Bright Memory: Infinite Review (duelverse)
bright memory infinite is a fun game but still feels like a demo for a more polished version of itself. I will say it is much more polished then the original bright memory demo, but its not enough of a finished game in its own right.
The story is utter nonsense and doesn't even bother explaining anything about it's world setting or characters. Honestly the English voice actors seem almost overqualified for such a thin story. I could easily spend hundreds of words taking apart the problems with it.
But you probably but don't care about this game's story, You're here for high octane stylish action gameplay. So how is it?
Its Good!... But its mired in several problems of its own.
The core of the game is very solid, with every weapon and ability have their own distinct purposes and come together to make a unique and fun whole. The upgrades all feel like they belong and it has a good ratio of new abilities to statistical improvements, and the statistical improvements also don't feel like a waste with them bringing genuine advantages while also not being overpowered. I have minor gripes, the fact that you can't use any other form of attack while doing a charge move make them hard to combo with and makes them unnecessarily risky as it makes you almost a sitting duck, but the core combat is generally pretty good.
The problems really start with the level design. First of all, its linear, REALLY linear. This on its own is not a problem, but it becomes one when the game try's to have you look around to find upgrade points. Since the levels don't have enough room to explore for them it usually means the are either in plain sight, or in a small corner in a combat zone. Mindlessly looking through rooms you just cleared is already not fun but it gets worse when you add in all the "realistic" detail and the mostly outdoor setting. Those just make the environments feel even smaller by forcing you to confront the artificial level boundaries often. The lack of real walls in the levels also make wall running not an option in most arenas which feels needlessly limiting.
The game is also, unfortunately, very short. Now to its credit it does have a good variety of enemy types, especially for such a short game. A good mix of ranged and melee, ancient and futuristic, and humanoid and monster enemies keep thing lively till the end, but that end comes too soon.
The bosses unfortunately don't share the variety. There are are only three in the and one of the is the same another for its first phase. It really highlights how short the game is that the third boss is the last one.
Now the game does try to encourage replays by ranking you when you beat as well as having multiple difficulty options, but the ranking is vague on what it wants from you and there is no way to track how you are doing mid campaign. This game really needed to have a DMC type style meter to both track you're ranking progress and encourage varying up what guns and abilities you use.
Now despite the negative rating and most of the text of this review, I actually do like this game. Its just that I see the flaws as well as the potential for this game and cant help but wish for more. I hope FYQD-Studio's next game is better and if you want to buy this one then I actually encourage it. Just be aware of all the flaws.