A game that was originally made by a one-man development team and went on to become a leading tech demonstrator in the industry is nothing short of impressive. That's why Bright Memory: Infinite, the continuation of Bright Memory, is one of the highest-rated FPS games on Steam. It's also one of the best-looking ones on the market right now given how it showcases most of Nvidia's tech.
Still, as a video game judged by today's standards, Bright Memory: Infinite is by no means perfect. Those curious about the game and are looking to part with their hard-earned money will want to consider some of the game's flaws. Luckily, a lot of them aren't really that detrimental to the overall experience and are probably easily fixed with these solutions.
8 More Combat Variety
The first Bright Memory game was so action-packed that some critics even hailed it as the Devil May Cry of the FPS genre. Bright Memory: Infinite toned the combos down a bit to make the game less messy or complex, but it still has the same shortcoming as its predecessor. The combat can be repetitive.
Players shouldn't go in expecting Doom: Eternal levels of variety or combat design. The game doesn't have enough enemy variety or a complex-enough AI to make the combat a lot more dynamic or fresh at every turn. More enemy moves, weapons, or a more intricate progression in difficulty would have made the game more interesting.
7 More Content
One of the reasons why Bright Memory: Infinite lacks a deeper combat progression or interesting new mechanics is due to the fact that players can complete the game in less than two hours. It's a lot shorter than even the shortest Call of Duty game, and there is also no multiplayer in the game. Beyond the showcasing of a spectacular action set-piece and flashy Nvidia tech, Bright Memory: Infinite lacks more substance.
This is rather an important point to bring up, especially for those expecting something more from the game. After all, the game costs around 20 USD. Of course, the easy fix for this is more content added by the development team. More maps, more skins, or even more enemies would work well to flesh out the game. Perhaps even a multiplayer segment might work here.
6 Better Facial Animations
Despite also being a tech demo, Bright Memory: Infinite is not entirely spotless when it comes to its graphics. One key area where it needs to improve on is with the facial animations. Shelia, the game's protagonist, notably suffers from an always neutral and plastic face; she ends up looking more like a robot than a human.
So once developers are done implementing most of Nvidia's bells and whistles into the game, perhaps they could work on bringing the facial animations and character models up to speed. Even an old tech demo game such as Crysis 3 has more advanced and intricate facial animations compared to Bright Memory: Infinite.
5 More Interesting Characters
In addition to the characters' faces in Bright Memory: Infinite, the cast is simply not engaging enough to draw the players in. Granted, it's a short single-player campaign but even transient single-player experiences such as Call of Duty or Battlefield were able to tap into the player's emotions using characters with rushed introductions or interactions.
Now that the Bright Memory team is expanding and is bringing in more people into development, then perhaps someone to work on improving the story would give the game's visual justice. After all, a game with a graphical fidelity this detailed should be partnered with a more cinematic storytelling accompanied by an impactful cast of characters.
4 Less Linear Maps
Those expecting Bright Memory: Infinite to break ground of any sort when it comes to level design, or at least to keep up with the current trends, might get a little disappointed. Because the game's level design is certainly not on par with its graphics or its action combat. Bright Memory: Infinite is a linear game where players are railroaded heavily from one action sequence to the next.
This is understandable given the size of the development team and the focus on visuals. Still, it's one area of the game that the developers can certainly improve upon if they plan to expand the game further in the near future. Map designs that favor more puzzle-based action combat or exploration, at the very least, are certainly welcome here.
3 Scrapping Some Redundant Abilities
In addition to the repetitive action once players get past the one-hour mark, the game also has some minor issues with its choice of combat moves. A lot of them tend to be redundant or unnecessary, seeing how the game already gives players too many moves or abilities. These can even clutter up the combos and add additional flashy steps in killing enemies were other methods work faster and simpler.
There are two jump slams, for example, and they mostly do the same thing. The game will need to balance up its abilities to make its combat less cluttered or even remove some skills to free up slots for potential game-changers, in case the developers come up with something in the near future.
2 Refined Stealth And Driving Missions
In order to make its combat feel a bit less repetitive and to relieve players from the usual ground firefights, Bright Memory: Infinite includes a stealth and driving segment. It's similar to how old FPS games like Quake 4 or Half-Life 2 spiced up its content. The difference is that those segments feel tacked on in Bright Memory: Infinite.
They're not necessary at all when it comes to the narrative (which is already too convoluted, anyway). And even their presence can feel half-baked; the stealth and vehicle segments in Bright Memory: Infinite could use more clever puzzles or smarter AI to make it feel less generic or fun.
1 A Bit Of Humor
Action and visuals are certainly the game's selling points, but the developers might have leaned too much into those aspects to carry the title. Because the game's story could use some self-awareness. Bright Memory: Infinite takes itself too seriously even when it throws in localized black holes, mythical enemies, and a puppet protagonist in one odd cocktail.
At times, it needs to slow down and let players take in the situation. A bit of humor also wouldn't hurt in order to make the characters' reactions a bit more human or relatable. Saving the world can only get so exciting with a katana-wielding supermodel agent fighting a black hole.
Bright Memory: Infinite is available on Xbox Series X and Series S, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Android, Microsoft Windows, and iOS.