Remember Me Game review

Remember Me offers players a compelling vision of a dystopian future, but is ultimately let down by uninspiring gameplayRemember Me is the sort of title that video game journalists like to build cults around. The main reasons for this are that it's a new IP that offers an intriguing premise and that we don't have to pay for it.Since a title like Remember Me lands in our inbox free and gratis, we're inclined to be far more forgiving about its shonkier aspects than someone who has to pay full price for it. Instead, we can praise its ambitions while glossing over the fact that they remain largely unfulfilled.

Remember Me: Plot

In the case of Remember Me, this is huge pity, as Capcom's latest new IP offers up a tantalising premise. Set in a neon-encrusted Paris circa 2084, Remember Me presents a future in which memories are digitised and traded like commodities Players take on the role of Nilin, a young woman who, at the beginning of the game, is about to have her mind utterly wiped clean by the authorities at a state prison With the help of mysterious bloke called Edge, she escapes jail and winds up in the slums of Neo-Paris. Shortly thereafter she discovers she was a Memory Hunter prior to her captivity, and her activities including hacking and rearranging the memories of others for an underground rebel movement called The Errorists.

The Errorists, for their part are arranged against the state and Memorise, the corporate entity behind the creation of Sensen - the device that allows people to modify their memories - for creating massive social imbalance. In this world the 'haves' have it all and the 'have-nots' are crushed underfoot.

Remember Me: Gameplay

It doesn't help that the actual game underpinning the narrative is by turns dull and repetitive. At its core, Remember Me is a platformer/brawler hybrid. The lion's share of the player's time is taken up by navigating the space above sheer drops and beating the tar out of multiple attacker The former isn't challenging in the slightest; not only is it near-impossible to mis-time a jump, the game highlights the route players should take by posting handy chevrons on surfaces.The brawling element has some nice ideas, but falls down in execution. Players string together punch and kick attacks - or Pressens as they're called in the game - in combos.Over the course of the game, they'll also unlock S-Pressen attacks, which are basically special attacks such as detonating a bomb on an enemy, seizing control of robot foes or increasing the damage of chained attacks. The S-Pressens require a cool-down period after use, which players can reduce by chaining Pressen attacks.Pressens also gift players health and damage boosts and their effectiveness depends on where they appear in a chain. On top of this, Nilin unlocks a ranged attack, which the player can use to shock enemies climbing on walls.While this may sound great in theory, in practice it's a logistical nightmare. Nilin is usually hopelessly outnumbered and so players rarely get the chance to execute more than a three-hit combo before an enemy leaps in with an attack.So while, they have access to four different combos, players end up spamming the same button-mashing attack over and over again.

Remember Me: Verdict

Remember Me is guaranteed to divide players. Those put off by its shortcomings are utterly justified in giving it a swerve, while those drawn in by its mind-bending dystopian vision will probably love it despite its faults.
Remember Me's developers have proven they have world-building and storytelling skills to burn. Now, they need to work on improving on their game design - or they could always make their next project a movie.

Remember Me release date: Out now

Remember Me price: £39.99