Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller is an excellent adventure game. It's one of the best "pure" adventures games that I've played since TellTale's The Walking Dead: Season 1. quite frankly. Cognition's first season is excellent, with more twist + turns in the story; really logical puzzles (for the most part); really good character development.

Without spoiling too much here - Erica Reed is a cop, her brother Scott gets taken, and she begins chasing after this serial killer. You play mostly as Erica, embarking on this journey of finding out more about this killer, the past of the killer, and who the killer plans to attack next. This is just the tip of the iceberg here, as there's a lot more than that that is going on in this game, story-wise, play-wise, and character-wise.

A few of the puzzles are tough, but the Hint System can give you just enough to point you in the right direction to help you figure it out. At some point - Erica begins having visions, learning she has powers that can help her solve puzzles. Not only that, but there are puzzles based around her visions are extremely well integrated into the game. I don't want to spoil too much, but each episode seems to integrate a new type of puzzle that has to deal with her abilities.

Even the final episode (Episode 4) introduces a new mechanic, which I'm sure is going to have some replaying the last episode, since it can even change some of the actual journey of the final chapter & the actual final outcome of the game.

There's very few flaws + problems w/ this season. The voice-acting quality is the biggest problem, as it's all over the place. Erica, Cordelia, and John are the best voice-acted characters; and then the quality for the rest of the characters are all over the place. The graphics do have the very interesting, stylish and comic-book type of look - ranging more on the artistic side, instead of having any sort of real technical quality.

None of those above-said flaws should stop you from playing this game, as those are very minor problems with this game. After 26 hours or so with this game, there was hardly any moments where I was not wanting to find out what's going to develop and happen next in the story + to these characters. The game kept things fresh with new puzzle types + new game mechanics, with each episode. With never a dull moment, even for its length - the game kept me constantly engaged. Fans of murder-mysteries; cop + FBI stories; old-school style adventure games w/ logical puzzles (and a Hint system to help those who get stuck, which will point you a bit in the right direction); great character development; and great dialogue - look no further than the excellent Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller.

Final Grade = B+

Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller is an excellent adventure game. It's one of the best "pure" adventures games that I've played since TellTale's The Walking Dead: Season 1. quite frankly. Cognition's first season is excellent, with more twist + turns in the story; really logical puzzles (for the most part); really good character development. Without spoiling too much here - Erica Reed is a cop, her brother Scott gets taken, and she begins chasing after this serial killer. You play mostly as Erica, embarking on this journey of finding out more about this killer, the past of the killer, and who the killer plans to attack next. This is just the tip of the iceberg here, as there's a lot more than that that is going on in this game, story-wise, play-wise, and character-wise. A few of the puzzles are tough, but the Hint System can give you just enough to point you in the right direction to help you figure it out. At some point - Erica begins having visions, learning she has powers that can help her solve puzzles. Not only that, but there are puzzles based around her visions are extremely well integrated into the game. I don't want to spoil too much, but each episode seems to integrate a new type of puzzle that has to deal with her abilities. Even the final episode (Episode 4) introduces a new mechanic, which I'm sure is going to have some replaying the last episode, since it can even change some of the actual journey of the final chapter & the actual final outcome of the game. There's very few flaws + problems w/ this season. The voice-acting quality is the biggest problem, as it's all over the place. Erica, Cordelia, and John are the best voice-acted characters; and then the quality for the rest of the characters are all over the place. The graphics do have the very interesting, stylish and comic-book type of look - ranging more on the artistic side, instead of having any sort of real technical quality. None of those above-said flaws should stop you from playing this game, as those are very minor problems with this game. After 26 hours or so with this game, there was hardly any moments where I was not wanting to find out what's going to develop and happen next in the story + to these characters. The game kept things fresh with new puzzle types + new game mechanics, with each episode. With never a dull moment, even for its length - the game kept me constantly engaged. Fans of murder-mysteries; cop + FBI stories; old-school style adventure games w/ logical puzzles (and a Hint system to help those who get stuck, which will point you a bit in the right direction); great character development; and great dialogue - look no further than the excellent Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller. Final Grade = B+