Cognition Episode 4: The Cain Killer

The moment has finally arrived. After long three years of chasing, FBI agent Erica Reed stands face to face with the killer of her brother, former partner, and boss. What should she do now? Phoenix Online brings the fourth, and final, episode of Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller to an end with a bang, letting players experience the mysteries of a serial killer’s darkest secrets. Unforeseen twists in the story, along with new gameplay features make this final episode a treat for those who have been with the series from the beginning. With flashbacks covering a large part of the story, the gameplay becomes a little dispirited.

Unlike all the previous episodes, this long awaited finale doesn’t start with anything disturbing. Instead, it takes players back to the past where everything began. Erica’s very first assignment is to track down a smuggler, ending with the tragic death of a girl, leading Erica into situations she had never expected. Consequently, throughout the past three Cognition episodes players experienced situations, filled with losses, that were presented in horrifying manners. And now Erica intends to put an end to this, being a FBI fugitive herself, partnering up with someone she considers the killer she has been after.

The Cain Killer consists of a few short acts. Players unfamiliar with the previous episodes will find this finale puzzling. Not because of where the story stands, but in the manner it is narrated. Even though in many areas the game explains what took place during the previous episodes, they aren’t enough to capture the essence of the whole story. Having said that, even players who are familiar with the previous episodes will struggle to have a grip on the game. This is due to the changes made in the game’s structure. Interactions with the map and searching for clues were already omitted at the third episode, and now there are no investigation options. This is perhaps why Erica is no longer an FBI agent and doesn’t hold the rights as an investigator. This particular change not only makes this episode utterly effortless, but takes away the thrill players were expecting after the third episode. This fourth episode thrusts from one sequence to another, hardly letting players grab hold to the storyline until the final sequence arrives.

The abilities of Erica, however, still remain the same. While the game loses some of its core features in this episode puzzles, on the other hand, are vastly enhanced. Each of her Psion powers, such as cognition, projection, regression and synergy, are tested in separate puzzle scenarios. But some of these puzzle scenarios feel rather unnecessary, especially one involving Erica’s mentor Rose. It’s understandable that Rose has parts to play in each of the episodes, but in the manner her story is presented it feels completely out of place. Players hardly sweat to solve each of these puzzles, except for one. Phoenix Online surely intends to test those who have played this series from the beginning with a puzzle that involves memories from all previous episodes. If anything in this episode is challenging it has to be this particular puzzle. Because remembering certain detail from the past episodes are never an easy task to accomplish.

A new feature introduced in this episode is the impression meter. During her conversations with other characters, portraits of them display, revealing whether they trust Erica or not. These portraits work as meters - either full or empty - depending on how Erica exchanges dialogs. When the meter fills up, other characters will trust Erica’s words, and distrust her when empty. This is a positive addition to the game, but it doesn't have the kind of impact gamers can expect. Erica is most likely to die, or the scenario may force a restart when the portrait meter becomes empty. This makes the gameplay very static because Erica isn’t provided with too many conversation options. That being said, gamers can easily predict that being nice, even to a mean killer, can keep things going without interruption.

It’s without a doubt that this series has been faulty in many departments, such as character animation and meaningful conversation. It’s the thrill of the story and its darkest manner of presentation that kept me sticking to it for all four episodes. Episode 4, in this regard, is a genuine treat. The story so far has never disappointed, and this finale truly comes to an end in a brilliant manner. The passage through a distressing darkness finally leads to a peaceful valley. Erica does lose some close to her, but saves others, including herself, from the mark of a fanatic serial killer. It probably is a tale she’ll never want to remember in the future, but those who have been with her throughout the series surely will.

Sarwar Ron, NoobFeed (@SarwarRon)