Bright Memory

Bright Memory is an excellent next-gen appetizer, a blend of brutal action that will leave you wanting more.

On its own merits, Bright Memory is short, rough around the edges and has a somewhat forgettable storyline. But as proof of concept and a playable teaser for the forthcoming Bright Memory Infinite, it’s a tantalising look at what’s to come and I personally cannot wait. For the price of a large Big Mac meal, it’s a no-brainer.

Bright Memory has the potential to be great once Infinite arrives, but for now it gets a very light recommendation with some provisos.

Bright Memory is an utterly fascinating Swiss Army knife of a game that, despite its several ideas clashing in glorious cacophony, forces you to overlook the imperfections and other side effects of lone wolf development. It’s an utterly confusing, but equally compelling, sub-hour whirlwind through a Chinese cultured fever dream that writes a few checks that I pray Infinite can cash when it releases next year.

Bright Memory is one of the mandatory games for Xbox Series X/S. Although it's only the first episode of the full game, the work done here by FYQD Studio that combines first-person shooter with hack and slash is brilliant. The story is still a bit confusing, but it has so much potential.

As one of the few exclusively next-gen games for the Series consoles, Bright Memory is a bit of mixed bag. It runs excellently, with super smooth frame rates and crisp, 4K visuals and some lovely looking (if slightly over-done) effect’s work. The combat is fast and satisfying, and the extra powers can make the whole presentation look like Doom X Crysis on some kind of strong drugs. That it is so short, the character models look decidedly 00’s arcade era, and some bug and glitches rear their heads means it’s not the must play new title it could have been though. Here’s hoping the full fat Bright Memory: Infinite can use this test bed to launch a truly kick ass, next-gen shooter.

I can say that I had fun and I am looking forward to the complete game, but with some caution: I do hope and anticipate that FYQD will do a lot more to tighten up the experience on console as the cursor-driven menus are no fun, and this feels like a rushed port from its original platform (PC). Gameplay has got get more focused as well; I’m all for such an unusual mixture of enemies and cross-genre gameplay blends and inspirations, but it’s got to tie together somehow to make some sense and matter to the player. I don’t need a grand story, but I am hoping that the full game makes a lot more sense than this current offering which seems like someone brainstorming out loud, so to speak. All that to say, for $8, and with very limited new game+ options, you could do worse — but it might be just as well to wait until Bright Memory: Infinite launches in full next year.

An enjoyable video game experience developed by a team with only one artist. Its awesome playability mixes FPS with hack and slash with great game results, but it lacks quality when you see the visuals and sound of the game. Short but intense.

Bright Memory provides an interesting early look at what's coming next year with Bright Memory: Infinite, but it feels pretty rough with a cryptic plot and several bugs and performance problems. Its combat system and overall world look very promising though, leaving us eager for more info about FYQD Studio's next game.

Bright Memory is a game that brings us back to the PS2 era, when you could create a game that was just fun to play. However, it feels like a paid demo, and most of the things it does barely have any depth.

Bright Memory is a very impressive achievement from one-man dev FYQD Studio, and is a great sign for things in the future. As it stands though, it has far too many issues and is far too short to offer an experience worth the price of entry. If you are anything like me, you will open it up to test out your shiny new Xbox Series X and finish it in the same time it took to install.

Of course, every console launch has a few hits and a few misses and ports that feel like cash-grabs. If Bright Memory was a free game, it would be easier to recommend. As even a low-price game, it is hard to sell as representing the power of the new console. If anything, it might be responsible for a little buyer remorse, so my suggestion would be to skip this port and wait for Bright Memory: Infinite in 2021.

Good initial sensations that don't hide their technical and control problems that we hope will be solved in the complete work.

At the end of the day, Bright Memory is a bit of a tough one to score. I went in not knowing much of anything about it, and would be lying if I said that I didn’t end up having some fun with it despite its faults. Still, regardless of how impressed I am by the fact that only one man developed this thing, there’s not a lot to it that stands out. It’s dated, it’s buggy and it’s beyond short. Still, it can be pretty fun if you temper your expectations and understand that you’re not going to get a lot for your money.

Bright Memory is a title with a very solid and fun gameplay but its rushed pace, technical problems and confusing setting make it a rather mediocre title. Keeping an eye on what Bright Memory: Infinite has to offer, this first episode falls short in every way.

If you’re an FPS fan itching for something to play on your Xbox Series X/S, then this could satisfy you for an afternoon. Otherwise, I would just wait until Bright Memory: Infinite releases.

Bright memory is a great start for a one-man-studio, but at the same time it's raw, poorly polished and short, so short. If you want to support the project, buy it, waiting for Bright Memory Infinite, but be warned.

Bright Memory isn't inherently bad, but it feels like a demo for a game that promises to be bigger and better. In addition to that, it's not the best showcase for the new features of the Xbox Series X|S. Regardless, it's a fun romp, but you shouldn't go in expecting this to feel like a full-fat action shooter, because it's not that, not yet.

Bright Memory is a short, janky blast of fun that almost makes up for in ambition what it lacks in execution.

Text: A little bit more than a demo for a potentially-interesting future project yet to be revealed.

Plagued with a plethora of issues, but still occasionally fun, Bright Memory is one of the most confusing games I've played in some time.

A short, uninteresting demo that isn’t even capable of really showcasing the power of next-gen consoles.

One of the few games that can accurately be described as so bad it’s good, with a gleefully bizarre mix of bad voice-acting, appalling console optimisation, and surprisingly decent gunplay.

Bright Memory is a rare good-bad game that's enjoyable partly because of its oddities and flaws, but there's signs that its sequel Bright Memory Infinite could actually just be good.

Ambitious mix of shooter and slasher, but extremely short and technically only mildly interesting. As a demo it would be interesting, as a full-fledged game it is insufficient.

Bright Memory looks fantastic and the action is strong, but there’s just not enough actual game here to recommend it. As interested I am in seeing a full-length version, I can’t say this taste is worth the price when all it has to offer is six rooms and a couple of hallways’ worth of content.

Bright Memory shouldn’t be played; it’s just not ready. The one-person developed action is a decent concept, but it should have been released as a demo in anticipation for Bright Memory: Infinite. The Xbox Series X version adds nothing to the experience, but if you’re eager to spend an hour mindlessly shooting enemies and rolling your eyes, then, by all means, pick this up.

Bright Memory is a profoundly bland experience riddled with hints that the game was never meant to be played anywhere but PC.

it's not the most auspicious start for the console. This shouldn't be an indictment of the upcoming Bright Memory: Infinite, which looks like it's going to be an impressive game, but Bright Memory is not worth the asking price. The numerous glitches and the lack of content mean that fans should wait for Bright Memory: Infinite and leave this game well enough alone.