If you read the reviews most state that Remember Me is a flawed disappointment, but I noticed a small undercurrent of positivity. Outside of the traditional reviews, some seem to be really enjoying the game. Are you one of those people?
In a strange way the ‘mixed’ reviews make me a little more intrigued to play it. Mainly because it seems like one of those games where, if you overlook a few glaring flaws, you open yourself up to a different, unique experience. Mirror’s Edge was a bit like that — I found it to be frustrating, but those moments of pure flow, when the game allowed you those brief moments of pure mastery, that was worth all the gumph.
‘Gumph’ is a Scottish word. It means ‘crap’.
I actually really love ‘flawed’ games. I loved the original Assassin’s Creed. I loved Metal Gear Solid 4. I love games that are just unashamedly different, even to a fault. I had kinda hoped that, possibly, the bad Remember Me reviews were symptomatic of a game that aimed high but shot low. Am I right? Should I even bother?
Comments
13 responses to “Community Review: Remember Me”
Like ‘Nier’. Shit. But so good
I’ve played about 3 hours of it and so far it’s been great fun. I can see why some people might not like it, but the more strongly negative reviews seem like a giant whinge-fest, rather than a critical view of the game.
It’s on Steam for $49.95, if anyone was thinking about it.
Same – about 3 or so hours in and enjoying it.
Remember me seems to be one of the those games where the critics hold mixed opinions about it, but the fans love it. I get the feeling the game is going to become a sleeper hit.
That being said, I played and finished the game myself and I liked it.
Some of the pros:
+ Good combat (chaining combos is strict, which has unfortunately led some people to believe that the combat is “clunky”)
+ Solid platforming (it’s all rather too automatic though, eliminating any fear of death)
+ Good variety of game play (puzzles, combat, platforming, stealth)
+ Memory Remixes (innovative but underused)
+ Emotional story and compelling protagonist
+ Gorgeously detailed world and beautiful graphics
Some of the cons:
– Platforming tells you where to go (why?)
– Too linear
– Camera sometimes zooms in too close when fighting
– Writing is uneven (sometimes it’s brilliant; other times it’s tacky)
I hoped that helped.
I hoped so too but I don’t think it can over come its lack of promotion, mixed reception and last of us eclipsing it
ShAne because I’d love sequel where they could ioron out the kinks
I’m hoping the comparison with AC1 holds up, as I found the carefully created atmosphere really defined that game for me far more than any of its admittedly flawed action. Looking forward to grabbing it when exams end! Along with Animal Crossing, Fire Emblem and Bioshock Infinite. Yeesh.
I’m playing the game and it is awesome, I always love new ideas and those guys got a new idea, but played safe to deliver a final new product without bugs. Maybe with that we will soon get a sequence of the game with better quality, just like what happened with Assassin’s Creed…
I’ve got to agree; it feels like a game that has some interesting ideas, but the execution is lacking. It’s not a bad game, persay. I just feel that it would’ve been better off at the $49.95 price point, rather than full price. And with Last of Us due out very soon, I’d be hard-pressed to recommend Remember Me right now.
I finished the game the other day, and i did enjoy it, but it had some flaws
Pros
-Vibrant, Fun to Explore World
– Interesting Characters and Story
-Gorgeous Visuals (On PC anyway)
– Full of colour and intensity
Cons
– Combat is mediocre at best, not awful, but not great either
– Very limited platforming, not much freedom to explore.
– Not much replay value.
– Only 4 Memory Remixes. 2 of which are basically the same thing
Overall, i would probably give it a 7.5
I’m almost at the end (I think, people are saying the story is about 6 hours long and I’m at about 6 and a half) and I’m thinking this is going to be more of a cult classic then anything else. The concept of remixing memories is interesting and somewhat well executed, the background of Neo-Paris with the soundtrack and atmosphere is great and Nilin is interesting enough as a character to keep me invested in what happens next, but everything else is just above average for me.
Combat is ok but clunky, especially with graphics effects happening during the fight, like if you get hit the game gives you static, its disorienting and makes it difficult for me to dodge an upcoming attack. And not exploring Neo-Paris in an Open World is just such a HUGE missed opportunity, not to mention you could have put in more Memory Remixing.
It just seems to me that the game wanted to be something bigger and more interesting compared to what we got, so I can’t really recommend it, even with the Steam $50 price tag, until it drops to say $30 or get it through an afternoon rental. But it definitely needs a sequel, probably more compared to other games.
I had a bash for an hour or two the other night.
I found the combat to be ridiculously dull.
The climbing sections to be very basic, and kinda boring since it practically holds your hand and tells you where to go next.
I suppose that’s my biggest turn off.
Painfully linear and it hasn’t really stopped holding my hand along the way.
May as well just remove the ability to control the game, since you’re practically not really ‘playing’ it anyway.
