still have that kind of shine, just not that bright
Bright Memory: Infinite There’s been a game that I’ve admired from afar since its words first dropped a few years ago. The idea that a single person was developing an action shooter that looked like it might belong to an AAA developer, if only was interesting given what has been said about the future of indie development. Each new trailer had myriad possibilities, and the purchasable prelude did enough to paint a portrait of the possibilities for the final product.
Unfortunately, most of the possibilities were never fulfilled. Bright Memory: Infinite It was spit out of the gate with moderate reviews focusing on its limited scope, bugs, and an exceptionally short play time. While I would argue that most would agree that it was an impressive effort, its final release still didn’t feel like a complete game. Rather, it turned out to be just another prelude to something bigger.
While there may be more on the horizon fast memory From FYQD Studio, infinite Current-gen hardware is sticking with the port. Priced at $20, the game is available now for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch. All three versions of the game come with DLC that was sold separately for the PC version, as well as the following features:
- PlayStation 5 – 4K60 w/ Retracing, 120fps Performance Mode, DualSense Trigger Support
- Xbox Series X|S – 4K60 w/Retracing (1440p60 for Series S), 120fps Performance Mode, Exclusive Weapon Skins
- Nintendo Switch – Anti-Aliasing, Gyroscopic Gaming
Naturally, of the console options, I was most attracted to the Nintendo Switch port. Not for any of those special features, mind you. I just wanted to see how a game that pretty much sold itself on its excellent visuals would play out on a console that clearly can’t handle them. Would it be too much to ignore the deduction made for the native switch port?
must be sacrificed
Bright Memory: Infinite Actually not that bad in the visual department. You’re not going to get the best version of the game on the Switch — just look at the poorly rendered water effects — but the downgrade from the PC original isn’t as rough as it could be. Ark: Survival Evolved It is not. There are lots of great textures and rain-covered surfaces throughout the campaign, the particle effects can be dazzling, and the character models look great, even if everyone else has weird, filmy hair.
The main problem with visuals is how easily your enemies blend into the background. FYQD Studio used a full palette of dark gray, brown and black in creating this world, creating a camouflage effect in certain areas of the game. This makes the vibrant greens and reds pop more than they would otherwise, but I’m not sure it’s a worthy trade-off to face gunners who blatantly obscure themselves when standing in front of a large rock. . For everything else, it’s a pretty impressive feat, even if this stunning game looks a generation old on Switch hardware.
Frame rate is another story. Bright Memory: Infinite Aims for 30fps on the Switch and regularly drops below that. It’s especially terrible in the early classes when aiming a gun, which is why I mostly stuck to using Shelia’s sword. The meltdowns aren’t game-breaking by any means, but they’re often enough to be annoying. I also encountered various bugs in my game of the campaign, including missing enemies and bosses that would get stuck in the ground, but they were negligible. I mean, it’s hard to be too bothered by bugs when the game as a whole is rather extraordinary.
I dig what FYQD Studios did with the fight here because Shelia has an amazing arsenal of weapons and skills. But it’s wasted in a game that emphasizes spectacle over substance. Outside of a few misguided sneaky moments and nonsensical cutscenes, Bright Memory: Infinite Basically non-stop action. However, a lot of that action is confined to extended sections, which feel like nothing more than simple shooting galleries. Even when new enemy types are thrown into the mix, the challenge remains little in these parts. There are some dynamic fights that add up to the excitement a bit, but not nearly enough to complete infinitesluggish sections.
I took some time to test out the gyroscopic controls on my second playthrough. For me, the option worked best when I narrowed it down to the target with the sensitivity only. You can use this feature outside the target, but I didn’t really care. It was very sluggish, even with the sensitivity down to its maximum setting. Whether you choose the gyro control options or not, you should go to the settings menu at the beginning of the game to fix the camera controls because the initial setup is too slow for a game that runs this fast.
At the end of the day, it’s a somewhat domestic version of the same Bright Memory: Infinite which was released last year. Which is to say, an ambitious if quickly forgettable experience. It’s clearly worth celebrating because it’s the work of a one-man development team. But just because it’s worth celebrating doesn’t mean it’s worth your $20.
[This impressions piece is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]
cj andreessen
Just what the internet needs: Another white man writing about video games.
