One of the biggest gaming genres of the last decade blew up after the success of the Dark Souls series, and now you aren’t starved for choice in the “Soulslike” genre. While it took me a while to finally try Dark Souls, I quickly fell in love with it, and the first is still my favorite in the series. Many other developers have tried to recreate the feeling of those games, and while they can get close, very few hit the mark in my opinion. I still like trying new games in the genre, and I recently got my hands on an interesting one, Memoirium.
In Memoirium, you play a Dreamer, someone who wakes up and traverses the world of dreams. The world of dreams is a fascinating one, and the biggest thing that separates this game from its contemporaries. This world of dreams is a liminal space, an aesthetic that has taken the internet by storm over the last couple of years. Now, hearing the words “Soulslike” and “liminal spaces” as descriptors may seem odd and turn some people away. I didn’t know what to expect when I played the Memoirium demo either, but it quickly became something I wanted more of.
More Than Just a Soulslike
Memoirium is an action RPG and Soulslike. It follows the staples of the Soulslike genre, from combat to exploration. The combat is pretty standard: you have a main and alt attack, along with a block, dodge, and jump. You also have spells you can cast and items you can consume, all with different effects. There is also a gear system that I wish were a bit more extensive, but I enjoyed it. Pretty much all the genre staples are here, and they work well. No part of the game feels bad or weak, and any fan of the genre will quickly pick up on it.
While the game sticks to many genre conventions, it still has some unique ideas. I like the magic system here and think it has a lot of potential. Spells are called lullabies, and casting them is quite interesting. Casting spells increases connection, a bar above your HP. When you fill that bar, you will cause DysConnection, which will damage you. Enemies also have that bar, and it fills the more you land spells. Landing attacks will decrease your connection bar, letting you cast more. Filling your enemy’s connection bar will do a lot of damage, leading to a pretty fun magic system. It adds an extra depth to combat, one I hope to see expanded on in the full release.
Besides lullabies, the game has a few other systems, but they are genre staples with different names for the most part. The game has a stamina system, but it’s called stress instead. It also has an item system, but the items are called keepsakes. There are multiple keepsakes to collect, and you can equip multiple of them. There is one interesting mechanic in the gear system that I hope is expanded on. You can equip different masks in the game, and each has a buff along with a debuff.
Another staple Memoirium does well is exploration. The demo included only the first two areas of the game, but it captured the feeling of starting a run in Dark Souls. I can’t say how big or connected the full game world is, but this was a strong start. While exploring, you’ll find Dream Doors; these are where you recover and level up. They also take you to a dream room that is entirely yours and customizable. It didn’t feel fleshed out in the demo, but I think it has a lot of potential.
A Liminal Dream
While I think Memoirium is a solid Soulslike, my biggest praise for it right now involves the visuals. The graphics feel like a mix of late-PS1/early-PS2 games, a style I enjoy. It also captures the feel of that era of games, despite featuring modern genre staples and controls. Liminal spaces also inspire the world, and combining the two has fascinating results. It creates a world that feels nostalgic and one I only wanted to explore more. The demo only has the first two areas of the game, so it could always falter later, but I see so much potential in the full release.
While I have been praising the aesthetic, it doesn’t always land. There is little variety in NPCs and enemy models. What’s more interesting is that all the enemies still blend together despite having different sizes, shapes, and animations. The two bosses you fight also look pretty similar, even if they have completely different move sets. None of the models look bad. I just wanted them to stand out more. I also wasn’t impressed by the music, outside of what plays during the boss fights. Now, this is still a demo, so the full release might not have this issue, but we won’t know for now.
Great Potential
I had a great time with the Memoirium demo. The visuals are what I fell in love with, though I wish for more variety in character models. Even if the style isn’t your thing, it’s still a solid Soulslike that reminded me of the first Dark Souls. While the demo is short, it sold me on the combat, magic system, and exploration. I also hope it can sell me on the room customization and fix some minor issues I had with the models. Memoirium impressed me in many ways, and I think it has great potential. The release date is August 13 for PC, and I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on it.
Disclaimer: Outersloth and GoldenGratus provided a Steam key of the Memoirium demo for coverage.