I got in on PC, played with a wired 360 controller (controlling movement speed with an analogue stick is a big plus for me in 3rd person games).
The memory tech in Remember Me could have been treated as Youtube Only Better, and they didn’t. Who needs more cat videos? Instead Remember Me boils the concept down to the most painful emotional core, the stuff that defines you, and then they stab you in the gut with it. On the last two remixes I had to get up and get the hell away from my computer because I was swearing at Dontnod for their cunning cruelty. They made me do this, and it was beautiful. I hate to write something cliched like “unforgettable” but what they did to the story and the tech will stick with me.
The platforming starts out with a generic ledge shuffle, but progressively includes more and more tools – your spammer can break weak obstacles, tractor objects around to change the puzzle, and yank the energy out of one mechanism so you can dump it into another mechanism in order to advance the puzzle (kind of like carrying around a companion cube, if it was a blaze of glowing light wrapping your arm that could be fired from a distance). Using stolen memories is incorporated with all of these tools, so the gameplay you get in the second half of the game is far more developed than what you see in the pre-release trailers, which focus on the early levels.
I’ve heard people complaining about how the game shows you what ledge to jump to, and I have to say so does every other game. Usually ledges are lit, colored or textured differently, or they just stand the hell out. Remember Me just uses a different mechanism. The game also tricks the player a few times; when I stop and really look around, I’ll see another jump marker that was just off screen that I would have missed had I been simply following prompted jumps, and that other marker leads me to a powerup reward. And some markers fail under you, leaving Nilin to take a tumble – a mechanism that isn’t used frequently enough for you to come to expect it, which is good.
Loved the combat, gaining moves as rewards for accumulating XP. Once you get a serious arsenal Nilin’ will be stringing spectacular movements together into a buttkicking ballet that you can reinvent whenever you want by changing animation and effect (again, this a completely different animal in the second half of the game because you have so many more moves and abilities). Upon replay you can keep all of the moves you purchased in your previous run-through. More advanced enemies keep the difficulty interesting; I particularly like the guards whose electrified armor hurts you when you hit them, and the invisible buggers you have to reveal before you can take them on. You will use every tool you are given.
And of course Nilin and Neo Paris look great, from the classic architecture to the sci fi archologies to the plates of rats the street vendors sell in the slums (I am playing on a powerful PC, so take that into consideration). The beauty is mostly to look at, not interact with, so if the inability to kick cardboard boxes around and stand on tables is a dealbreaker for you, then get used to disappointment.
I was expecting a far worse game based on the reviews I’ve read, usually in the vein of “It falls short” (falls short of what? Of perfection? Of failure? Falls short of fun? Is it fun? It is fun, by the way). Upon playthrough I found that many statements in those reviews are factually incorrect. I don’t mean a difference of opinion, but statements like “the game doesn’t do this” when it actually does, as if they wrote the review after playing only an hour of it, or they based their opinion on the pre-release videos. What you see in the early game is just a platform on which the late-game is built. It’s a little embarrassing actually, as if all these guys solemnly said “Halo is set on the Pillar of Autumn, and we feel this makes the game fall short”.
Dontnod is small and new and they’ve made a game bigger than themselves. It’s beautiful, it’s fun, and it does powerful things with its ideas. I say get it.
I’d give it an 8 for the PC version on high.
+ Visually interesting, especially graphic design and architectural detail.
+ Combat is strict rather than loose but it’s an interesting system and works.
+ Came across a robot playing Eric Satie on a grand piano in an apartment… nice.
+ Sound design and score are pretty exceptional.
+ Lovely lighting.
+ Euro sensibility is mostly a good thing – a little too Luc Besson for my tastes, but not bad.
+ Soliloquy sections accentuate the Shakespearean-sounding actor playing Nilin (Kezia Burrows), and the abstract setting is cool.
– Weak writing doesn’t completely support a potentially great premise (but I’m not that far in, it may improve).
– Under-used memory remixing. Again, not far enough in to work out whether remixed memories have any causal effect on the reality of the plot – assuming not, which is narratively really weak/broken. This could have been a very interesting game mechanic, but instead is flat – definitely needs a sequel to develop further.
– The city is woefully uninteractive – i guess they ran out of time. A shame because distraction would have been ideal in opening the game up from its deeply linear feel.
So an 8: it’s well worth it, but just not fully there like The Last of Us will be.
Only played it for an hour this arvo, so far its not brilliant but Im interested enough to see where it goes. I like the graphics and the look of everything. Combat Im getting used to, still getting a handle on the combat lab and the combo system, little annoyed there is no sprint button.
Overall so far I’ve only played a very small part of it, only just beat my first group of Sabre guys. The feel of movement sometimes feels a little off. Think how AC feels fluid, this is just short of that but its not annoying its just not perfect. Still I mainly play games for the story and Im interested in this one.