Erica Review

Erica for the Playstation 4 uses real actors and real settings to tell an interactive story. You can use either the PS4’s touchpad or a smartphone to interact with objects, dialogue, and people. For this review, I used the PS4’s touchpad. The game warns you that a smartphone will give you a better play experience. I don’t own a cellphone at all. So I had no choice but to use the PS4’s touchpad. The following review is based on that experience.

Erica is a strange experience. I hesitate to call it a game, its more like an interactive story. The player gets to choose what the dialogue will be and what Erica does next. There are multiple endings to the story.

Erica’s story makes no sense whatsoever. Its characters, including Erica, make dumb decision after dumb decision. Even if you choose what you think is the right decision, not killing someone or resisting a killer’s whim, you still end up with something really stupid. The writing in this game is awful. The characters and plotline do not make sense. And I’m not sure who I’m supposed to care about in the game. Erica I guess? I can’t say I cared for any of the characters.

I do think the actors in the game were fine. Holly Earl (Erica) and the rest of the cast try to sell the story. I do not fault their acting. The best thing Erica has going for it is the novelty of these real actors and real settings. Its plot is dumb but the actors and settings are neat.

Meanwhile, the Playstation 4 touchpad controls are beyond terrible. If you thought the plot was bad, wait until you try to control the game with the PS4’s touchpad. The game is almost uncontrollable. I managed to get through the game but I was having a heck of a time trying to select dialogue and actions. Erica “cursor” just doesn’t want to stay still.

I wish this game had analog and button controls. I think it would’ve been a much better experience.

Erica just isn’t a very good experience overall. It has good production values, actors and settings, but I think it wishes it was a movie instead of an interactive story. I do not recommend Erica at all. Even if you do have a smartphone, I’m not sure why you’d want to play this one.

Erica gets a 3.0 out of 10.

A digital copy of this game was provided for this review. Erica is now available on the Playstation 4’s online store.