Jay is Games covers Eps 1 & 2 in their review!
The first episode of Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller is a cinematic roller-coaster ride of a game. Like many movies, it dumps you straight into the story and doesn't let up until you've been thoroughly hit with plot, character, atmosphere and action. By the time it gives you a little room to breathe you may be feeling a bit overwhelmed. The second episode keeps the creepiness level high and pits Erica against a serial killer known as the Wise Monkey, smoothing out some of the rough points in the first chapter's gameplay quite nicely.
RPGFan gives Episode 2 an 83%.
GGS Gamer has their review in:
From the start the mystery isn’t so much in working out whodunnit, but rather working out where the bloody hell they’re hiding. Once again, it’s an engaging plot which would make for a fabulous TV show, and provides a great backing for any video game.
Express Bus to Hell had a good time getting unsettled:
Without spoiling anything, I have to say that I was drawn into the events of the story, and disturbed enough by some of the graphic imagery and chilling atmosphere that I actually had to stop eating stale chips and salsa for a few seconds to bristle with revulsion.
Mash Those Buttons gave it a 3.6/5!
Overall, it’s still a good sequel that resolves a lot of the problems of the initial chapter. It’s boosted the speed of the game’s narrative and gameplay, creating a tighter experience overall... The developers are striving to find a very delicate balance with their work on this game, and I feel like they’re just on the cusp of perfecting their delivery. I guess we’ll know when the third part, The Oracle, is done. In the meantime, this is a much better game than the last one and it will give your brain a gory workout some dark evening.
TechZwn gives it a 3.5/5.
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1P Start gives it a 4.5/6 and has some great things to say:
I would say it takes tremendous skill to weave together a series of games like this and make sure every episode in a series delivers an equal amount of all necessary ingredients. Something designers Katie Hallahan and César Bittar truly possess.
The Wise Monkey is a more introvert and tightly held together episode than the first installment was. There’s less action and more focus on the emotional toll Reeds investigations are beginning to take. There is also a lot more grizzly imagery and some rather disturbing scenes. The second episode of Cognition is an episode that is more daring in many ways. It doesn’t feel it has to keep a high pace or pack a lot of action or suspense to keep the player invested in the story. Instead it feels confident in its writing and the more narrow focus it has on the psychological parts of Cognition. This is almost the perfect move for the series... But the score speaks for itself, this was the best game of January 2013.
More quotes and reviews to come!
