Some Distant Memory Review

Never forget.

Indulge me for a second and allow me to paint a picture of a Friday night. It’s raining and cold, you want to stay in but there’s nothing good on TV. You’ve just made a cuppa and the curtains are drawn, maybe a candle or two flickering away and a cozy blanket lying across your knees. If that sounds like the kind of self-love you are affording yourself this winter then clear yourself an evening: you’re in for a treat with Some Distant Memory.

On the surface, Some Distant Memory is a wholesome walking sim, but dig a little deeper underground and you’ll find it to be a thoughtful and provocative reflection on some surprisingly important issues both currently relevant and culturally ever-present. You begin the game searching for a sunken city, hoping to find enough resources to salvage your dying colony in a post-apocalypse wasteland – standard fare but unusual for a game with zero combat.

This lack of combat feels more like a purposeful omission than a weakening loss. It’s a challenging concept to feel that there is a chance of humans developing a sense of peace and cooperation when they have nothing else to lose. The story is allowed to unravel at its own pace, gently revealing as much as you want to find out, nudging you to be confident and inquisitive when all hope seems lost.

The technology available to you is innovative and compelling to use, but there is wisdom in the set-up of an advanced people having much to learn from their predecessors. It is a classic tale of ancestry and the human condition, given a considerable sci-fi twist and framed like an interactive graphic novel.

You have to be in the mood for this game, however. You have to wrap yourself up and turn your phone off. You have to breathe the same air and walk the same paths as the characters involved, and it’ll take you the best part of four hours to complete. I wish it was longer, to be honest; I wish I had more to uncover.

There is a chance, however, that people won’t get the game they expect, given it’s set up as a post-apocalypse game. You don’t fight and you don’t scavenge – but you learn so much. Go into it prepared and you’ll fall into a cathartic introspection like no other.

It isn’t all heaviness and morality, though. Some Distant Memory contains enough references to Blade Runner, Harry Potter, and god knows what else to keep you chuckling with smug nerd-pride. Its dialogue can feel clunky and lengthy at first but give it a chance and it will grow on you as you start to collect voices in your head and piece together clues. It’ll all be worthwhile.

You’ll want to play it in one sitting, giving the narratives the impact they deserve in the context for which they were written. I played from start to finish in one evening and allowed the emotions to flow. The story is expertly written in a way that is hard-hitting enough to make its points effective, yet provide enough cushioning and hope that the player feels an unmarred sense of redemption and wholeness on completion.

Saying that, the ending came across as slightly abrupt, and leaves the game wide open for potential sequels or DLC. It leaves you aching for more, craving further stories of those who were left behind and those who carry on an unclear legacy. You want so deeply to know what happened to these people, to their families, and to salvage what’s left of the future. 

In terms of playability, it can be jarring to have to circle an object a few times before it recognizes your proximity, but the game suffers from no other obvious flaws. It is neatly animated with quirky idling and exaggerated clicker responses, giving you as much or as little power to explore as you desire. Aside from collecting data though, and listening to a story unfold, you are limited in where you can go and what you can do. This is very much a story, told in an interactive way – you’ll need to strap in for the ride.

In so many ways the beauty of this game sticks with you after playing, and for those who accept the walking-sim/visual novel genre into their hearts, it is sure to charm even the most cynical of audiences. The sound design is well-timed and sculpted to fit the events that take place, and the lighting is always interesting to work around. 

With an ecological message that cannot be ignored, some gorgeous interwoven narratives, innovative story design, and charming graphics, Some Distant Memory is a pleasure to play. It frames humanity as capable of integrity, love, compassion, and a thirst for knowledge – even in the darkest of times. I think we could all do with a heavy dose of that sentiment.

[Reviewed on PC]