This was free on the PSN so I thought I would try it out. Unfortunately for the first time ever I'm going to issue a zero score for a game on the basis that the controls for this are utterly terrible, to the point I had to give up after 5 minutes with the game being almost unplayable for me on a PS4 controller.
  7. plopplopplop
    Aug 20, 2019
    4
    Well I guess it made me feel strong enough to actually bother making an account to review something for once, overrated garbage. MC has the depth of a fish out of water, it's not cute or endearing. There was some cool visual stuff done but hardly worth the slog. For the money spent I could have got the full movie experience and would have been better for it. Boring enough to be bad but notWell I guess it made me feel strong enough to actually bother making an account to review something for once, overrated garbage. MC has the depth of a fish out of water, it's not cute or endearing. There was some cool visual stuff done but hardly worth the slog. For the money spent I could have got the full movie experience and would have been better for it. Boring enough to be bad but not bad enough to be funny like Quantic Dream's "interactive" experiences.… Expand
  8. seriimac
    Dec 3, 2019
    0
    Nor a good game or a movie. 2-3 times is enought to understand ALL that is happening (only one true ending, others are nonsense, but there are holes in this one too, like everyting in the plot is undone). Controls are disgustive. ”Easy” platinum also is boring AF, no chapter select or anything, such game desing, eh.
  9. RolloZ
    Jul 24, 2020
    0
    **** game and the most boring game I have ever played in my entire life. Sequences are repetitive and disappointed
  10. samuslink
    Aug 20, 2019
    0
    this is just a movie with minor narrative decisions, this not a videogame at all.
  11. Zakis1991
    Feb 24, 2020
    4
    Игра классная, но управление , блядь сони, как же вы заебали с этой сенсорной панелью, добавили в геймпад, и не знают в какие игры теперь пихать. В игре где главное сюжет, и правильный выбор, ты не можешь сделать этот самый правильный выбор из-за ебаного сенсора! В чем сука проблема выбор сделать на кнопки и не ебать мозг!Игра классная, но управление , блядь сони, как же вы заебали с этой сенсорной панелью, добавили в геймпад, и не знают в какие игры теперь пихать. В игре где главное сюжет, и правильный выбор, ты не можешь сделать этот самый правильный выбор из-за ебаного сенсора! В чем сука проблема выбор сделать на кнопки и не ебать мозг!
  12. giraffa113
    Aug 21, 2020
    0
    Kal sobaki, worst game ever. That not a game at all.
    Story 0/10 ..........f
  13. HaloFever
    Jul 27, 2020
    4
    Have you ever wanted a playable version of a boring, uninspired movie? Based on the box art for Erica, I thought it would be like Life Is Strange. I expected Erica to make moral choices that would affect the story and hit me right in the feels. Instead, Erica is a character that goes through the motions in a bland, monotone story that has little input from the player and nothingHave you ever wanted a playable version of a boring, uninspired movie? Based on the box art for Erica, I thought it would be like Life Is Strange. I expected Erica to make moral choices that would affect the story and hit me right in the feels. Instead, Erica is a character that goes through the motions in a bland, monotone story that has little input from the player and nothing interesting for the player to watch.

    The mechanics of Erica are fine. I used the iOS app to control the choices in the game. The little actions like opening a box or turning a key are done well and remind me of both Heavy Rain and puzzle games like The Room. Sony has a nice framework for making good interactive movies.

    My problem with Erica are the boring movie and the lackluster manner in which the player changes the story. The characters all flat, including Erica herself. Its as if someone told the actors that the project was a video game and their performances did not matter. This game is in stark contrast to the lively portrayals in Bandersnatch. The actress who players Erica is well enough, but she is given the least dialogue of any character. The casting was also suspect, as Erica looks about 3 feet tall next to all the other actors.

    The interactive story elements all lead to the same conclusion. Erica only becomes an active part of the story at the end. This makes nearly all the player choices are immaterial. It also means that there is little reason to suffer through the game more than once, not even for a platinum trophy. Most all interactive games suffer from this problem. The difference with Erica is that there are no meaningful small decisions to be made through the beginning and middle of the game. Erica cannot save anyone or push the story along in any way. The player has no choice but to go through the motions and listen to sad music written by Austin Wintry.

    If I were to imagine a better game, I would base it off a story that is driven by the protagonist. I imagine the awesomeness of an interactive game where the protagonist has a goal and the player can help or hinder the protagonist through moral decisions from start to finish. Imagine if something like Breaking Bad were an interactive movie/game. Such a game could have wildly different endings and all of them would be real to the player because the player made them happen. This is why Erica is so disappointing. Maybe the moral of this game's story is that if you are going to make an interactive game/movie, choose to be ambitious.

