Bright Memory: Infinite review for Nintendo Switch

Honestly, a big part of the reason why I wanted to play Bright Memory: Infinite on the Switch was that I was curious whether the system could even run it. I don?t remember much about playing Bright Memory back when it first came out on the Xbox Series X, but from what I recall ? and from what Benny?s review from the time affirms ? I remember it feeling like a really short tech demo that showed off what the then-new Xbox could do. Could the Switch even handle it?

The answer, somewhat surprisingly, is mostly. Bright Memory: Infinite looks pretty great. Admittedly, the illusion is a little lost if you get too close to trees or blood spatter, at which point it all becomes very pixelated, but generally speaking, this looks like it?s on par with any number of high-profile AAA releases ? which is all the more impressive when you realize that the game is the work of just one person.

Mind you, there?s a lot of blood spatter to be found in Bright Memory: Infinite, so there are lots of opportunities for the illusion to be lost. The hero here ? some kind of agent from the ?Supernatural Science Research Organization” ? is armed with a wide variety of guns and a sword, and she uses them to slice and shoot her way through waves upon waves of soldiers, ancient warriors, giant demons, and, uh, feral boars. The action is non-stop, and even if it doesn?t always look perfect, it still always works pretty smoothly.

Of course, as you probably figured out from that last paragraph, the story is kind of bonkers. There?s something about a black hole, an evil general, and time skips ? as far as I could tell ? and it never makes any sense. It also leads to some insane set pieces, like a sports car hydroplaning its way down a river as it fires rockets at enemies, or boss fights against demons the size of buildings, or jumping from plane to plane as you blast away the bad guys.

I mean, I loved it, but I?d be lying if I said it made any kind of sense.

Bright Memory: Infinite will also leave you wanting a lot more if you?re the kind of person who likes lengthy video games. I was able to finish it in just over two hours, and that was with me running into some challenges in the boss fights, which means a more competent player will be able to finish it in under two. Even as someone who liked the game, that?s a pretty tough value proposition.

But if you?re just looking at it from the perspective of how much fun you?ll get out of those two hours, then Bright Memory: Infinite becomes a lot harder to beat. It crams everything it can think of into that short runtime and is dripping with style for every second of it. I can see why it may not be everyone?s cup of tea, but it certainly is mine.

Playism provided us with a Bright Memory: Infinite Switch code for review purposes.