63/100
Players44 ratings: 53/100
Critics4 reviews

Where to get it

2020 · FYQD-Studio · Adventure · First-person shooter

Bright Memory

Xbox console exclusive

Bright Memory is a lightning-fast fusion of the FPS and action genres, created by one-man development studio FYQD using Unreal Engine. Combine a wide variety of skills and abilities to unleash dazzling combo attacks. SRO (Supernatural Science Research Organization) agent Shelia's adventure is about to begin.

Released: 25 March 2020
Platforms: Windows Xbox Series X/S
Genres: Adventure First-person shooter Indie Shooter
Developers: FYQD-Studio
Publishers: PLAYISM
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: First person
Themes: Action Science fiction
Engine: Unreal Engine 4

About

Bright Memory (Chinese: 光明记忆) is a first-person shooter game developed by FYQD Personal Studio and published by Playism.

Created by a single developer in his spare time, it was initially released through Steam's Early Access program for Microsoft Windows as Bright Memory: Episode 1 on 12 January 2019, eventually leaving early access on 25 March 2020. Additionally, the game was released for mobile platforms between 2019 and 2020, as well as for the Xbox Series X/S as one of its launch titles on 10 November 2020.

›Story

This game depicts the maiden adventure of a woman named Shelia in the year 2020.

The 1000-year-old relic swords known as "Kanshou and Bakuya", discovered through SRO research, have been found to comprise a unique multilayered structure, containing a mysterious substance in their cores. This substance, known as the "Soul of Jiu Xuan", possesses the ability to reanimate the dead. In an attempt to take possession of the substance, the "SAI" - a massive terrorist organization controlling its own army - has used a cutting-edge piece of technology known as a "Quantum Transporter" to infiltrate the SRO research facility and steal top-secret and incredibly dangerous data. To make matters worse, while attempting to calibrate coordinates on the Quantum Transporter, Shelia mistakenly activates the device, immediately transporting everyone in the vicinity to the Floating Island - an airborne continent near the North Pole, undisturbed in its slumber for over 1000 years. It is soon discovered that the various beasts and corpses of those who once populated the island have been reanimated by the "Soul of Jiu Xuan", and they're coming for Shelia...

Keywords

female protagonist

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Bright Memory is a first-person shooter with melee elements. Players take control of Shelia, who, in addition to using guns and a sword, also has supernatural abilities such as psychokinesis and unleashing energy blasts. All forms of attack can be combined as desired and the game will award letter grades to creative combinations similar to Devil May Cry. Success in combat awards experience points that can be used to augment the character's skills and to unlock more abilities such as stopping time.

Additionally, some areas feature puzzles that need to be solved. The early access version of the first episode features about an hour of gameplay with the developer announcing another two hours of gameplay by the end of 2019 with more episodes in the following years.

Story

Protagonist Shelia is tasked by the Science Research Organization (SRO) for which she works to prevent SAI, a military organization, from acquiring a legendary ancient power that can reawaken the dead. The game takes place in a "Land of Sky" located above the Arctic consisting of levitating land masses which are home to ancient creatures.

Development

Bright Memory was developed by Chinese developer Zeng "FYQD" Xiancheng using Unreal Engine 4 with development work taking place in the developer's spare time. Zeng first previewed the game in a trailer in 2017 and received financial support through Epic Games's Unreal Dev Grants.

An early access version of "Episode One" was released worldwide on 12 January 2019. The game supports the Oculus Rift virtual reality goggles.

Reception

Bright Memory: Episode 1 received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic, for having occasional bugs and almost unintelligible instructions, as it was translated from Chinese. Nevertheless, Rock Paper Shotgun opined that the game has both the look and feel of a shooter game developed with a large budget, and 'wipes the floor' compared to some much higher priced games. The game's music and localization/translations were criticized, as was the short length, with the game not featuring any endless mode.

Bright Memory: Infinite received "mixed or average" reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic.