Genre: Action, Adventure
Available Platforms: PC, PS3, 360
Platform I played it on: PC
Developer: Dontnod Entertainment
Publisher: Capcom
There’s something about Remember Me I can’t quite put my finger on. In it’s own right, it’s a really good game, but something about it just feels OFF, you know? While I enjoyed the game and fell in love with a lot of its concepts and ideas, but I can’t shake the feeling that it could’ve been so much better. It’s a slightly philosophical, cyberpunk-themed game with some very mature and well handled ideas and concepts floating in its core. Sadly these concepts are never really expanded upon too much and you get the feeling that so much more could’ve been done with it. Some of the heavier themes of the game include oppression and tyranny; the disconnect between the poor, living in their slums and ruins with madness all around them, and the privileged, living high above in splendor, in the lap of luxury and technology, with no care for those living below them; and the mistreatment of those adversely affected by the technology in this world. It’s these very dark tones that are constantly in the background of the game, really drawing you into the world that’s been built.
The story follows a “Memory Hunter” named Nilin in a future where memories can be deleted, altered and shared at will thanks to the mega-corporation Memorize and their invention of the “Sensen”, a brain implant that approximately 99% of the human population currently utilizes in their everyday life. Set in a futuristic version of Paris (unimaginatively named Neo-Paris), the game opens with Nilin, a prisoner with her memories almost completely wiped clean by Memorize, being saved by a voice on her comms named Edge who helps her to escape. Nilin learns little by little about her own stolen past and her memory remixing abilities as she does work for Edge and his group of “Errorists”, who are trying to take down Memorize for their tyrannical practices. The story concept is very good in this game, especially as you get deeper in and it evolves into a very personal and intimate tale. Memories are the central theme of the story, the question of whether it is better to forget the bad ones, or whether memories, both good and bad, define you as a human being and an individual. One of the best parts of the game is Nilin’s own character development. As she (and you as the player) learn more about her past and regain more of her memories, you can’t help but grow with her. She was fucking bitch in her past and when you find out about the things she has done, it is both shocking and disgusting. It makes you hate her. But, interestingly, Nilin begins to hate herself as well. She begins to question her own motivations and personality and it’s this type of self-reflection, flawed character and depth that help you to grow attached to her in a meaningful way. I can honestly say that Nilin is one of my favourite video game characters of all time. She also serves as a good proxy with which to interact with this interesting, futuristic world that the game is set in because while she is part of this world, she doesn’t remember it, making her discoveries your discoveries.
The gameplay is pretty solid, if at times frustrating and a little complex to get used to. Basically, its staples are platforming, combat and memory remixing. Platforming is your standard fare, so I won’t talk anymore about it. The meat of the game is in the combat and this game tries something different that works a lot of the time. Basically you have a handful of combos that you string together and inside each combo you place these things called “Pressens” which modify what each hit of your combo does. Pressens are divided into Power, Regen, Chain and Cooldown. Power lets you hit harder, Regen regenerates your health with each hit, Chain is used to make your other Pressens stronger and more potent and Cooldown is used to quicken the timer on your special moves. There are a variety of special powers on offer, such as taking over enemy A.I’s, stunning groups of enemies and some projectile based stuff. Basically, it’s just an interesting spin on common character action combat staples. It works well most of the time, although it can be quite frustrating to have to chain moves together in order for anything to happen and you’ll spend a lot of your time in the “Combo Lab”, tweaking your combos to suit your current need such as healing or cooling down a power etc, which is tedious. All of the combat is non-lethal actually, there is no outright killing of your enemies. This is an interesting touch and makes the world more believable and Nilin a more relatable character over, say, sociopaths like Nathan Drake, who guns down hundreds of guys every year. It’s also feels much more personal, with no more than a handful of enemies being fought at a time except in maybe 2 or 3 hectic boss fight situations.
Memories do play a small part in the gameplay as well. There are a myriad of tutorials and helpful memories in the world called “Remembranes”, which are fragments of other people’s memories that you can steal or get given that help you navigate traps and see things you otherwise would be unable to. These are scripted however, and it would’ve been so much more enjoyable if you were able to gather your own intel about an area by stealing anybody’s memories. Sadly, this was a missed opportunity. Easily the best part of the game however are the memory remixing sections. The gist of it is you tap into someone’s Sensen and change their memories: fast-forwarding, rewinding and changing elements in the background of any given memory in order to get the desired effect and change the memory to your own liking. These sections are fun and different and the game really needed much more of them because they’re so good. Sadly, they’re also heavily scripted and while presented as open and free, there’s really only one correct way to solve each puzzle. They would’ve benefited greatly from being more open, but they’re still an interesting and fun mechanic and are a joy to play through, despite their often very serious content.
I really loved the setting of the game. Everything seems to be so carefully built, the future laid out and fleshed out with optional documents and notes for you to find. It’s very reminiscent of Deus Ex or Syndicate in that way and equally enjoyable. It’s also very terrifying in a weird sort of way, especially the Leapers, who are people who have been driven insane by the Sensen and then thrown down into the slums by Memorize. It’s a very dystopian future, complete with the environmental disasters, oppressive regime and dangerous technology. The soundtrack is absolutely brilliantly scored, every track getting stuck in your head and perfect for every situation. It’s a weird but wonderful mix of techno and orchestral, similar to Watch Dogs’ OST (which I know more people played than this game). The graphics are superb, with some truly amazing and inventive visuals, especially concerning the powers that the Sensen can grant users, and the actual environments are well designed; futuristic, flashy and chillingly sterile in the upper class parts of Neo-Paris, and suitably broken and dirty in the slums.
I did however encounter quite a few major problems in my time with the game. There were a few of the usual graphical glitches (fucking Unreal Engine 3, still taking the cake as the most overused, but most terrible game engine ever conceived) and 2 or 3 really game-breaking glitches where I actually had to restart the game because cutscenes wouldn’t trigger to let me advance in levels and stuff like that. It was a very frustrating experience and I would be lying if I said it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the game. It’s just frustrating to have to reload your checkpoint like 5 times, hoping against hope that this time you’ll be able to progress. Because of these bugs it took me a hell of a long time to actually finish the game, so I spent way longer than I think a lot of other people did with Nilin. Probably more than was healthy to be honest. The actual writing in the game could’ve used some work as well. The story, while great in concept, is lacking in execution. The dialogue, ending and twists are weak and feel just badly written at times, a little rushed even. I’m not even going to mention the camera problems because it’s a third-person platforming-heavy game, so it’s kind of expected. The scripted feel of the game detracts from the experience, particularly in the memory remixing sections and I believe this game would’ve been better if it had been more open for us to explore like Deus Ex because the world that’s been built is actually interesting and compelling.
Overall, Remember Me is a solid title, albeit with some serious flaws. I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to play a smart game with a well thought out concept, world and setting. If you can look past the flaws and missteps, it’s an enjoyable experience. Trust me, it took me a while to get into it, but once I did I was glad. If you’ve got a few hours to spare and are looking for a nice little gem, especially to tide you over in the dry period right now, why not pick up this game?
P.S: My ideal future now also includes technology to store our memories and robot brothels, along with all the cybernetic upgrade shit, so thanks for that Remember Me.
Conclusion: 3 memory remixes out of a possible 5
RANDOM MUSINGS 