My Memory of Us, developed by Juggler Games, is an emotionally-driven story seen through the eyes of two children. Their friendship is the only thing keeping them alive. It’s an excellent example of a puzzle side scroller that achieves to tell a good story. It doesn’t hurt that it’s narrated by Patrick Stewart, of course.
A bittersweet narrative
First, let’s delve into the contents of our story. A boy and a girl meet in an alley of a grey city. In fact everything around them is dripping in a mix of black and white. It’s a way to set apart the characters apart from each other, a clever way to show a vague segregation. The color on the girl is a vibrant red, something that sets her apart from the rest. Soon we find out that not all of the games the children are playing are so innocent, as the scene and story darkens when a Great Robot Army attacks. The evil king leads them, searching for every person that has red on them.
The boy can hide in plain sight and sneak past enemies. The girl has a slingshot and can shoot and distract the baddies. Each character is controllable, either at once or in turns. Some levels require them to be separated in order to get through them alive. The levels are fun to play around, though all of them point towards hints that expand the story- and historical allegory it draws from.
Atmosphere of My Memory of Us
First thing I want to point out is how subtle the soundtrack is. The music within this game either made me excited on how to figure out the particular puzzle or determined and near the point of tears to save these two kids from a world much too evil for them. It wasn’t too jarring, and fit perfectly for the moments in these games. Also, the art is superb. It shouldn’t be underestimated as I found that not only it was beautiful for a game like this. It also served a purpose that visually reminds the player that they’re seeing the world through the eyes of a child. All the naivety and simple joy is packed within the pixels of My Memory of Us.
In lieu of that, the controls are pretty simple and easy to grasp. Though certain mechanics are tricky to perform successfully, I found I had no problem fooling the evil guards or combing through the puzzles. They range from easy to hard. Perhaps even needing a few walkthroughs if you’re that sort. Though, I’d say this game is definitely worth it to go all on your own.
Is it out?
Yes, and here is it’s Steam page, along with Juggler Games’ site that has frequent updates on the game and upcoming projects. My Memory of Us is a hard recommend from me, both because of its gutwrenching story, and awesome scenery.
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