A taste of Next Gen?
Microsoft products recently launched its next-generation Xbox Series X console along with a slew of titles that gamers can already try out on the new system. One of them is the sci-fi first person shooter, Bright Memory. But beware, the title should not be confused with Bright Memory Infinite, the most complete and next gen version of the title that will arrive shortly for next gen consoles and free for PC owners of the original title.
Confused? let's do some clarity.
Bright Memory is a one-person title developed under the FYQD studios label and initially released on PC via STEAM in January 2019.
Over time the title has received a series of updates and improvements which should then end in a definitive version of the title, Bright Memory Infinite which will be made available for free to PC players of the original Bright Memory version.
Bright Memory Infinite will also be made available in a stand-alone version for users of Microsoft's next-gen console, starting next year, and included in the Game Pass.
The whole operation remembers, if you like, what Konami did with Ground Zero and Metal Gear Solid V and this Bright Memory should therefore be considered as a sort of prologue to the complete and definitive version that will come later.
Things are, however, even more complicated, because the developer has decided to publish on the next gen also Bright Memory, the title that we review here, including in this version only a part of the updates that we will then find in Bright Memory Infinite, a title that will then from complete remake of this prologue as well.
The version of the game we review here, Bright Memory, is therefore a title that suffers from this strange development and that suffers from so many technical problems that, we anticipate, it would probably have been more convenient to avoid publishing on Xbox Series X already now. .
But let's go in order
A low price but ...
Bright Memory is available for only 7.99€, a very low price when compared to most other games launched with Xbox Series X.
The price, as you can imagine, is in line with the nature of the title: a sort of technical demo of a game still in development that in the 1-2 hours of play guaranteed by the title allows you to unlock all the objectives and to catch practically everyone. the technical problems usually seen in a beta.
These include serious screen sync issues when playing on Xbox Series X, overly choppy frame rate, texture pop-ups etc. While it has allegedly been optimized for the Xbox Series X, it performs worse than any other title even from the past generation. And this is by no means a great way to showcase the console's capabilities. There is nothing in the game's performance that makes it look like a next-gen game, except the logo on startup.
Is it all so disappointing?
The title is also very crude in terms of screen image. There are brief moments when Bright Memory's environments seem impressive, but otherwise the game is bland, with ugly polygonal models and scant character animations.
The characters are all quite anonymous with absolutely nonsense characterization accentuated by a dubbing that makes you smile.
The players take on the role of Shelia a member of the Science Research Organization (SRO), which is tasked with preventing the SAI, a military organization, from gaining the power to raise the dead.
Even after completing the game (in about 50 minutes), it is not clear exactly what happened and the abrupt ending will leave players as clueless as they were when they started the adventure. In short, the plot is not something particularly memorable.
The dubbing - as anticipated - is another of the obvious flaws of the game, with the actress who “donated” her voice to Shelia totally out of context both in terms of tone of voice and acting.
In addition to voice acting, gamers will also notice that the overall audio design is lacking, with the music on the main menu sometimes feeling like it is about to stop.
Good in theory… less in practice
All of these flaws could be forgiven, to some extent, if Bright Memory had compelling gameplay. Unfortunately, the latter is as simple as it is bland, and its attempt to marry first-person shooter gameplay with a Devil May Cry-style melee combat system missed the mark.
Controls that don't respond immediately to pressure can make combat a nightmare, and trying to combine hand-to-hand combat with the shooting system is confusing to say the least. There's a reason games like Devil May Cry are third person.
Taken only as a "first person shooter", the title offers the player only three weapons (pistol, submachine gun and shotgun), without being able to modify and / or upgrade them. To be honest, the paraphernalia works quite well, except for the slow movement of the camera, which unfortunately cannot be changed.
Bright Memory is an inconclusive mix
Inspired by Devil May Cry, Bright Memory ranks players based on their combat performance, such as B, A or S.
On paper, this system looks really good as it makes each fight more meaningful and exciting, as players will be rewarded for killing enemies in elegant ways and using all the tools at their disposal.
The problem is that leaderboards like to randomly disappear from the screen, only to reappear moments later when players are doing something completely different, like walking down a corridor.
Like the graphics sector, the combat system is therefore undermined by serious bugs and technical deficiencies. For example, you may encounter enemies that disappear into thin air, or hits that don't hit, while aiming in the right direction.
There is a little glimmer of hope
However, there is something positive. As players collect XP and earn upgrades, combat gradually becomes more fun. In matches in New Game +, things finally get more interesting, as players will have access to a larger arsenal of skills right away (such as stopping time, jumping longer, boosting defense, etc.). In fact, these allow you to juggle enemies in the air for long periods of time, moving the gameplay a bit.
If we are fast enough (and the controls cooperate), we can put together impressive combos and have a very high style score, such as "SSS".
Final comment
Once again, considering the nature of this title, the fact that it was developed by a single person and the price at which it is sold, we cannot consider it a true preview of what will be Bright Memory Infinite, the next gen game that will arrive there. 'next year. However, called to judge a title like this, we cannot fail to clearly illustrate its enormous criticalities and the perplexities that the entire operation raises.
Some problems will probably be solved in the Infinite version, but others, such as those relating to the dubbing and the really cheap plot, perhaps will also accompany us in the final version of the title. However, we cannot yet know and therefore we can only refrain from it.
What we can tell you is that this Bright Memory version is impossible to recommend to a next gen user who would like to enjoy the technical wonders of his new console and probably Microsoft would have done well to avoid presenting it as a next gen title.
