Bright Memory: Infinite Gold Edition Switch Review – Shooting into a Black Hole

Bright Memory has gone through some stages over the last few years. The original released in 2019 as a single episode, but then Bright Memory: Infinite released in 2021 and expanded the gameplay and story to become a full-length title. Now, Bright Memory: Infinite Gold Edition is on the Nintendo Switch, and it brings the full experience with a little bit extra to make that purchase even sweeter. This version includes all cosmetic DLC previously released on PC as well as other things we will cover in the review.

So is Bright Memory: Infinite Gold Edition a golden opportunity for some first-person shooting action on your Switch? Or is this gun empty and not worth reloading? Let’s find out!

Bright Memory is an interesting game that puts you in the shoes of Shelia, a special agent that works for a private organization called the Supernatural Science Research Organization, as a strange phenomenon is happening. Essentially, a black hole has opened up in the area, and it is destroying the current times while also creating time vacuums that put our protagonist in bizarre situations where she must fight ancient warriors among other things.

Director Chen issues Shelia to look into the matter and do so by any means necessary, and this allows you to take out government agents and military en route to you finding important answers. Shelia needs to do a lot of shooting, sword-fighting, and platforming in order to get to the right areas and find the right people to get the information that she and the SRO need.

The story is a decent one that definitely keeps the player engaged over its roughly 3-hour campaign, and Shelia is a fun character that definitely is more than meets the eye. She is a beyond capable agent that has a slew of gadgets at her disposal, and it is fun seeing her get more and more powerful over the course of the game. The surrounding cast are a bit dull, which does hurt some of the storytelling, but Shelia is the highlight here, as she should be.

Bright Memory: Infinite is a first-person shooter that gives you a lot of power. You have guns, a powerful sword, the ability to double-jump, wall-running, and more. Shelia is a serious force to be reckoned with, and she only gets stronger as the game progresses, as she gains more abilities and gains reliquary (A green statue item) to allow her to upgrade certain skills. This is, however, a necessity, because the game is a bit difficult, even on its lowest settings.

The open areas of the game are a ton of fun, as you are facing off against grunts that are entertaining to shoot and slice up. Occasionally there are time slips where ancient warriors spawn, and they are a formidable challenge. The shooting feels really good, and figuring out how to combine the shooting with the swordplay is a lot of fun to configure over the course of the campaign. Bosses are spread throughout the game, and they definitely serve to mix the gameplay up. They are a lot of fun and fair, but they are tough so good strategy and keeping distance at the right times is key.

Platforming is the key area where things do not feel very good. It is uncommon for first-person shooters to have solid platforming segments in their games, and Bright Memory: Infinite joins those ranks because the platform sections are not fun and are more confusing than they are entertaining. That does not mean they are necessarily bad for its genre, but rarely have first-person shooters executed platforming in a way that feels good. Personally, I would have preferred more action segments that genuinely feel great instead of platforming sections that kind of sour certain parts.

Different skins are a bit objectifying, especially since Shelia’s standard outfit makes her look so badass. The other skins, unfortunately, just make her look like a sex object, which is a bit disappointing considering how strongly the story builds her up and paints her as someone you should not mess with. I am not a fan of over-sexualizing your main character, and I think for the most part, Bright Memory: Infinite does an excellent job of not doing that. However, the included DLC skins contradict the message that is initially conveyed.

For what it’s worth, Bright Memory is a gorgeous-looking game. You can tell that FYQD-Studio put a whole lot of love and attention into this, and they made sure that what you are playing is of high quality. Each of the different areas are painted so wonderfully, and it is nice to travel between lush forests and gardens, wet marshy areas, and classic Chinese-style buildings as you make your way towards the ending where things honestly get even prettier. For a relatively small and affordable indie shooter, this is so well made.

Continuing on that note, the sound department goes above and beyond the call of duty. All of the different guns and weapons sound amazing, and the voice acting, when it happens, is believable. The background music is pretty generic, but I always say that in shooters, it is the sound effects that are more important. In that, the team once again delivers excellently, and what we are left with is a shooting game with authentic sounds that are accompanied by some fun, generic Asian melodies.

Bright Memory: Infinite Gold Edition is a solid package for the most part. This is an interesting story with a solid main character, and the shooting feels really, really good. Although the platforming kind of misses the mark, the graphics and the sounds are so well done that it is easy to forgive that. It is a relatively short experience, where I averaged about 2h45m between my three playthroughs, but the different difficulties offer more challenge for those looking for that and the DLC outfits are there to provide extra entertainment as well.

As far as first-person shooters go on the Nintendo Switch, Bright Memory: Infinite is one of the better on the console thanks to its solid shooting. It is only unfortunate that there is not a whole lot of reason to come back after completing. If there was a multiplayer or co-op mode, replay value would shoot up tremendously. As it stands, though, this is a high quality experience that is on the shorter side, so either take your time or play through the campaign on all difficulties.

Bright Memory: Infinite Gold Edition Switch Review provided by Nintendo Link
Publisher: PLAYISM
Developer: FYQD-Studio
Release Date: July 21st, 2022
Price: $19.99, £16.74, €19,99
Game Size: 1.8 GB