    Full disclosure: Erica was a "free" game from PlayStation Plus. I had nothing invested in the game except my precious time.    … Expand
  14. Sky-Line___
    Dec 8, 2020
    3
    The game/movie is very short. Actor play is poor, sometimes laughable because of how bad it is. The choices of the game don’t make any sense on the outcome. They do have incidence, but which is very unclear to guess most of the times. And, oh, the mechanics if you decide to use a controller, terrible…! Haven’t tried smartphone controls. And anyway, they are not really relevant/necessary,The game/movie is very short. Actor play is poor, sometimes laughable because of how bad it is. The choices of the game don’t make any sense on the outcome. They do have incidence, but which is very unclear to guess most of the times. And, oh, the mechanics if you decide to use a controller, terrible…! Haven’t tried smartphone controls. And anyway, they are not really relevant/necessary, you mostly action locks, slide pages or choose between sentences and that’s about it.

    I appreciate the developers took the initiative to try something new, but it all was badly orchestrated. The story does not make sense, they try to make it paranormal, dark and mysterious, but in the end it’s just random scenes one after the other without a real common thread. In my case, the game finished so abruptly. Really didn’t expect that even though the rest of the game’s quality says a lot.

    I encourage developers to try creating more games like these, obviously such as the very good ones Quantic Dream has released, but this one just wasn’t it.    … Expand
  15. ToshLichev
    Jul 10, 2020
    2
    Erica has an ok concept...and that's the only positive thing that could be said about the game. Aside from that, the gameplay is down right boring and clunky, the story screams "first year film student", the acting, Erica aside, ranges from barely acceptable to laughably bad, the production seems to be at the level of a cheap CW show and you are never given a reason to care about any ofErica has an ok concept...and that's the only positive thing that could be said about the game. Aside from that, the gameplay is down right boring and clunky, the story screams "first year film student", the acting, Erica aside, ranges from barely acceptable to laughably bad, the production seems to be at the level of a cheap CW show and you are never given a reason to care about any of the characters. The whole "no one path shows all the answers" idea is absolute crap - while I was trying to platinum this garbage game (never would have played it if it wasn't free), on my 3rd playthrough I realized that around 80% of the game is always the same and the different outcomes are so meaningless, that platinum trophy aside, you should never force yourself to play this thing more than once... or at all. Hard pass and if anyone tells you this is an easy platinum don't believe them, around the 4th playthrough I started feeling a physical level of disgust from just playing the game...and it takes around 6 playthroughs to plat. Hard pass!

    P.S.: Dear PS+, you owe all of your subscribers a free game just for including this **** as a "bonus". Pathetic...    … Expand
  16. DavidHoltzer
    Feb 1, 2022
    0
    The controls are beyond terrible. I expected better than this trash game! I couldn't focus on the story because of it.
  17. vitin
    Nov 5, 2020
    4
    Eu realmente queria gostar de Erica, a história até é legalzinha mas os controles são tão ruins que eu nem consegui aproveitar direito, só entendi como se usava aquilo direito no final do jogo. Eu entendo a tentativa e admito que foi interessante, mas no fim não deu certo.
  18. Jackthegamer
    Sep 16, 2022
    3
    It's not even a videogame but a interactive movie. There is no gameplay at all
  19. DjaySuzi
    Mar 10, 2021
    0
    Garbage. Wouldn't work on my ps4 without the app no matter what controller I tried so I had to use my ps5 (the app has connection issues). The game makes decisions for you if you don't decide on a moment's notice and if you don't like the decision it made for you then you're SOL. It automatically saves anyways and you'll have to start all the way over. Couple that with the swipes sometimesGarbage. Wouldn't work on my ps4 without the app no matter what controller I tried so I had to use my ps5 (the app has connection issues). The game makes decisions for you if you don't decide on a moment's notice and if you don't like the decision it made for you then you're SOL. It automatically saves anyways and you'll have to start all the way over. Couple that with the swipes sometimes not registering correctly and completely ruining my desired playthrough (and having to start over) and this is easily one of the worst and most frustrating games I've ever played.… Expand
  20. bullseyeboi
    Jul 11, 2020
    1
    Shallow characters, plot less meandering story, and the complete opposite of immersive. Don't spend your 2~ hours playing this. Grab a telltale game or Until Dawn.

    This is a game that builds up to nothing and doesn't have a satisfying conclusion. I wouldn't even recommend watching it on YouTube. If you're reading this now and considering playing this game, don't. If you're reading this    Shallow characters, plot less meandering story, and the complete opposite of immersive. Don't spend your 2~ hours playing this. Grab a telltale game or Until Dawn.

