Erma: The Game materializes on Steam

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Creepy-cute cartoon point-and-click adventure based on long-running webcomic available now for Windows PC

I used to hate science fairs in school, and would have done anything to get out of them. If only I'd thought of an excuse like "it blew up and scattered all across the city," as happened to the eponymous young star of Erma: The Game, the newly released point-and-click adventure based on the long-running webcomic. 

With her long black hair draped over her face, you'd be pretty terrified of Erma if you saw her coming out a well or a TV. And sure, she is "the daughter of a ghostly spirit" with supernatural powers of her own. In reality, though, she's just like any other normal kid who "goes to school, plays with friends, and even spends time with the family." Mind you, she does have a rather "ghoulish" penchant for using her "haunting abilities for everyday antics, whether for better or for worse." Erma's been around since 2014, when illustrator Brandon Santiago began a series of web-based cartoons about her. Now, though, she's ready for a own starring role in her video game. 

This time around, Erma runs into trouble while conducting her science fair project – which is a rather harmless way of saying she and her friend Amy are attempting to create life, Frankenstein-style. Unlike Victor's famous experiment, Erma's goes "explosively awry," with "pieces" (i.e. dismembered body parts) scattering all across her hometown of Blairwood. To retrieve them from the "wayward townsfolk" who find them before Erma, you will need to "barter with, trade for, and trap them with whatever you can find" in order to get back, reattach the pieces and successfully complete the project in time.

Much like the long-running webcomic on which it's based, Erma: The Game is a largely black-and-white cartoon adventure with accented colours for dramatic effect. Also like its source material, it is best described as a "comedy horror" with a creepy-cute aesthetic meant to make you scream and laugh at the same time. Santiago refers to his creation as an "introduction to horror for kids" and says the game is inspired by Pajama Sam. And yet it's not strictly for children at all. This is very much a traditional point-and-click adventure in many respects, with items to collect and combine and puzzles to solve, making use of Erma's abilities to hover and float in mid-air, as well as materialize out of technology and other inanimate objects, scaring the bejeebers out of unsuspecting victims in the process. 

Bear in mind, though, that in a world where a ghost is the main character, other monsters are just as real, and you'll need a way to deal with them. With "five areas to explore filled with interactive animations," from the local park to Erma's own house and elementary school, players are encouraged to "search everything thoroughly" in an old town that can "hide many secrets." Interrupt the wrong dragon under the bed or groaning giant face hiding in the closet, for example, and you may need to play one of four different "minigames and minigame variants" to show them who's boss. Along the way there will be plenty of "animated replayable cutscenes and dialogue with new and fan-favorite characters," as well as "many fun little nods" to the larger world of horror. Survive all that, and do stick around for the "postgame content" awaiting at the end. 

If you're already sold on the spooky joys of Erma: The Game, you can start playing right away as it is now available on Steam for Windows PC. And if you like that, or if you need some further convincing, there's a deep rabbit hole of other Erma content to explore, from the original (and still ongoing) webcomic to its animated spinoff as well as a standalone short film.