Jessika is a Her Story-style FMV mystery about a young woman's suicide—or murder

YouTube

Full-motion videogames (FMVs) have a pretty bad rap in the game biz, and let's be honest: It's well deserved. As we said back in 2015, they were "the worst of all worlds," with limited storage, limited budgets, and limited acting ability. But the genre has enjoyed something of a resurgence in recent years, kickstarted largely by the success of Her Story, which received acclaim when it was released in 2015, and the 2019 followup Telling Lies.

Jessika, announced today by Assemble Entertainment, bears a strong resemblance to those games—in fact, Assemble CEO Stefan Marcinek made a direct comparison to both. After the death of a young woman is ruled a suicide by police, her father—convinced that something far more sinister is going on—hires you to investigate and uncover the truth. Using only your laptop, you'll dive into her online life to follow trails of keywords, uncover clues, and piece together the truth of Jessika's life and untimely death.

The game is being developed by Tri Trie Games, a "micro-indie" team team of three developers based in Cologne, Germany. In 2018 it was nominated for Ubisoft Blue Byte's Newcomer Award, which aims to give a leg up to students and start-ups on the German development scene. Assemble Entertainment's recent releases include Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Won't Dry, which against all odds—I mean, all odds—turned out to be quite good.

Jessika is currently expected to come out this summer, and will go for $12.50 on Steam.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.