    This is a game that builds up to nothing and doesn't have a satisfying conclusion. I wouldn't even recommend watching it on YouTube. If you're reading this now and considering playing this game, don't. If you're reading this and have played the game, I'm sorry.    … Expand
  21. Austin04
    Jul 13, 2020
    1
    Kind of boring, didn’t understand the story really, the scene where you choose between making perfume or checking on the other two people I was met with a screen that had placeholder text. I’m not kidding, it just said “Placeholder” on the screen. What?
  22. estivee
    Sep 7, 2020
    3
    This was something else...
    A true hit and miss in my book. By trying to be a movie and a game Erica misses both marks.
    The story is predictable and boring while the gameplay is almost non-existent. After playing through it a couple of times to get the platinum I realised that most of the so called "choices" you make, makes no difference. The only thing that makes this "movie" unique from    This was something else...
    A true hit and miss in my book. By trying to be a movie and a game Erica misses both marks.
    The story is predictable and boring while the gameplay is almost non-existent. After playing through it a couple of times to get the platinum I realised that most of the so called "choices" you make, makes no difference. The only thing that makes this "movie" unique from traditional cinema is makes you do something so trivial as wiping of a mirror when most of the things you are tasked with doing makes zero impact in the story.

    And the controls… What a mess, using the touchpad on the controller as your only input is nothing but a pain in the ass. When choosing between four different options, why not use one of the four face buttons? I get the ”immersion” when doing it on some thing that’s a swiping motion in real life like dusting of a desk or clearing the fog of a window. But for everything else I would have preferred the face-buttons on the controller.

    Not worth any money, If you got it with PS+ I would still be hesitant to even recommend anyone to download this to their PS4.
    A waste of time and money. Avoid.    … Expand
  23. iCampoRamil
    Feb 12, 2021
    4
    No vale para mucho, la trama es demasiado confusa, pero no porque sea compleja, si no porque muchas veces, no está bien contada.
    Si haces un juego de elecciones, que todas las elecciones te cuenten la historia, si no, no tiene sentido.
    Tiene bastante buena fotografía y, después de hacer varias runs, en busca de la completionista, cobra todo más sentido, pero esto que hago es bastante    No vale para mucho, la trama es demasiado confusa, pero no porque sea compleja, si no porque muchas veces, no está bien contada.
    Si haces un juego de elecciones, que todas las elecciones te cuenten la historia, si no, no tiene sentido.
    Tiene bastante buena fotografía y, después de hacer varias runs, en busca de la completionista, cobra todo más sentido, pero esto que hago es bastante inusual, como mucho, la gente juega 1-2 partidas. Entonces, de ese modo, te quedas como estabas.    … Expand
  24. zach_grech
    May 3, 2022
    4
    The game is incredibly corny. The writing is very mixed and performances are not very good. The overall mystery of the game is interesting and in my playthrough choices did have consequences. The controls are also extremely bad in this game like wonky N64 controls but way worse.
  25. xDiMoura
    Jun 8, 2022
    2
    Nota: 2.5

    A ideia do projeto é boa, uma fusão de filme live-action como um jogo. O problema é que Erica consegue ser medíocre em ambos, como jogo é entediante e com a jogabilidade horrível. Como filme é clichê, sem graça, não empolga, com vários furos de roteiro, sem pé e nem cabeça. Mesmo sabendo que é o jogador que define o rumo da história, acho impossível imaginar um cenário onde    Nota: 2.5

    A ideia do projeto é boa, uma fusão de filme live-action como um jogo. O problema é que Erica consegue ser medíocre em ambos, como jogo é entediante e com a jogabilidade horrível. Como filme é clichê, sem graça, não empolga, com vários furos de roteiro, sem pé e nem cabeça. Mesmo sabendo que é o jogador que define o rumo da história, acho impossível imaginar um cenário onde essa porcaria seja minimamente aceitável. A única coisa boa desse desastre é que ele é curto e só roubou duas horas da minha preciosa vida.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

35
#35 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
69

Mixed or average reviews - based on 41 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 41
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 41
  3. Negative: 3 out of 41
  1. Adventure Gamers
    Sep 30, 2020
    40
    The production values place Erica in good company as an FMV psychological thriller, but with a near total absence of gameplay and a plot that struggles to consistently thrill, what’s left is an underwhelming choose-your-own-adventure tale that leaves a poor lingering impression.
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  2. Edge Magazine
    Oct 10, 2019
    70
    It's a bold first effort from the studio - the first spark of something great, perhaps. [Issue#338, p.122]
  3. PLAY! Zine
    Oct 8, 2019
    70
    Erica is a weird mixture of inconsistent but mostly quality writing, with astounding visuals and soundtrack. It poses as a truly interesting experience and even though with its flaws it is a step in the right direction for FMV games.
    Read full review
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