Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller (PC) Review

It would be great to be able to see the past, right? Well, for FBI agent Erica Reed, that is indeed the reality of the situation. Sadly, though, her younger brother died at the hands of a nefarious monster - a serial killer that even she was unable to sense or stop. Rather than heading off into a miserable slump, her 'post-cognitive abilities' are required three years after the horrible event in order to cease the reign of terror brought about by a new killer, one whom is intent on leaving clues to draw Erica out. The story arc over the four episodes on offer - The Hangman, The Wise Monkey, The Oracle, and The Cain Killer - twists and turns, with some highly graphical descriptions of the heinous happenings of the yarn being woven. There is some light relief from certain characters, but for the most part this is hard hitting, no nonsense action thriller content and works extremely well to not just grab the attention, but not let go for the duration.

Visually it takes on the feel of a dark comic book for the hand-drawn cut-scenes - that are all impeccably voiced, it should be added - but then morphs into 3D modelled characters that look great (other than some freaky moments on close-ups where Erica's eyes start rolling around in a possessed manner!), but sadly have many issues when it comes to the animation side, with almost horror-movie-esque lurching around being the order of the day, and all sorts of random glitches (at one point Erica tried walking on someone's head to get into an already moving lift before being dragged magically upwards to the ground floor - definitely one of the more comical blips!). Thankfully, however, these issues do not spoil the enjoyment of the main adventure, with the dark atmosphere and impressive story direction easing everything along nicely. With a helping hand from project consultant Jane Jensen, no less, what was already great to start with, clearly has an extra layer of polish.

Over the various episodes offered, it is clear that Phoenix Online Studios started to get to grips with its coding and engine tweaking as improvements abound can be witnessed when moving from the conclusion of one to the opening scenes of the next. The range of abilities on offer for the player to use whilst controlling protagonist Erica also increases, with not only the chance to touch objects and see past images, but drawing together key items to see other objects that are missing, or even meeting someone that can predict what may happen in the future with the merest of touches. Collecting objects and combining is part and parcel of most point-and-click adventures, with this being no different, yet the pre- and post-cognitive angle is a great addition to make Cognition feel fresh. The future viewing elements do not come into play until far later in the game, but other elements are there for most of the episodes, like the standard 'Postcognition' and 'Projection' where an event can be seen after three similarly related items are touched (as just mentioned). There are also 'Regression' and 'Synergy,' the former being where Erica delves into people's minds when touching them, and the latter joins together inventory items to discover what past event links them.

Controls are as expected, with Erica being moved from one place to another at the simple click of the left mouse button in the appropriate area, but the user interface for interacting with elements, using objects, and even speaking with others, is a slight bit convoluted, with a lot of extra clicks involved that do not necessarily need to have been there. Even to just look at one item involves a few button presses before it works, with three options to choose from nearly every time anything is touched ('eye' for seeing objects, 'hand' to take something, or 'suitcase' to use an object with something else). There are times where randomness seems to come into play as well, especially during parts where vague memories need to be pieced together to crack a larger puzzle. For the most part it proves engaging, but those moments of frustration and lack of direction can grate after a while. All-in-all, though, Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller has enough substance, presentational finesse, and depth to its tale to make this something all point-and-click enthusiasts should not overlook.