🏯Bright Memory: Infinite Xbox Series X Review 8/10 "I'm No Cosmologist" 🏯 @FYQD_Studio #IndieGame #GameDev

I'm no cosmologist, but I'm reasonably sure that if a black hole opened up in the sky then we would all be dead in very short order. However, this is the event that kicks off Bright Memory: Infinite, and by the end of the game (which is only about 2-3 hours), everything is broadly similar to the way it was at the start. 

Although you have killed quite a few people, as well as some unexpected historical warriors, in that time, as well as engaged in a gun battle on the wings of a plane that is being sucked into the said black hole.

The first thing to point out is that this game was, incredibly, developed by just one person: Zeng Xian Cheng of FYQD-Studio. It looks absolutely amazing for the most part, with graphics easily up there with AAA releases. The lighting, models, and blood spatter all look brilliant. There are a few exceptions, like vehicle explosions looking odd, but it's forgivable when the rest of the game looks as good as it does.

The game itself is a sci-fi FPS. Your character, Shelia (and no, that's not a misspelling of Sheila), has to battle towards the black hole to find out what's going on. Shelia's formidable arsenal includes your usual gun choices (assault rifle, shotgun, sniper rifle and automatic pistol), a katana for more up-close-and-personal fighting and blocking attacks, and your prosthetic arm. 

The guns come with two fire modes, standard bullets and special ammo. I played this on the medium-ish difficulty level and the alternate fire absolutely destroyed everything, which was great fun. Your prosthetic arm is excellent as well, possessing gravity-based attacks that can pull people towards you and rip them apart, or leave them floating in the air so you can go full Duck Hunt on them.

All of these attacks can be upgraded by means of reliquaries, a currency you find dotted around. You can make the guns' alternate fire modes more powerful, imbue the katana with ranged attacks (which really make a mess of the regular enemies), and unlock new attacks with your arm. Once you've completed the game you can go back and re-fight battles with your new powers, so if a boss caused you particular trouble then you can go and kick its head in, in spectacular fashion.

There are a couple of bugbears, of course. As you might have guessed, the game originated in China and has been translated for Western audiences. This always presents the risk of wooden acting and odd syntax, and both are present here. It ruins the immersion a bit, but I guess if you don't have huge studio money to throw about then you just have to do what you can. The game is good enough that it isn't a dealbreaker, even if you're a mega-pedant like me. 

Another thing that made me grit my teeth a bit was the customisation. You can re-skin your weapons in loads of colours and patterns like Call of Duty, which is fine. You can also customise Shelia's clothing. 

So yes, you've guessed it: you can send this super-hard secret agent into battle in a bikini, or a short skirt. You can argue that it's harmless, but I thought this sort of thing was pretty much over now they've stopped making Dead or Alive sequels. 

Something that made me oddly furious as well - you control the game with the analogue sticks of course, but the menus don't let you use the D-pad. The definition of a minor issue but it really wound me up. And don't get me started on the shoehorned-in stealth and driving levels.

Anyway, yes, these things are a pain but do they ruin the game?

No, absolutely not. The guns feel nice and solid, the sword is sufficiently deadly (and seemingly indestructible, given you can block pretty much every non-boss attack), and the gravity-based arm attacks add a nice extra dimension.