Jessika Review 2020| Intense New FMV Murder Mystery

Welcome to our Jessika Review! The full motion video (FMV) game launched on 25 August 2020, with Assemble Entertainment as the publisher and TriTrie Games as the developer. It released on PC, now available on Steam.

When we first announced the trailer for Jessika, we were rather excited to get our hands on the game. Thankfully, we received a review copy and started playing the FMV murder mystery adventure.

Did Jessika meet our expectations? Is it terrifying, and is Jessika worth buying? What can you expect from it? Read more in our Jessika review below.

Platform reviewed:	PC
Release date:	25 August 2020
Price:	£10.49 / $12.49
Genre:	FMV Murder Mystery
Players:	1
File size	1 GB
Developer:	TriTrie Games
Publisher:	Assemble Entertainment

Jessika Review: Story

From the moment we started playing the game for our Jessika review, we were expecting twists and thrills. We’re happy to say that the FMV thriller doesn’t disappoint. There are so many twists in the game, and there were also a few elements that we did not see coming.

You begin working for a company that hacks into deceased people’s digital files online with a decrypting tool. It’s not that you’re prying. Loved ones are paying you to do so, hoping that you can find documents that may reveal some secrets. In Jessika’s case, her father wants to know why she committed suicide.

We won’t spoil the main story or surprises for you. As far as our Jessika review impression goes, we absolutely loved it. The more you uncover her personal videos in the cafe where you’re drinking coffee and working, the more her tale sends shivers up your spine. I’ll be honest, there was a point where I almost quit the game with how intense it became, but the thriller lover inside of me kept going.

The developer wasn’t shy with the themes presented in the game, which serves as a warning in our Jessika review. Besides the fact that suicide is a sensitive topic, there are other key themes throughout the game that may disturb you. Rape, religion, politics, genocide, cults, murder…we’re wondering if there’s anything they didn’t cover.

If you’re a sensitive soul, then be careful. Tritrie Games presents them in such a fantastic way as to make it intensely disturbing. While I’m more than happy to give the story portion of the Jessika review top points, you may not feel the same, depending on how much you can handle.

In the end, we loved the story because there were more twists than we expected. When someone asks you to investigate a suicide, your first thoughts are that it was clearly not one, but a murder. Yet, as the story unfolds, there are several ‘WTF!!’ moments, leading to the end where you’ll either love or hate the protagonist.

Jessika Review: Gameplay

We were surprised at the easy gameplay elements of the game. When we say easy, we only mean that the number of functions involved are few. It in no way implies in our Jessika review that solving the mystery will be as easy.

You are presented with a laptop and the decrypting tool. The program consists of a command prompt window where you can insert hashtags or keywords. Why do you need them? Well, all of Jessika’s files are locked.

To unlock them, you need to find the right keywords. Every file has a colour code, which indicates the difficulty in cracking them open. Some files only need one keyword, while the most difficult ones need more.

As you insert a correct keyphrase, it will unlock specific files. You’ll start with the 1-password wonders, which are the introductory files where Jessika explains who she is and what she does for a living. It was a pleasant experience for our Jessika review, and getting to know her was a nice touch.

Communication Is Key

Another aspect we enjoyed for our Jessika review were the communication tools. Members of the team will chat with you during the investigation. You’ll have options for how you want to reply, which will elicit a specific response.

When you open significant files, a small communication button will appear, which means you can chat with her father or the team about that video. There is also an email service where you’ll receive secret messages and adverts for town events.

Uncovering The Clues

The one element that we really enjoyed for our Jessika review was how the developer integrated clues withing the videos and emails you unlock. Jessika may says things in the full motion videos that are important, containing keywords you may want to try. There’s even a notepad you can open to jot down vital notes.

By making our own notes for the Jessika Review, we realised that there’s an anti-cheat system. We reached a point where several words linked to the same videos, so we wrote them down to see what other words we could use. We specifically wrote the names of the locked files.

After logging off and coming back to the game, all the file names had changed. The keywords remained the same for them, with only the file names altered. This function means you can’t go around sharing keywords with your friends for specific files, since they will have different random numbers.

Jessika Review: Graphics

How do you fault graphics that are full motion videos? Everything plays clean and crisp, and there’s no lagging at all. The way the game is designed, it takes little space on your computer while delivering an excellent performance.

Sure, the laptop is not as realistic as the videos, but that doesn’t matter. Hell, there’s even background scenery with moving cars, sunlight and shadows. It’s blurred since the main focus is on the laptop. We couldn’t find fault with the graphics in our Jessika Review.

Jessika Review: Sound

When it comes to the FMVs, you’ll hear Jessika’s voice very clearly. Obviously, most of the work and chats take place via text, so the most sound you’ll hear is her talking on her videos and the background noise in the cafe and on the streets.

However, sound place a vital role in the game we realised for our Jessika review. The actress is absolutely amazing in how she conveys emotion and distress. Even in the end, with the final stroke, she definitely nails down her the role she plays, and we were left astounded. She should win the gaming actress of the year award.

At the end of the game, the sound becomes a bit annoying (we won’t spoil why), but thankfully you can turn down certain game sound elements.

Final Verdict

So, what are our final thoughts in this Jessika review? The FMV thriller delivers on every aspect. It has fantastic sound and graphics that suit the nature of the game. The story unfolds progressively based on how you unlock the files.

While the story definitely has controversial themes, the developer made sure to hit home how these aspects can have a negative impact on society. There’s a certain message here in the game, explored over easy gameplay elements that will leave you mystified and unsettled for several hours after completing it.

Jessika is absolutely worth buying if you’re into solving murder mysteries and have the stomach for strong, disturbing themes. We really hope they make a sequel or another game like this.