Memory Lost Review (PC) – Average-Grade Amnesia
Memory Lost is a top-down, twin-stick shooter bursting with Cyberpunk vibes, dystopian atmosphere, fast-paced combat galore and a unique “shifting” mechanic. I mean, there’s next to nothing in that sentence that doesn’t get me jacked up like a chrome infused addict. Possessing enemies, taking on the corporations, killing every NPC you come across? Surely, it’s a certified slam dunk of a game.
Jack in with me as we delve into the depths of Memory Lost’s world, and see if this dystopic sci-fi hellscape has any hope of redemption.
Lose Yourself
I normally start my reviews by explaining a bit about the story and my impressions of it, to set the scene and all that. With Memory Lost, I’d struggle to do that, simply because it was difficult not to glaze over the majority of the writing or dialogue. The voice acting for both your main character and the supporting cast is okay at best, while the exposition has a lot of words, without really saying anything at all.
The world itself is interesting, with a crew of creative hopped up maniacs acting as a series of antagonists for each level. As I ventured into the toxic-ridden sewers or blasted through the crystal-clean Datura Lab, I was digging the vibe of the game, but I had no idea why I was there. I wasn’t actually fussed about this, as the atmosphere and level design do a decent enough job drawing you in, but the vehicle for the narrative’s delivery might as well be broken down on the highway.
Long story short, you’re a recreated AI specter being led by the nose by your programming and AI earpiece through a series of levels to… well, kill everything and uncover corporate conspiracy. Very standard fare for Cyberpunk themes, really. If you value a good story to carry you through your action games, you’ll be hard pressed to commit much of this tale to your long-term memory, but some may get a little more out of it than I did.
Committing Violence To Memory
Moving on to the action, this is where Memory Lost retains a bit more detail and interest. The game handles in standard twin-stick fashion, left analogue stick to move, right stick to aim. You have a dash enabled to L1 (on PS5 controller), while you have a standard and special attack. Only, you’re an AI specter with no proper physical form of your own, so how do you launch any of said attacks? Simple, dear reader, through possession of others’ bodies. Can’t get more Cyberpunk than that.
Striking enemies will often (but not always) trigger the opportunity to “shift” into their body. This restores some health, accesses their weapon and makes for a quick getaway out of a bad spot. Each enemy type has a different health bar, weapon and special, meaning some are preferable to others. Phase into a suicide bomber variety and your only option is quite literally to go out in a blaze of indignity.
It’s a fun concept, when it works. Dashing into a brute with a huge health pool and swinging your mighty hammer down to send five goons flying in all directions is great. In more chaotic encounters with dozens of waves of foes, however, one wrong shift will be your complete undoing. Which is why having kamikaze variants is infuriating, as they’re almost a guarantee of a checkpoint restart. The shifting mechanic is also inconsistent, making it oftentimes frustrating.
I Don’t Even Know Who You Are
See, Memory Lost doesn’t guarantee that every enemy can be shifted into when they’re defeated, it’s semi random. While this prevents the game from becoming a cakewalk, it makes encounters annoyingly trial-and-error driven. Opponents can melt your health in just a couple of hits, so your fleshy vulnerability and lack of other means of healing make longer gauntlet battles more arduous than they should be. This can probably be balanced out quite easily, but currently it’s not always the most fun game to play.
Having said that, the variety of enemy types keeps things fresh across the game’s handful of levels. Learning the different attacks and specials can make you feel like a badass. At one stage, I was phasing into a kitana wielding unit, unleashing their AoE insta-kill surge, shifting into a gun toting guard to ping heads, before taking command of a massive flamethrower wielding hulk and burning the entire room to ash.
When Memory Lost works and enters its Zen-like flow state, it’s genuinely superb. It’s such a shame then, that the momentum is so often ground to halt thanks to inconsistency in its mechanics, cheap death tricks and confusingly placed checkpoints. Memory Lost feels like it’s stuck between being a fast and frenetic into-the-action shooter and a more methodical, slow-paced and skill focused title.
A Brutal Reverie
There are a handful of boss battles across Memory Lost and they do a good job at throwing some new obstacle or barrier at you to overcome. Dodging electrical waves, fighting off mutant rats, killing cyborg strippers. You know, the usual. The shortcomings of the combat still stick out like a poorly installed bodily augment, but they add a bit of spice to proceedings.
Memory Lost also features an upgrade system, where collecting fragments from boxes or killing any non-hostile NPC will allow you to improve your speed, health, damage output and your ultimate ability (a shift to any foe). It’s a very basic tree, acting as a higher percentage output or a faster refresh. I wish there had been a more dynamic element to this, either involving a couple of new skills or changing the property of your ultimate, for example, but what’s here is okay.
Thankfully, as I mentioned before, the Cyberpunk dystopian atmosphere of the game shines (or rather, grimes) through much of the level design. Character models and cutscenes aren’t especially great, but when you’re ripping through groups of enemies, showers of blood erupting, red canisters exploding and flames flowing, it’s hard to deny it has a compelling visual flair. Plus, you can shift into a hoover, who can say no to that?!
Forget Me Not
As a twin-stick shooter, Memory Lost has some decent fast-paced gunplay with a relatively high bar of challenge. I took a few breaks while playing to stop some of its more aggravating elements from detracting from the experience too much, but I definitely found some entertainment when the mechanics clicked. It’s unfortunate those periods are relatively short-lived before the next inconsistency got in the way, making the game a satisfying if prone to glitching cybernetic augment.
There are better titles available elsewhere in the genre, but I think Memory Lost is still worth a peek if you’re into Cyberpunk settings especially. It comes with its frustrations and it’s prone to fraying at your nerves, but stick with it and there are moments of lucidity in this disjointed memory. Whether you’ll want to cling onto those remembrances, well, I’ll leave that up to your hippocampus to decide.
Memory Lost is available now on PC (review platform), with a PlayStation 5 release coming later in 2025.
Developer: Magic Hazard
Publisher: ESDigital Games
Disclaimer: In order to complete this review, we were provided with a promotional copy of the game. For our full review policy, please go here.
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