BRIGHT MEMORY Chapter 1 Steam Early Access Impressions

Today we have something different on the table in this short tease of Bright Memory by developer FYQU-Studio and publisher Playism. The best way I can describe this title is that it borrows elements from Dark Souls, Warframe, and maybe a little from Deus Ex. If you’d like to see the gameplay for yourself, please check out our walkthrough below.

              We play as Shelia, a very Lara Croft-esque protagonist with some serious training in swords and guns. The story in the demo is very media res, in that we are thrown into the mess of things right from the get-go. Much of the story is hard to grasp so far, but we can make out a few things. We are exploring a floating island above the North Pole, we encounter monsters of fantastical design, and there is an ops unit hot on our tail looking for a treasure yet unearthed amongst the ruins. Throughout our walkthrough, there are references to characters, such as the Doctor. There appear to be all sorts of anomalies springing up around this marvel of an island.

The game is incredibly fast-paced, but its not difficult to master. I had a fun time learning the ropes, but some things could be better. For example, there was a fire being used as an obstacle and my first instinct was to jump over it. In theory maybe that could have worked, but in practice I needed to use the EMP blast to kill the flames. The tutorial icon came up just a second too late before I had already made a leap into instant regret. I fumble around every now and then in the gameplay, but you can notice there is gradual improvement. That goes for both combat and navigating. I assure you. Getting lost is incredibly hard because of the objective markers and the very linear progression of the game.

              I really liked the atmosphere of the island. I don’t think it screamed “North Pole” to me, but it was grey, yet livened up by forests. The zombie enemies use melee weapons, and they have bullet-proof shields. It comes off as a little jarring because of the inconsistency of science fiction and fantasy. There are all manner of beasties, almost straight out of a Final Fantasy game. Each enemy has its own challenge to provide you, so there is definitely no room for getting bored as we encounter cycled versions of enemies. Sometimes during boss battles, those zombie grunts are thrown into the mix just to add to the adrenaline-fueled horror you might be enjoying. I would have liked the environment or the boss’ area of effect attacks to also injure the minor enemy types, but it just adds to the challenge and makes your earn your experience points.

Leveling up is also quick and easy; you just need experience points and you spend them however you like. You don’t level up in the traditional sense, but just buy passive and active abilities over time. I used my XP to get the freeze time ability, but I was taken aback when it didn’t work on the boss towards the end. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, but maybe a heads up would be appropriate here. The passive abilities I unlocked focused mainly on armor and speed. Speed appears to be essential in this game, because no matter how weak your guns appear to be, you can still win through attrition. You just need to stay alive and play the long game. But be careful, because you could very easily dash off a cliff if you’re not paying attention.

              I think a fair rating for this experience should be a 9 out of 10. I really like it, and you can feel yourself get immersed into it. I don’t understand what I’m looking at half the time, but the engaging firefights and supernatural confrontations make you cling to the edge of your seat. I’m sure the story picks up, but right now there is a lot of uncertainty and weird fantasy-scifi meshing. Other than that, Bright Memory looks great and operates smoothly. The voice acting is good, and the soundtrack is even better. If you haven’t yet, you can see what I mean in the playthrough.

Bright Memory Gameplay #1:

Bright Memory Gameplay #2:

Bright Memory is available for Windows PC for $6.99 via Steam Early Access.

John Pruitt

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I like to think of myself as the average Joe who grew up alongside video games. I have fun playing strategy games, RPGs, shooters, sandboxes, the whole shebang! Every game provides an experience whether it strikes you as profound, mundane, or someplace in between. I'd like to weigh in my two cents before you spend a single penny.

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