How Long Erica Takes To Beat

As the FMV thriller Erica recently released on PC, following its prior PlayStation 4 and iOS versions, a larger group of gamers now have access to this well-crafted branching story. For those curious about whether the game is worth buying, at around $10 on Steam, genre fans will not likely be disappointed. However, potential players should be aware the game leans closer to the length of interactive movies like Bandersnatch and Late Shift, as opposed to story-driven games like those from Telltale and Quantic Dream. Lacking some of the convenience of Bandersnatch’s “replay” options, or chapter-based checkpoints, the overall time to experience all of the game’s endings is longer than the Netflix Black Mirror universe film, but whether this is a good thing will be up to the player.

Erica is movie first, FMV game second, and that is not a bad thing, given the quality of its production values and acting. In a single playthrough, gamers will experience a memory of title character Erica Mason’s childhood as her father prompts her to attempt prophetic visions around a strange lantern. This is followed by her father’s ritualistic murder and a confrontation with a mysterious killer. As an adult, Erica is forced to revisit her dark past when grisly mementos of another killing are left at her doorstep, involving the police and thrusting her into the re-opened investigation of her father’s murder. The police believe the killer is striking out at the late Dr. Mason’s colleagues from the sanitarium he and Erica’s mother worked at before their deaths.

From there the player can decide whether they wish to trust the sanitarium staff and focus on apprehending the killer, or if they want to uncover more about their father’s bizarre obsession with prophecy and secrets that the Delphi House facility might be holding. Whichever route the player goes, they can expect a shorter experience that is movie length, not a sprawling story broken into chapters like Detroit: Become Human and its ilk. Regardless of path selected, from beginning to end a single playthrough of Erica completes within two to three hours.

Erica’s Multiple Endings Extend From Movie To Miniseries

It is evident in any ending the player receives that pivotal choices could have provided very different outcomes, prompting the question of whether multiple playthroughs add to the overall playtime of Erica. Unlike other similar games, Erica does not provide any option to restart from a specific chapter, forcing players to play the entirety of the story from the beginning to see different results. While Bandersnatch truncated the opening chapters of the story on subsequent replays, Erica does not. Though the game has about six different endings, only five of them are truly distinct, meaning that completionist players can expect anywhere from 10 to 18 hours of playtime in total.

Without the ability to select chapters, the total gameplay length of Erica might feel padded, as much of it involves re-watching the same initial portions of the story. Unlike Bandersnatch, every ending comes at the end of a movie-length narrative. There are no ending options for early conclusions to the story, as in the Netflix experimental film. There are some different routes to pursue on the way to the final decision points, so players should expect at least some variation in the experience, although repeated playthroughs back-to-back could grow a bit tedious. Even if Erica’s moody soundtrack by composer Austin Wintory can be enjoyed repeatedly in a short span, players might benefit from waiting in between playthroughs of Erica, or experiencing it with a friend on a subsequent attempt.

Whether a gamer spends two hours or twenty with the troubled mind of Erica Mason, their experience can be satisfying. A single playthrough provides the experience of watching a psychological thriller where the viewer takes ownership of the story periodically. Multiple playthroughs of Erica offer insights into the road less traveled, and a further understanding of the story’s secrets, in some cases. Though the overall length is arguably artificially extended by the lack of chapter selection, at a low price point that is close to that of a digital movie purchase, Erica still provides adequate value for gamers or movie fans interested in another experience like Bandersnatch.

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