Erica Review - Movie Night
ERICA: A halftone interactive experience
Announced during Paris Games Week 2017, the ERICA thriller has been available for a few days. Under this interactive film, captured in real shots, hides a concept that brings back to the 1990s. By discovering the work of the studio Flavourworks, we think of these games in full motion video (FMV) released on Mega CD or, closer to home, to the survival horror Sadness that was canceled on Wii. Like a director of feature films, the player writes his own story as events and the script progress. Still, the story has to be written well enough not to make us fall out. So, ERICA, real revelation or future nomination for the Razzie Awards?
ERICA is part of the Playlink range and therefore targets a large audience. The gameplay comes down to using your smartphone or the touchpad of the controller to interact with various sequences of the film. Whether it's your laptop or the PlayStation 4 pad, it's just a matter of swiping your finger in a variety of ways, like starting out, to open and light a lighter. Or, later, "clean" your screen to remove fogging on a window or dust on a plate. The game reacts rather well but the interactivity remains however very limited. It is not with this type of action that ERICA stands out. As you would expect, the game draws its interest from choices and decisions.
IT'S MY DIRECTION
ERICA: A halftone interactive experience
From time to time, in addition to the basic actions, the plot invites the player to choose directions and answers within a given time. On each shot, several takes have been recorded so that the story gives the feeling of being guided by the wishes of the user. Unfortunately, it only works very moderately. Despite all the efforts of the Flavourworks studio, the whole thing doesn't sound right. It feels more like following a feature film from time to time than controlling and directing a script. For a total immersion, it would have been necessary that the play of the actors and the events were not exaggerated, and especially that one is really implied. There, we remove the roof of a doll's house, we choose an answer, we tap a few keys on a piano, we target a specific area of the environment ... that is not enough. Why not have integrated real puzzles, such as a puzzle to open a locked door? Or look for a key in a specified area? With such an environment, these interactions would have been possible. A bit like the mysteries of the Racoon City mansion in the first Resident Evil. This production is full of good intentions but it does not work, or badly.
ENGINE ... AND ... ACTION!
ERICA: A halftone interactive experience
This observation is all the more relentless since the making of the feature film is really neat. Photography, colorimetry, the play between light and shadow… each scene has been worked on. The visual atmosphere, the sound, the performance of the actresses and actors, we have already seen much worse. The problem is that the budget was probably not huge and it feels more like watching a B-movie that will soon be forgotten rather than a feature film with a real message to convey. The story does not go far enough, does not develop enough the various protagonists (in particular the boarders of the manor of whom we know almost nothing, the police inspector dispatched, the manager of the manor, etc.) and leaves us in the dark … Even after the end credits. The multiple branches do not change much for a good understanding of the plot. We would have liked to be surprised but that is not the case.
The notes
+ Positive points
Holly Earl's involvement
The film / interactions transition
The atmosphere of the place
The making of the feature film
French dubbing rather successful
The price does not exceed ten euros
-Negative points
Limited interactions
No puzzles, no puzzles
The smartphone app does nothing
Little developed characters
Rhythm problem
Rating an interactive film is a big headache. But relying on the interest of the script and the possible interactions, the ax falls: ERICA does not go far enough in its intentions. We always have the impression that the thriller is on a thread, torn between the desire to become a quality cinematographic work and an innovative video game. In addition, we sometimes feel that there is too great a gap between the experience of actress Holly Earl and the actors who counter it. The attempt is interesting but the test is only moderately successful....
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