Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller

友情提示一下由于汉化犹豫入不入的朋友们，省流：第一章和序章没有汉化，其他章有汉化 详情：chinaavg(一家国内的avg论坛)有各章节的汉化硬盘版，可以改为同名文件夹覆盖steam版游玩，需要注册才能下载，不嫌麻烦地可以自己下载游玩，但第一章现在汉化版会启动报错只能玩生肉 后续发现游玩发现第一章有恶性bug会卡死…… 简评：认知这款游戏有着非常僵硬的动作，古朴且几乎没什么对现代玩家变通的经典点击式avg玩法，密密麻麻的bug，除了血腥度不错外没什么特色的美术，以及一个悬疑感很强，有一些巧思的剧本，鉴于有这么多游玩上的缺点，个人觉得不如买一份然后看实况…… [spoiler] 看到一半以为是经典的bg桥段，没想到最后一章突然来了点百合，不得不说比bg那段写的好多了，恋爱剧情像是写完整部后强行加的一样毫无存在感 [/spoiler]

After the first episode I had hoped it would've picked up however the story remains painfully trite. The controls keep changing and are extremely un-intuitive, the puzzles are much the same and are based on logical leaps so high, I couldn't even reach them using a pogostick on a trampoline.

I know this is going to sound ridiculous but do you guys remember the old CSI Games that came out for the Xbox 360 back in the day? It's them, but with an MC who looks like Scully from X-Files. It's got a steep introductory curve to get used to the interface, but once you get your head around that you're on for quite a good game!

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This is a good game with glitchy gameplay. Cognition plays as a classic adventure game splitted into 4 chapters, all accessible through a loader menu. You are FBI agent Erica Reed, you solve murders and other crimes with the help of your coworkers. They generally like you but some of the bosses might not. The game starts on a cemetery, in media res, trying to rescue your brother from a serial killer who likes to setup death traps similar to Jigsaw. There's more, you have psionic powers that let you see past events in some capacity. These powers are a very interesting addition to the game and are a key component of the setting and plot, they are not just a random mechanic. More powers are unlocked as you progress on the story. Voice work is great, the cases are interesting and varied, the characters are for the most part ok. The plot is the strongest point of the game. The first case is probably the most boring one, with a ton of office tasks like searching on a computer, printing evidence forms, and a main case that takes its time to pick up pace. Fortunately, each following chapter is just better than the last one. The second case features a gruesome killer, while the third one adds a new playable character that gives a much needed fresh air to the saga. The last chapter brings everything to its conclusion, there's a couple of last plot details that were highly satisfying. Now, I don't know if the game got broken in an update or what happened, but it's full of bugs. The art style looks good, it's a mesh of 2D painted backgrounds with 3D models for characters and active objects. Everything 3D on this game doesn't work very well. Erica will take ages to move to one place to another, slowly turning around, strafing instead of walking forward, and sometimes just inverse kinectics go wrong and she has epilepsy convulsions. It's a shame really, because the story is engaging and deserves at least one play. None of the glitched animations and characters will crash or softlock the game, but it detracts a lot from the very serious atmosphere when you are having a very tense moment and suddenly the animations break down. The other main issue, is that around half of the dialogues in the first chapter are unskippable. They eventually fixed it in later chapters, but the first one tends to drag a lot because of this. If you are ok with technical issues, take a chance to get into this adventure, otherwise avoid completely.

yes!

It's a good story well written and all, immersive. Nice SFX, music and excellent voice-overs. But it suffers from glitchy, buggy and clunky interface and sequences: sometimes you need to redo sequences many times to catch an item that does not enter the inventory. Sometimes just a small action unlocks a location with no info on what to do. And the cognition phases are sometimes obscure and suffering from the interface. You need perseverance to play this game but it is worth it for the atmosphere.

I’m fully aware that the writing is sometimes inconsistent, but I absolutely love a good thriller — with solid twists — regardless of the format. And this game is a thriller, even if it never quite reaches brilliance. There’s a clear DNA of my beloved (and dearly missed) Gabriel Knight 3 here, and it genuinely helped scratch that itch. It made me nostalgic in the best way, while also reminding me how much I hope the last two Gabriel Knight games will eventually receive proper remakes, just like the first one did. The tone is serious and more mature than the average adventure game, with several genuinely intense moments. Be warned: the game does not shy away from gore — but it’s never gratuitous. It serves the story and the atmosphere rather than existing for shock value. Erica Reed herself is a strong point. She’s not treated like a clueless protagonist: she’s intelligent, capable, and refreshingly rebellious. Anti-system, anti-rulebook — she doesn’t blindly follow orders, and that makes her far more engaging than many adventure leads. Overall, despite its flaws and uneven execution, the experience remains positive for me. It’s a flawed but compelling thriller that knows what it wants to be. Rating: 7/10