Imagine a Bulletstorm in which we get special abilities, not the worst character development and an Asian girl as the protagonist. It’s all dressed up in pretty good 3D graphics. Welcome to Bright Memory .
Hang, hack, bang-bang!
I honestly didn’t know what to expect from this game – a first-person shooter with special abilities. We’ve seen this several times already. Bright Memory does not reinvent the wheel, but uses its circular properties very well.
Let’s start with the fact that the game was created by one man – Zeng “FYQD” Xiancheng. It’s split into episodes, and after playing tier one, all I can say is – wow. Big wow. We have great graphics and extremely addictive gameplay here. The story itself is probably just an excuse for all this squeaking and shooting. Agent Shelia of the Natural Science Research Organization (SRO) is investigating the activities of a paramilitary organization that has become interested in artifacts related to interdimensional travel. As usual … everything goes to hell and we end up in another dimension. According to the creator’s announcement, we will go to several different worlds. This is a wise decision, because you can let your imagination run wild and create various lands without worrying about the coherence of the universe. It can always be explained in another dimension.
Shooting and slashing enemies is so wonderfully enjoyable that you wouldn’t stop. The guy really knows what he’s doing and he’s designed these mechanics brilliantly. In the current version we have three types of weapons – shotgun, pistol and assault rifle. There is a katana on the back, which eagerly sticks into opponents.
In Bright Memory, we also have point multipliers for a given sequence (additional points for not taking damage, headshots, sword slashing, etc.) and character development. The latter in the current version is simple, but allows us to choose a few special powers. I used the whip and the push back with the energy wave.
The fights are demanding and you need to move quickly on the battlefield, constantly firing at the same time. It is necessary to dodge and look at your feet. Sometimes the game greatly limits the arena to combat. There are also bosses who have a large health bar and a few special abilities. I even had the opportunity to meet a Chinese god, straight out of mythology.
Lots of possibilities, but …
It’s hard to create an ideal alone. There are also a few pins here that I have to stick in for editorial duty. The graphics, although extremely nice, require polishing in many places. Some objects (e.g. a rock that almost fell on my head) have very low resolution textures and look scary ugly. Animations, especially in cutscenes, can look comical, and the facial expressions, well … are very modest and unnatural.
There were also times when opponents hit me despite being too far from their blades or dodging their blow. Either the game didn’t catch my position change, or the hitboxes need to be calibrated.
However, these are only technical issues that can be corrected in the subsequent stages of production. In terms of gameplay, I can only accuse the chaotic storytelling – we start in a building, after a while we are in ruins, suddenly enemy soldiers pop up.
New Chinese quality
The game at this point is very short as it took me 30 minutes to complete it, including my deaths. However, it is extremely addictive and rewarding. During it, I became addicted to using the katana. Plus, it has a great soundtrack that drives the entire gameplay. I hope Zeng “FYQD” Xiancheng will finish Bright Memory because she’s totally worth it!
You can buy the game at GOG.com