Remember Me: 10 Reasons To Remain Cynical

Another Amnesiac Protagonist

At least she has the good decency to remember her name, but it’s still hard to get excited about yet another case of protagonist amnesia.

Amnesia can be done well. It is a device often used to explain gameplay mechanics and world lore to players at the early stages of a game, and has become overused and often criticised by gamers on account of this. That said, there are times when it becomes a bit much. I would normally excuse Remember Me for using a forgetful hero, as it does seem to be a game actually interested in exploring the construction and need for memories. At the same time though, the trailer makes the amnesia seem like a bad take on Total Recall rather than an existential exploration of human nature.

It’s Current Gen

You can’t have your cake and eat it. These kinds of visuals on current gen are unlikely to be problem free.

Yes, the graphics look pretty. So pretty in fact, that I almost thought this was a game slated for next generation, rather than the good old 360 and PS3 tag team. That could be a bit of an issue though. Some games have pulled it off, but a game with visuals this good will have to make some sacrifices to work on current gen hardware. Will there be screen tearing, framerate issues or constant release schedule delays as recompense for such lovely graphics? Only time will tell, but it’s not worth getting your hopes up too high until we see more in-game footage.

Linearity

It could well suprise us, but the trailer gives little indication that this will be a proper open world game.

I know this isn’t something we’ll be able to tell from such meagre amounts of footage as we’ve had so far but nothing so far implies that the game will have any non-linear elements. Gamers and journalists alike are speculating that Remember Me will features open ended levels, but the map on show certainly didn’t seem that large or multi-layered. Likewise, the mission structure itself seemed highly one sided, with one method of completion alone seeming viable. This isn’t always a bad thing, as many of the best games ever made have been largely linear, but it’s worth keeping in mind that Remember Me might not be the open world sci-fi game you were hoping for.