During the PlayStation Showcase at Paris Games Week, Erica was revealed to the world. I remember sitting in the media room, wondering what this was all about. My first thoughts were ‘wow, this game looks amazing’. Little did I know that everything is recorded with Live Action actors. This isn’t a game or an interactive movie. The developer describes it as an interactive drama and I think he’s completely right.
Feel connected with Erica
In the game, you follow the events of Erica, who is played by a human actor. Everything you see in this ‘game’ is filmed with high-end cameras and there’s not a single 3D image used. Erica has gone through a traumatic childhood experience, something that’s still hunting her today. An old family friend contacted Erica believing her memories may be key to identifying a killer on the loose. It’s not long before the killer attempts to contact Erica too. Caught between different versions of the truth, you must decide whom to trust and what to believe.
An impressive story but the demo focused on Erica and your interaction with her world. Erica is a new PlayLink game, meaning you can use your smartphone to interact with Erica’s world. During our behind closed door session, the developer confirmed DualShock 4 support but insisted on using the smartphone since this enables you to truly touch the world around Erica. The demo started rather strange with the player interacting with Erica. The developer wiped a tear from Erica’s face and gently swiped some of her hair behind her ear. This scene felt a little awkward if you ask me. Sure, I get that the player needs some kind of connection with Erica but this was a little ‘too much’.
Search for clues in the world
Luckily, the focus of the demo soon shifted towards the exploration part. Worth mentioning is that the scenes have no loading times. Instead, cinematic cuts are used to jump to another scene, just like a real movie would do. What we’ve seen after the awkward bathroom scene made me more enthusiastic about this interactive drama.
It all started with a mysterious phone call, leading us to find a key inside an Origami Swan (we see what you did there). What I like most about this scene was the camera work. When you focus on a certain object, like the phonebox, for example, everything else will become blurry. Focus on Erica again and the world around her will become blurry. I really liked the visual style and the way you simply interact with it with a touch on your phone. Interacting with objects is also very interactive (pun intended). For example, if you want to use a lighter, you’ll first have to flip the lid. If you let go too early, the lid will close. It’s clear the developer loves this kind of interaction since he couldn’t stop showing it with every object he got in his virtual hands. Fair enough, it’s an impressive piece of technology for sure.
Interact with others
The last fragment of the demo showed us the interaction with other actors. I think this will be the strong point of the game. Erica was confronted with a mysterious man, handing her a sealed letter. Earlier, she was warned not to open the seal during the telephone call with a mysterious woman. The game gives you the choice to do what you wanted, needless to say, your actions will always affect the rest of Erica’s story. Seeing into the eyes of another human being is far more impressive than looking into a pair of digitally crafted eyes.
Erica wants you to look for signals in the facial expressions of the actors, these signals should guide you to the best option and eventually the best ending. Of course, everything stands or falls with the level of acting but I’m sure the team will do its best to deliver something impressive. When it comes to length, this interactive drama will take as long as a quality movie, meaning they’ll try to keep the flow and pacing of the game rather high.
A different kind of experience
After leaving the room, I was a bit confused and I wasn’t sure what to think of this new way of playing. I really didn’t like the awkward interaction with Erica herself, but I did like the interaction with the environment and other characters. One thing’s for sure, I can’t wait to see the story unfold and I’m really curious about it too. I like to support new ideas and new ways of playing so I think Erica will certainly be worth a more extended look in the future.
