Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller - Episode 2: The Wise Monkey is the latest installment in the Cognition series, a 4 episode point and click adventure game developed by independent game dev Phoenix Online Studios in collaboration with Jane Jensen, veteran of games like Gabriel Knight and Gray Matter.
The audio department of Episode 2 is very hit or miss. The soundtrack is amazing, one of the best I’ve heard from an indie game recently ever in fact. Unfortunately many of the ‘good’ parts take place during conversations. This is disappointing for two opposite reasons: sometimes you can’t hear it, and sometimes it completely drowns out the in-game audio and you’re forced to read the subtitles. Then, it is comprised of simple loops and beats that comprise much of the walking/investigating parts. When I find a clue, I want that roaring crescendo to rock my senses and get me excited to continue the game.
My other audio-related issue is the voice acting. It’s just so… meh. Some characters have great voice actors, you can hear the enthusiasm in their voices, they’re ‘becoming’ their characters. But some can only be related to reading a storybook to a 5 year-old kid, and doing different exaggerated voices: it just doesn’t sound authentic, and that makes it feel like one big joke. On that note, Erica Reid isn’t the greatest at keeping her accent in check. She has that satisfying Boston cop accent, one that makes me wonder if I’m going to see De Niro pop up somewhere and strike up a conversation with her, but this is only part of the time. Most of the time she is accent-less, as if she forgot where she was from. From an emotional standpoint, however you really can feel how rocked Erica is. The past few days for her have been hell, and the voice acting convinces me of this.
Visually, Cognition is a real treat. A variety of techniques are employed that make me feel like I’m reading an interactive graphic novel. Cutscenes play out in panels, with both beautiful and dark artwork illustrating onscreen events. I was surprised at how much work actually went in to each panel, regardless of if it was on screen for 3 seconds or 3 minutes. This care and attention to detail reminds me of the first time I read ‘The Killing Joke’ by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland, every aspect has been picked over and assembled according to a nature feel most point and click adventures lack. When motion is taking place, the graphics are so consistent if feels more like the characters are moving in a comic book world, rather than sprites on top of a 2D backdrop.
Where it is right now, Cognition proves to be a decent game. But taking in the massive amount of mechanics that have been improved in Episode 2 that were major issues in Episode 1, it stands to reason that the series will ultimately improve as each episode is released.
Score: 7 / 10
