I have been working my way through my Steam list, and Bright Memory Infinite by FYQD was one of those games. I liked the combination of guns with swords, future tech with current tech. The game had some negative reviews due to it being so short, it looked fun and was on sale so thought why not.
Growing up Shredded Wheat was a big staple of breakfast for me, even when I became a young adult I was still having it along with Weetabix, and Porridge. As time went on I grew out of the taste to a degree, and found myself eating it less and less, that being said when I do have them they always taste really good. Playing Bright Memory Infinite I found myself asking was this as entertaining as some of the shooters released years ago, or was this another mediocre shooter?
Story
I remember playing Horizon Zero and one thing that bugged me was the main character's name Alloy. It was not the name itself but the way it was pronounced Aaalloy. The protagonist for Bright Light Infinite is Shelia which when being vocalized does not sound right. The game has you tasked with investigating a strange phenomenon for the Science Research Organisation. The story sees you taking on the current timeline while every so often an old or alternative history is sprung upon you.
Overall the story feels a little underdeveloped, while the concept is cool it feels like there could have been more added to create a more rounded world.
Visuals
The visuals are sharp and quite cinematic, the constant rain and storm on the island you explore make it very moody and atmospheric. The enemy design, especially the non-human style looking ones are really cool. The game combines futuristic technology with Ancient Chinese folklore and weapons.
Overall the visuals are very impressive for an indie studio and even more so when I found it was all created by one person!
Music
The soundtrack is pulse-pounding and offers some great music for combat. A mixture of classical music with an oriental feel. The soundtrack is composed by Jeff Rona (God Of War III, Farcry 4, Resident Evil 2 Remake), and Cody Matthew Johnson (Devil May Cry 5, Mortal Kombat 11, Marvel Vs Capcom Infinite).
Overall the soundtrack is pretty impressive, for one less than half an hour in length. The music certainly helped in creating an energetic and fast-paced feel.
Gameplay
The game may be short but there is plenty of gameplay on offer. The game easily combines guns with swords without making it feel clunky. The sword works well against armored enemies and the guns are great for finishing them off. If that was not enough there are a few different skills like pulling enemies towards you or firing them away.
The enemies start off straightforward and don't offer much in the way of resistance. As the game moves on you will need to employ all your skills, especially when it comes to enemies with shields and those with body armor. The game offers a challenge in normal mode but there are plenty of other difficulty levels if you are looking for more.
There is also a small leveling-up system that offers alternative weapon modes along with improving on gravity-style moves and adding a few more to your arsenal.
There is a level where you get a sports car with a gun attached to it, sounds cool right? In theory but on a muddy island the car handles terribly, it would have been better to not have the car, or make it a jeep instead.
Overall the gameplay is fast-paced and fairly solid, considering one person made the game it turned out pretty well.
Final Thoughts
So, after just a couple of hours, how did I feel? Not bad, the story was so, so, and definitely could have used a little more work. The visuals looked really slick, and were the strongest part of the game as a whole. The music had a lot of effort to it for such a short game and by two high-caliber composers. The gameplay was more good than bad and there was fun to be had. Overall this one falls short of being all it could be, that being said I did not feel I wasted my time on it, this one gets a 3 out of 5
