Jessika

For me, the biggest surprise to come out of the 2015 indie hit Her Story wasn't the gripping narrative or the nuanced performance, but rather the realization that I love sifting through old videos trying to solve a mystery. That's one of the reasons why I was so excited to get to know Jessika, the new found footage thriller from German developer TriTrie Games. It's a short but engaging full-motion video puzzler that has us tracking down clues in order to solve an unsettling mystery that will stick with you for years to come. I mean that.

You play a new recruit at White Flower, a tech company that specializes in decrypting the computer files of the recently deceased. They pitch this as a way for the friends and family to get closure by seeing their loved ones' most private thoughts, which means piecing together the videos and notes they left behind. Although that may sound a big ghoulish and may even flirt with being unethical, we agree to take the gig and are assigned a case involving a heart-broken father who recently lost his estranged daughter to suicide.

Our job seems simple enough -- dig through all of the decrypted files in an effort to unravel Jessika's mysterious past. Was there something she kept hidden from everybody? Maybe a deep, dark secret that led her down a dark and tragic path? Or is there something else at play here? These are just a few of the questions answered in this brief two-hour narrative puzzle game. But be careful what you ask for, because first impressions can be deceiving and there's a lot more to Jessika than meets the eye.

Much like Her Story, the gameplay revolves around searching her computer for files and videos. You do this by using keywords like "video," "diary," "boyfriend" and "family," which will bring up folders filled with related videos. We'll need to watch the available videos in order to get clues for more keyword searches. Some of these files will be open right from the start and others will need to be decrypted before you can access them, which is done by finding more keywords and locating important connections that will unlock other videos. You'll see her story out of order and in short bits, allowing us to piece together the riddle that was her life and death.

All this is happening while we're being bombarded by emails and direct messages. There's a friend who keeps wanting to take us out to have fun, a co-worker who likes hearing all the dirt and the client who impatiently prods you for every new detail. If that wasn't enough, we also need to put up with computer problems and outside attacks. Is the software acting up or is somebody hacking the system? That's a question we're going to need to answer if we're going to get to the bottom of this mystery.

It's this B-plot that proves to be the game's weakest link. There's something genuinely frightening about the possibility of a competing hacker busting into the computer you're working on and deleting files. That's the kind of development that builds anxiety and gives you a sense of urgency. Unfortunately, it's handled poorly here and comes across as more of an inconvenience than a menace. What tends to happen is the screen will glitch out for a second and one of the programs will get minimized. That's startling at first, but you begin to anticipate it over time. This plot point would have been a lot more effective if the glitches were more varied and had real consequences. If it's not going to hinder the investigation in a direct and meaningful way, then what's the point? The glitches are nothing more than jump scares, which comes across as a cheap gimmick that ultimately hurts the storytelling.

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Speaking of which, I found that the mystery resolved itself far too quickly. The best part of the game is the early stuff, when you're still piecing things together and trying to figure out what keywords you can use. As the mystery unfolds, the keywords and solutions become more obvious, to the point where you barely have to type anything in. I wish the mystery part of the game was longer and more involving, but instead Jessika seems like it's in a rush to get to the big reveal.

That said, it's the reveal at the end that will keep me thinking about this game for years to come. Without spoiling anything, Jessika delves into some tough subject matter that won't be for everybody. This game is making a strong political point, and the message is effective. It's also timely, shining a light on topics that seem to be in the news a lot these days. The production was done in Germany and has a European tilt, but the topics and issues are relevant worldwide. This is one of those games I may not want to play very often, but it's message and meaning will be hard to shake.

Almost all of this is placed directly on the shoulders of Lisa Sophie Kusz, who shows a lot of range in the title role. She's asked to be vulnerable, strong, angry, helpless, funny and even virtuous, and the actress is mostly up for the task. There are times when the performance starts to feel more like a prepared monologue than an off-the-cuff video diary, but that kind of thing never broke the illusion for me. She does an overall good job showing off every facet of who this complicated woman was, warts and all.

Although it won't be for everybody, Jessika offers a compelling mystery that is punctuated by a powerful message. Digging through this troubled woman's diaries uncovers one surprise after another, as well as a strong performance from Lisa Sophie Kusz in the lead role. Unfortunately, the narrative is too often interrupted by annoying jump scares and a pace that is in too much of a hurry to get to the conclusion. There are a few missteps here and there, but Jessika is the kind of woman (and game) that you'll never forget.