A Memoir Blue merely has the illusion of interaction – or if not an illusion, certainly among the shallowest implementations of it. Gameplay:And principally this is, I think, why I felt so disconnected. A Memoir Blue didn’t excel here, and so whatever merits there were to its narrative ultimately fell flat due to its rather tedious presentation, and lack of interactivity (see ‘Gameplay’ below). At least in other slow narrative-driven games – take Life is Strange – there is a satisfying degree of interaction on our part as the player, that (with the story) keeps us interested in playing on. I didn’t go into this expecting a fast-paced game, of course, but it was like there wasn’t enough story for the time the game took to tell it to me, contributing to an almost perpetual wish on my part that it would hurry up. However, it played out too slowly for me and I often found myself wishing it would move on. The majority of the game playing out as memories means it is, in this way, rather dreamy, which the visual style really exemplifies too. Story – Spoiler Free:The narrative is actually quite touching and there are some scenes that did pull at my heartstrings, as we’re taken on a journey of deep introspection, diving into the character’s past, exploring memories of familial relations – for better and for worse – and the pursuit of success (and the weight of it) as we try to find our footing in early life as a swimmer.

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