Cognition Episode 1: The Hangman starts with Agent Reed and Agent John McCoy racing to a cemetery where Ericka Reed’s brother was taken after being kidnapped by The Cain Killer, a serial killer who kills sets of siblings, a brother and a sister. Upon arriving, Reed uses her ability to see, through various objects, what the killer has done and where he has hidden himself and her brother. She finds her brother alive in a tomb, strapped to a machine with a few moments to save him. After disabling the machine and fighting off The Cain Killer, she leaves the tomb with her brother who dies in her arms. 3 years later, Erica has spent her time searching for clues while slowly losing grip on controlling her powers. She is put on a new case where a man is found strangled in an abandoned apartment with absolutely no lead or evidence towards the killer. Agent Reed must re-master her power, as well as master new developing powers, as she uncovers clues towards the case she is working on, and other cases that unknowingly have a connection to hers.

Cognition is a Point-and-Click mystery game that will require you to move back and forth between various locations in order to acquire tools to find more clues to the game. Cognition brings forth a beautiful hand drawn graphical style, with motion comic styled cut scenes. The story revolves around the case involving the hanged victim, while still keeping Erica’s main goal, finding her brother’s killer, on the edge of your mind. The puzzles will require players to stop and think about the next step to take, and may even require the player to leave the puzzle alone until they can find or learn the information needed to solve it.

Cognition will require players to pay attention to all that goes on. Sometimes the smallest piece of information can be a big piece of a puzzle that you might miss. There were a few times when I missed a piece of information and got stuck. Luckily, the game also has a hint system that will give a tiny nudge in the right direction, without throwing the answer in your face and making the game too easy.

Cognition should be picked up by anyone who loves a suspenseful story, and in depth puzzles. With Episode 2: The Wise Monkey set to be released on January 30^th, 2013, players will want to pick up the season pass now. The season pass includes all 4 episodes, with each episode being available for download when released, and the prequel e-comic for $24.99. Buy it before December 31^st, and also receive the soundtrack for the first episode with your bundle.

You can find more information on the game at its website: www.postudios.com/cognition/

Cognition is developed by Phoenix Online Studios and published by Reverb Publishing. Episode 1: The Hangman was released on October 30, 2012. A copy of Episode 1: The Hangman was provided by the publisher for review purposes.